Indiana Freedom Trails is a member of:

Underground Railroad Conference 2009 Call For Papers The Friends of the Network to Freedom Association will hold their 3rd Annual Underground Railroad Summit in Indianapolis September 16-19, 2009 at the Hilton Indianapolis North (8181 N. Shadeland Ave., Indianapolis IN 46250). The theme of the conference is "Freedom Trails At The Crossroads: Paths to Telling the Underground Railroad Story Through History, Teaching, and Technology." Proposals for presentations at the conference are being accepted until April 30, 2009--proposals must be submitted online.

Meeting Place Change for 2009

Due to renovations at the Indiana Historical Society, the Indiana Freedom Trails will hold their 2009 meetings at the Indiana State Library, History Reference Room #211.

Resistance To Slavery...

The Underground Railroad is associated with a nineteenth-century movement of enslaved African-Americans seeking freedom from bondage and the assistance they received on their journey. The network that developed to aid the freedom seekers brought together people of all races, ordinary and extraordinary united in a common cause.

Established in 1998, Indiana Freedom Trails, Inc. is seeking information about Underground Railroad History in Indiana. Oral histories, family bibles, letters, diaries and other documents are important to the story of Indiana's Underground Railroad heritage. We invite you to share your stories with us, and participate in our efforts to identify, to preserve, and to honor the places and individuals that were dedicated to the humanity and equality for all people.

There are many ways you can become involved--please contact your regional Indiana Freedom Trails representative.

Mission Statement: Indiana Freedom Trails is a cohesive, diverse group working to locate, to identify, to verify, to protect, to preserve, and to promote those Indiana sites and routes as part of the National Underground Railroad network. We dedicate ourselves and our resources to the research, education, interpretation, and reverence of our Underground Railroad heritage for the benefit of generations to come.

About the Indiana Freedom Trails logo: In August 2000, after a statewide contest, Indiana Freedom Trails chose this logo by Anitra Larae Donahue to visually identify and symbolize the organization. She explains: "The family in the foreground represents the countless individuals who risked life and limb for a chance at freedom. Their faces capture some of the emotions of escape, concern on the visage of the woman cradling the child, hope in the gaze of the man as he looks towards their destination. The structure is anonymous, its silhouette evoking the uncertainty found in every lighted window--would those inside offer help or harm? But the open doorway spills welcoming light, echoed in the lantern of the logo's text. This path leads from the dark foliage to the shelter, overhung by the 'Drinking Gourd' and the North Star's beacon of freedom."

Indiana Freedom Trails logo designed by Anitra Larae Donahue