UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS MUSEUM TO FEATURE YOKES ON THE TRAIL OF TEARS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark-Yokes on the Trail of Tears, a special exhibit of photographs of a sculpture by Arkansas artist Pat Musick, will be featured at The University Museum through Saturday, December 14. Musick's exhibit focuses on the Benge Route which passed through northern Arkansas and Fayetteville.

An open house and reception on Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 5-7 p.m. will feature remarks by Musick. At 6 p.m., there will be a short presentation by the Living History actors of the Washington County Historical Society/Headquarters House Museum (who may portray such characters as Sara Bird Northup Ridge, Sophia Sawyer, Sequoyah, Cephas Washbourne, Elias Boutinot and others) in a vignette that will bring the past into the present.

The walk began in November of 1838 and ended with the death and suffering of untold numbers of Cherokees on their way to Talequah, Okla. Musick's sculpture, which symbolizes the tears shed on this trail, was carefully moved to 23 sites in northern Arkansas and photographed. The photographs, plus an introduction by University of

Arkansas art historian and author Donald Harrington, provide a moving backdrop for the original sculpture.

The exhibit commemorates a tragic period in the early history of the United States when the white settler's desire for land clashed directly with the land rights of traditional Native-American residents. In 1838, despite many Federal treaties which supposedly ensured their rights, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles in the southeastern section of the United States were forcibly removed from their homelands and moved to Oklahoma Indian Territory.

The University Museum is located on Garland Avenue, north of the Arkansas Union. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Admission is free. School groups desiring tours can contact 575-5694 or e-mail museumed@uark.edu.