The eternal flame burns at Red Clay in memory of the Cherokee who died along the trail where they cried
The Trail Where They Cried, or "Nunna daul Tsunly" in Cherokee, was also known as The Trail of Tears.
More than 4,000 adults and children died as a result of illnesses, weaknesses, and torture from soldiers as Cherokee were rounded up and forced to walk to western lands. It started in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and ended, for those who made the journey, in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma.