ATLANTA — Gov. Sonny Perdue has signed an official proclamation recognizing this year as the 170th anniversary of the Cherokee removal from Georgia, also known as the “Trail of Tears.”

A large number of North Georgia counties and cities have joined the governor in adopting the proclamation recognizing this anniversary, including Whitfield and Murray. The Cherokee Nation extended all the way across Northwest Georgia, and also into Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Cities that have adopted the proclamation include Dalton, Chatsworth and Eton.

Jeff Bishop, president of the Trail of Tears Association’s Georgia chapter, said that the signing of the proclamation is important because it acknowledges the historic importance of the tragic event.

“The Treaty of New Echota was signed by a small group of Cherokees unauthorized by the Cherokee government, in 1835,” said Bishop. “We are working hand-in-hand with the National Park Service to protect and preserve what remains of the Cherokee legacy in Georgia.”

The Trail of Tears Association-Georgia is the largest chapter in the national Trail of Tears Association, a nonprofit organization that works with the Cherokee Nation and the National Park Service to preserve, protect and interpret resources along the removal route. Congress is expected to expand the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail into Georgia later this year, Bishop said.

“It’s great timing, since this year marks the anniversary of the removal,” Bishop said.

“I wish to express my appreciation for the efforts of the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association,” said Chad “Corntassel” Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

“Working in concert with the Trail of Tears Association and the National Park Service, these volunteers are helping to ensure that this devastating episode in the joint history of Georgia and the Cherokee Nation is not forgotten,” Smith said.

“While the Cherokee people have repeatedly faced adversity, survived, adapted, prospered and excelled, the loss of our cherished homeland and the forced relocation of our people will forever be etched in our collective memory,” he said. “Your energy and dedication will result in a tangible commemoration of this experience.”

“To Cherokees,” Smith said, “it will remind us of the great endurance and resilience of our ancestors when faced with overwhelming forces.”

For more information regarding the Trail of Tears Association and its Georgia chapter, visit www.gatrailoftears.org.