OXFORD — In 1836, the United States Army forced more than 20,000 members of the Muscogee Creek Nation who resided in what is now known as the city of Oxford to pack up and walk to their new lands in Oklahoma.
This journey became known in U.S. history as the Trail of Tears, a trek fueled by the Indian Removal Act of 1832 that resulted in the death of at least 3,500 members of the Creek Nation.
“Our ancestors had to walk to these lands over the span of four months,” said Raelynn Butler, the MCN’s manager of historic and cultural preservation. “They left in the summertime and got there in the winter with bloody feet. It’s a hard history, but it means a lot.”
The MCN have spent nearly 200 years away from their native lands and on their reservation in Oklahoma.
That was until April 8-9, when Oxford held a two-day celebration at Choccolocco Park to officially welcome the Muscogee people back to their homelands in an event called “Reyicepes,” which directly translates to “We have come back.”
Alabama Legislature analysis:Big moves on education, taxes overshadowed by anti-trans bills
Easter:Planning your Easter meal? Local cooks offer some recipes for Southern favorites
“Today, we are celebrating being able to come back and see our homelands that our ancestors fought so hard to keep,” Butler said. “These are the last lands our tribe owned before we were forced on the Trail of Tears in 1836, so it’s very special for us to come and see them with…
