Title
A RESOLUTION HONORING RON COOPER FOR HIS TRIBUTE TO THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE IN RETRACING THEIR STEPS ALONG THE TRAIL OF TEARS
Body
WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation since time immemorial has exercised the sovereign rights of self government on behalf of the Cherokee people; and
WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation is a federally recognized Indian Nation with a historic and continual government to government relationship with the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, "The Trail Where They Cried" or the "Trail of Tears", as it became known, was the product of the Indian Removal Act, which caused the forcible removal of Native peoples, including the Cherokee from their ancestral homelands, retrospectively this Act has been universally condemned and is a dark stain on the history of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Ron Cooper, a citizen of the federally recognized Comanche Tribe, has walked the Trail of Tears from Tennessee to Oklahoma, known as the "Northern Route, which is approximately 800 miles long; and
WHEREAS, Ron Cooper has brought honor to those who have suffered and died along this trail and reminds all Cherokee people that this part of our history should never be forgotten; and
WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation is grateful for individuals who recognize that the removal of the Cherokee people and other Native Americans was a terrible injustice and that it is important to keep this memory alive.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION TRIBAL COUNCIL that Ron Cooper be recognized as a person of honor for his actions and deeds in bringing attention to those who suffered and died on the Trail of Tears.