The Cherokee Nation has acquired the Park Hill Mission, or Worcester, cemetery from the Oklahoma Historical Society, which has held it since 1952. The Northeast Oklahoma site is where important Cherokee historical figures are buried.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced the land acquisition last week, holding a pen and signed document in his hand.
“This is one of the most important documents I have signed as your principal chief,” he said in a video posted to X. “… This document represents something that is long overdue, which is the return of that cemetery to the Cherokee people.”
The editor of the first Cherokee newspaper and historical leader, Elias Boudinot, is buried there, along with Sam Worcester, who defended Cherokee sovereignty in the landmark Supreme Court ruling of Worcester v. Georgia.
The cemetery is located in Tahlequah, near the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
“A lot of Cherokees who survived the Trail of Tears and helped build up the Cherokee Nation and our new homeland are laid to rest there,” Hoskin Jr. said.
Hoskin Jr. said restoring and making historic Cherokee cemeteries more accessible is a top priority for the nation, especially this one.
This article was originally published by KOSU. You can see the original story here.