MOBERLY — Chants of “We remember you” rang out in Rothwell Park, commemorating the deaths of more than 40 people in 1838.
More than a dozen people from as far away as Arizona traveled to Randolph County on Sunday to pay homage to Potawatomi Native Americans who died on the Trail of Death. The group visited sites in Moberly and Huntsville where Potawatomi camped during their forced exodus from Indiana to eastern Kansas. They also visited the site of an old tree once used for lynchings.
Members of the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary from Elkhart, Indiana, comprised most of Sunday’s group. They were on a bi-annual, week-long journey to visit encampments along the Trail of Death known as the Pilgrimage of Lament, Repentance and Transformation, said Director Rich Meyer.
People from Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio and Arizona also participated.
Potawatomi Historian and descendant George Godfrey also visited Moberly on Sunday. The Potawatomi Trail of Death Association lead a separate caravan every five years since 1988 to retrace the route from Indiana to Kansas. The association’s next caravan will take place in 2023. Godfrey started organizing association tours to learn more about his heritage, specifically regarding a distant grandmother who was removed from Illinois during the Trail of Death, he said.
The event also gives people in Randolph County and other communities along the trail a chance to learn about the local history. Many more people have heard about the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of five tribes from the southeastern United States, that preceded the forced relocation of the Potawatomi.
“It’s for the benefit of the people who live in that area,” Godfrey said. “To help them become aware of the events which preceded them… and to understand more about the American Indians and what happened to them.”
The trail retracing is meant to highlight some of the darker parts of American history Seminary Instructor Katerina Friesen said. A prayer, which consistently repeated the words “we remember” was offered while at the stone marker in Moberly.
“This is meant to lament and remember the forced removal of the Potawatami people… where they were left without the promise of homes, agricultural equipment and land,” Friesen said.
Maryanne and Ben Conrad travelled from Chinle, Arizona, part of the Navajo reservation, to join the pilgrimage.
“We have just lived a lot of these issues and have seen a continuing Trail of Death in many ways. Generations after,” Maryanne Conrad said.
Randolph County Historical Society members President Joyce Campbell, David Campbell and Joe Barnes attended the retracing in Randolph County to provide local history.
“We just promote Randolph County history,” Barnes said. “It’s good parts and it’s darker parts.”
The group also observed and learned about the history of a tree in Rothwell Park that had been used for lynchings, but was not related to the trail.
Pilgrims spoke about the history and impacts of racism in their own communities and sang the hymn, “Were You There,” before a moment of silence was held around the tree.
Christina Gonzalez, Moberly native and incoming University of Missouri and Moberly Area Community College student, said she felt compelled to join the group during their time in Moberly, because she studies anthropology.
“I embrace heritage, and I kind of felt the need to come along and pay some kind of homage to our ancestors,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez hadn’t heard about the Trail of Death passing through her hometown or about the lynching tree, she said.
“It’s surprising [that I didn’t know about these events], because it’s actually a major part of history,” she said.