A new donation campaign called One Hundred From One Thousand has been launched by the Steelville Trail of Tears Remembrance Committee, with the goal of raising $100,000 by encouraging 1,000 people to donate $100 each.

The funds will go toward the creation of a monument, which will be installed in Steelville City Park, honoring the thousands of Cherokee, Creek and enslaved people who passed through Steelville while traveling the Trail of Tears. 

“Everybody sits around in the room and goes like, ‘oh, look, now we got to raise $100,000’ – that’s a pretty daunting task,” Treasurer Rob Viehman said. “And at one point I said, ‘you know what, all we gotta do is get 1,000 people to give us $100,’ and then everybody kind of went, ‘well, that doesn’t sound so bad, surely we can do that.’ So, that’s what started it.”

The campaign has raised $1,415 so far. The committee is urging everyone who donates to also share the campaign with their contact list in hopes of it reaching more people.

Viehman said the installation of the 10-foot-tall bronze sculpture will likely be a few years down the road, and exact costs are still unknown. Before it can be put in, an archaeological survey of the area must be conducted for historical value due to the location’s proximity and significance as an official Trail of Tears site.

“(Steelville City Park) got really a lot of earthwork done to it when they made that park,” Viehman said. “Whatever could have been disturbed, probably already got disturbed.”

Cherokee/Pawnee artist Daniel HorseChief created and proposed the design. He is also designing a similar monument to be installed in Tahlequah, Okla., which is the capital of the Cherokee Nation. The Tahlequah monument and the Steelville monuments will face each other.

HorseChief will sculpt a full-scale model out of clay, which will be used to create a form from which the bronze can be cast. The finished product will be displayed on top of a piece of granite, and a path from the parking lot to the monument will be constructed.

The committee already has four informational signs that will be placed around the monument, thanks to a $10,000 grant from Impact 100 Crawford County. They have received several other grants and hope to continue applying for more to help fund the monument.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is helping the committee manage its funds. Viehman said they’ve received multiple donations from people in St. Louis and even from out of state who have no connection to Steelville, but believe in the cause. The committee also received a $2,500 donation from the Cherokee Nation.

Outside of its work of fundraising for the monument, the committee hosts an annual Remember the Removal Walk, Ride and Bike in December. It has brought in multiple speakers and sent members to the statewide Trail of Tears conference. 

Viehman said the ultimate goal is raising awareness.

“I’m always amazed when I talk to somebody and they have no idea, you know, grew up here, don’t have any idea the Trail of Tears even went through here,” Viehman said. “I’m sure it’s not something they teach in school. You might hear a little bit about the Trail of Tears, but they probably don’t say, ‘oh, and by the way, it went right through Steelville.’”