Six Cherokee Nation women will participate in the 2022 Remember the Removal Bike Ride this June, retracing an estimated 950 miles along the northern route of the Trail of Tears by bicycle.
This marks the first year for the team to be all Cherokee women.
The ride spans from Georgia to Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma over nearly three weeks. The cyclists will average around 60 miles a day. The cyclists will be joined by seven cyclists from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The ride begins in New Echota, Georgia, a former capital of the Cherokee Nation, on May 30.
“For generations, we’ve always honored our ancestors and the devastation that they endured during the Trail of Tears,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement. “The Remember the Removal Bike Ride is such a tremendous opportunity for our Cherokee youth to learn the history and honor the legacy of their ancestors who endured some of the worst tragedy in the history of the Cherokee Nation. It helps the cyclists learn more about the history of the Cherokee Nation, but also helps them pay tribute to those that suffered on the trail to Indian territory.”
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Of the estimated 16,000 Cherokees who were forced to make the journey to Indian Territory in 1838 and 1839, about 4,000 died due to starvation, disease and exposure to the elements.
Participants were selected based on an essay, in-person interviews and a physical. The group began training in December. As part of their training, the group spent weekends undergoing rigorous physical training and cycling on various routes throughout the Cherokee Nation.
The 2022 Remember the Removal Bike Ride cyclists from the Cherokee Nation include:
Emily Christie, 24, Stilwell, Kortney Dry, 24, Tahlequah, Kayce O’Field, 24, Tahlequah, Jeanetta Leach, 23, Rocky Mountain, Madison Whitekiller, 23, Verdigris, and Desiree Matthews, 18, Watts.
Christie works at the Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center in Tahlequah. She said being chosen for the ride was an emotional experience.
“I am participating, not just to remember, but to never forget,” Christie said. “This ride will be one of the heaviest, most special, and most moving experiences I will have in my lifetime.”
During the ride, the cyclists will visit several Cherokee gravesites and historic landmarks.
For more information on the Remember the Removal Bike Ride or to follow along during the journey, visit www.facebook.com/removal.ride.
