- Emilee Chavez, 18, Tahlequah, Sequoyah High School
- Daulton Cochran, 21, Bell, Tulsa Community College
- Courtney Cowan, 24, Kansas, Northeastern State University graduate
- Lily Drywater, 21, Tahlequah, Northeastern State University
- Dale Eagle, 23, Tahlequah, Tahlequah High School graduate
- Jennifer Johnson, 48, Oklahoma City, mentor Rider
- Autumn Lawless, 22, Porum, Northeastern State University
- Amari McCoy, 21, Sallisaw, Carl Albert State College
- Parker Weavel, 21, Tahlequah, Northeastern State University
- Sky Wildcat, 22, Tahlequah, Northeastern State University
There is no better education than
first-hand experience and Cherokee Nation’s Remember the Removal Ride program
is one of the most successful educational programs we have.
Each summer a group of young
people from Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in
Cherokee, North Carolina, team up and retrace on bicycle the Trail of Tears,
our ancestors’ removal route from our homelands in the east to modern-day
Oklahoma. This is a significant year, as we commemorate the 180th anniversary
of the Trail of Tears.
This a special group of young
people who will retrace our tribe’s route to Oklahoma. The Remember the Removal
effort enables some of Cherokee Nation’s strongest emerging leaders to
participate in a unique event that is focused on individual growth, teamwork
development and, most importantly, sharing Cherokee history and heritage.
This is the best classroom I could
ever imagine. Riders make stops at museums, gravesites, national parks,
churches and other historic sites along the way. The experience reshapes how
these young people view life and their heritage. The riders travel about 60
miles per day over a three-week period and pass through seven states: Georgia,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
It is a grueling journey on a
bike, but the struggles on the ride offer greater understanding of what our
ancestors experienced along the Trail 180 years ago. An estimated 16,000
Cherokees were forced to make the journey on the Trail of Tears to Indian
Territory and more than 4,000 died from exposure, starvation and disease.
Remember the Removal ensures our
future leaders don’t forget the past and always honor the sacrifices our
ancestors made. Our riders serve as ambassadors along the road in the towns
they ride through. Since this program was started in the mid-1980s, every
participant has dug deep to find untapped reservoirs of strength and
perseverance.
They ride every day and with every
mile, they learn more about the Cherokee experience in America and the true
history of our people. We are here today, as the largest tribal government in
the country, because of that fortitude.
We try to make the ride as public
as possible so that followers back home can follow along on social media.
Photos and blog posts are updated daily to the Remember the Removal Facebook
page at www.facebook.com/removal.ride
and on Cherokee Nation’s website at http://remembertheremoval.cherokee.org.
Also, follow along on Twitter and
Instagram by searching for the hashtags #RTR2018 and #WeRemember.
The 2018 Remember the Removal
cyclists are: