Remember the Removal to ride again
By CN Communications
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – During the 2010 Remember the Removal Project, a challenging 1,000 mile bike ride, a select group of Cherokee students will retrace the historic Trail of Tears by riding from the original tribal homelands in Georgia to Tahlequah, the capitol of the Cherokee Nation.
The 2010 version will be the third such ride to be sponsored by the tribe, with the original ride first completed in 1984 and a 25th anniversary ride held in 2009.
Organizers said the event will provide participants with the chance to experience Cherokee history firsthand and follow the footsteps of their ancestors.
“There are three things you learn on this ride,” said Todd Enlow, CN Leadership group leader, who organized and rode in the 2009 ride as a chaperone. “First, you learn Cherokee history by experiencing it yourself. Second, you learn your own family history, and third, you learn your strengths and abilities to go beyond what you think you can do.”
Enlow said for the riders, learning their own family history makes the Cherokee history gleaned along the way personal. The riders will make stops along the way at specific points of interest from the Trail of Tears and will be provided with relevant history lessons to help make connections between the past and what the riders are currently experiencing.
Students who are selected for the project will spend the spring training together and separately, then meet in Tahlequah in June and drive to Georgia. From there, the bike ride begins and will end approximately 20 days later in Tahlequah. As weather and terrain permits, the group will camp along the route some nights, while other nights will be spent in commercial lodging.
Enlow said students don’t have to be in perfect shape to do the ride. Pre-ride training in Oklahoma will help prepare the riders, but desire to learn Cherokee history and the commitment to go the distance and stay focused are equally important.
Applications to participate in the 2010 Remember the Removal ride are now being accepted. The deadline to apply is March 1.
To qualify, applicants must be a CN citizen and a student in high school or college that is at least 16 years old. Space is limited to 15 riders. Potential applicants will be asked to provide background and health information, parental consent if under 18 and a brief statement about why they would like to participate in the project.
After an initial review, an advisory panel will interview each candidate to determine interest and commitment to this project. Students will need to be in good physical shape and make the commitment to bike for 60 to 70 miles a day for several weeks in various weather conditions to meet the goal of the event.
The Trail of Tears took place over the winter months of 1838 through 1839. An estimated 16,000 Cherokees were forced at gunpoint to remove themselves and their families from their homes, farms and communities. After being held in federal stockades until deep winter, they were subsequently herded on overland and water routes that moved through territories that represent the present-day states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas. More than four thousand Cherokees died along the routes from the harsh conditions of the crossing.
Ride organizers hope to promote awareness of these events as riders re-visit the areas where the journey took place. Other goals of the bike ride are to help educate Cherokee students about the tribe’s history and the difficulties associated with the Trail of Tears and to promote the achievements of the modern CN to those along the route.
Selected riders will be supplied with a bike, riding gear, meals, transportation and lodging, but will need to bring their changes of clothing, toiletries, bedding and spending money. To apply, go online at www.remembertheremoval.org/signup/ or call (918) 453-5498.