Read This Article, Published in the Star Tribune
A few years ago, I was hiking the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail with a friend, Amy Eckert. Amy had been posting about our hike on social media, and one day received a message from a friend. The friend said we were very close to a major, too-cool monument – a commemorative wall – and we just had to stop and see it. So we did, albeit separately.
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What’s the Wichahpi Wall?
Before my visit to The Wall, as it’s informally known, I learned a man built it over several decades as a tribute to one of his Native American ancestors – a woman who had been forcibly moved from her home here on the Trail of Tears back in the early 1800s. But she missed her home, so she eventually walked back. This wall commemorated her journey.
Normally, a family member is on-site as a docent for visitors. But our visit took place during April 2021, just as the COVID-19 vaccines were rolling out, and this family had an immunocompromised family member. So no one was there to give me more information about this intriguing spot.
So I took a lot of photographs and, a few years after returning home, interviewed Trace Hendrix, the son of the original wall-builder. The stories he told me were astonishing, and formed the basis of my article in the Star Tribune. Enjoy!
