[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE NOME CULT ``TRAIL OF TEARS''

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. VIC FAZIO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 27, 1996

  Mr. FAZIO of California.  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
133d anniversary of the Nome Cult ``Trail of Tears.''
  Not long ago, native Americans from Chico were forced to relocate 
across what is now the Mendocino National Forest to Round Valley.
  In September 1863, 461 Indians were marched under guard from Chico to 
the Nome Cult Reservation, nearly 100 miles across the Sacramento 
Valley and rugged north cost ranges. Most of those removed from Chico 
were Maidu from the north Sacramento Valley and adjacent foothills, but 
members of other tribes were also relocated. Only 277 Indians completed 
the journey to Nome Cult Reservation.
  Although the path has disappeared, we now call this route the Nome 
Cult Trail. Currently, U.S. Forest Service signs mark the route where 
the Indians and their military escorts camped along the most grueling 
part of the trail in the Mendocino National Forest.
  Today, I wish to acknowledge this tragedy but also to celebrate in 
full recognition of our past. While the Nome Cult Trail is a tragic 
chapter in my State's history, it is also a story about the resilience 
and strength of California Indians. It is an important legacy for their 
descendants and for all Californians.

                          ____________________