Jackson in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Bushyhead Memorial

Who was Princess Otahki?

Photographed by Craig Swain, August 2, 2023

1. Bushyhead Memorial Marker

Inscription. When this memorial was dedicated in 1961, legend said a Cherokee princess was buried here. Identified as the daughter of Reverend Jesse Bushyhead (left), a leader of a contingent of Cherokees on the Trail of Tears, a local group erected this pagoda to honor "Princess Otahki" and all who died on the Trail of Tears.

Recent research shows Otahki's real name was Nancy Bushyhead Walker Hildebrand and that she was the sister of Reverend Bushyhead. At the time, the local residents gave her the courtesy title of princess. The Cherokees have a democratic form of government and do not recognize royalty.

Nancy's Grave
This memorial marks the area believed to be near Nancy's grave. A wooden cross erected on her grave burned in a woods fire just 30 years later. Local residents mounded rocks and erected an iron cross.

The Memorial Today
This memorial not only honors Nancy Bushyhead Walker Hilderbrand, but all Cherokees forced to march from their homelands to Indian Territory on the route known today as the Trail of Tears.

Topics and series. This historical marker and memorial is listed in this topic list: Indigenous Peoples and Communities. In addition, it is included in the Trail of Tears series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1961.

Location. 37° 26.799′ N, 89°

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27.799′ W. Marker is in Jackson, Missouri, in Cape Girardeau County. It is on Moccasin Springs Road, on the right when traveling west. Located in Trail of Tears State Park, at the Bushyhead Memorial pull-off. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 429 Moccasin Springs Road, Cape Girardeau MO 63701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker and memorial is in Southeast Missouri. It is also in the American Ozarks,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: They Passed This Way (approx. 0.4 miles away); Father Jacques Marquette (approx. 1.4 miles away); The Lewis and Clark Expedition Across Missouri (approx. 1.4 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.6 miles away in Illinois); Lewis and Clark in Illinois (approx. 3.7 miles away in Illinois); Scientific Mission (approx. 3.7 miles away in Illinois); Anna-Jonesboro (approx. 7.6 miles away in Illinois); In Memory of Wayland R. Presley (approx. 9.7 miles away in Illinois). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jackson.

Bushyhead Memorial and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, August 2, 2023

2. Bushyhead Memorial and Marker

Memorial and Pagoda image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, August 2, 2023

3. Memorial and Pagoda

Princess Otahki Gravesite image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, August 2, 2023

4. Princess Otahki Gravesite

Here is buried
Princess Otahki
Daughter of
Chief Jesse Bushyhead
wife of
Sam HildebrandOne of the several hundred Cherokee indians who died here in the delayed (by ice) crossing of the Mississippi River in the United States government forced exodus from Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the severe winter of 1838-39.

This memorial erected by the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau
1961

Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 28, 2023, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,357 times since then and 121 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 28, 2023, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.