Friday April 3, 2009, 3:56 pm
HERE IS THE ARTICLE:

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Cherokee Nation is looking for a few intrepid bicyclers to participate in an adventurous cross-country event this summer.

During the Remember the Removal Project, a challenging 1,500 mile bike ride, a selected group of Cherokee students will retrace the historic Trail of Tears, riding from Cherokee, N.C. and ending in Tahlequah, Okla., the capitol of the Cherokee Nation. The event is a revitalization of a previous event held in 1983, when 24 people participated in a similar trek.
"This will be a historical event to retrace the steps of our ancestors,” said Baron O’Field, of Cherokee Nation’s Leadership Development Group.
Students who are selected for the project will meet in Tahlequah and drive to Cherokee, N.C. From there, the bike ride begins June 6 and will end by July 4 back in Tahlequah. Bicycles and helmets will be provided for the riders, as well as meals and lodging. The group will camp along the route most nights, with a few nights stay planned in commercial lodging. Riders will need to provide their own clothing and toiletries.
The Trail of Tears of the Cherokees 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 various routes from the harsh conditions of the crossing. Ride organizers of Remember the Removal hope to promote awareness of these significant events as riders re-visit the areas where the journey took place. Other goals of the Remember the Removal bike ride are to help educate Cherokee students about their tribe’s history and the difficulties associated with the Trail of Tears, and to promote the achievements of the modern Cherokee Nation to those along the route.
Applications to participate in the Remember the Removal ride are now being accepted. The deadline to apply is May 1.
To qualify, applicants must be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and reside within the tribe’s 14-county tribal jurisdiction service area and attend school there. Approximately 40 students, ages 16 to 20, will be selected to participate from the applicant pool. 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 to meet the goal of the event.

Applications will be available online at www.cherokee.org or by contacting Baron O’Field or Todd Enlow at (918) 453-5644.

Friday April 3, 2009, 6:47 pm
So cool.Wish I could be part of that....

Friday April 3, 2009, 6:51 pm
I once lived on a farm in MO that had part of the Trail of Tears running through the woods beside our land. (Part of my heritage is Cherokee.) I would walk along the wide path and always felt sadness when I did so. I used to imagine that the tress that grew inside that path were doing so to eliminate the clear marking of the path, to eliminate the sadness, to eliminate the evidence of what had taken place there.

I hear that the bike ride will be a big event! I hope so!

Friday April 3, 2009, 7:24 pm
O would love to be part of something like that.But I am to old and my body wouldn't let me.LOL But it would be a great learning experience.

Friday April 3, 2009, 7:29 pm

Thanks for forwarding this, dear Joan . . . and Kat for posting!

Friday April 3, 2009, 7:30 pm
noted thank you

Friday April 3, 2009, 8:13 pm
very nice- my partner would love to hear of this- he is 5 tribes Native American.

Friday April 3, 2009, 8:17 pm
Thanks for sharing this.

Friday April 3, 2009, 9:40 pm
Wow!What an honor it would be to be part of it all thank you forward ,Joan and Great post Kat!

Friday April 3, 2009, 11:26 pm
Noted, thanks Joan and Kat.

Saturday April 4, 2009, 1:13 am
I wish I could, I would have loved to be apart of this and it historty.

Saturday April 4, 2009, 5:43 am
Great Kat, one of the saddest movies I ever watched.

Saturday April 4, 2009, 6:13 am
If I was healthy enough,
I'd be right there with them!
Thanks, Kat.
noted.

Saturday April 4, 2009, 7:46 am
noted

Saturday April 4, 2009, 8:55 am
Thank you Kat, such a horrible time in history but a wonderful way to pay tribute to the lives lost..Noted

Saturday April 4, 2009, 10:26 am
Noted. What an awesome event! Thanks Kat

Saturday April 4, 2009, 11:04 am
What a wonderful tribute to mark the surffering of so many individuals whose stregth lives on!

Saturday April 4, 2009, 12:48 pm
My family visited Cherokee, NC, and got to see the play of the 'Trail of Tears' at the outside stage. A moving tribute to the Nation of the Cherokee tribe, and in what happened there and along the way. I know that many bicycle riders in Austin would be interested in this...so I'll send this to some of my friends for them to pass on. Good luck to the riders, and I hope that they videotape the journey all 1500 miles. I'd love to see it. Thank you Joan, for FW, and dear Kat, always for your posts. Noted.

Saturday April 4, 2009, 1:23 pm
I would like to see major tv/media coverage on this. It is time we honored those that died. Where in the land of free America is there any significant memorial. OOOPS! Just America ........ no longer free!

Saturday April 4, 2009, 2:02 pm
I THINK IT SHOULD GET MORE MEDIA/RADIO COVERAGE TOO, EVEN AN APOLOGY FROM THE GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT MAKE IT RIGHT WHAT HAPPENED ON THE "TRAIL OF TEARS"!
TOO OFTEN PEOPLE DESTROY WHAT THEY FEAR, INSTEAD OF TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IT!!
HONORING THOSE WHOM DIED IS NOBLE-I WISH EVERYONE PARTICATING MUCH SAFETY ON THEIR JOURNEY!

Saturday April 4, 2009, 2:21 pm
terrorism did not start with osama bin ladin. hopefuly some day there will be a redress

Saturday April 4, 2009, 2:53 pm
Wished I could be there to witness such an amazing event! Thanks Kat.

Saturday April 4, 2009, 11:48 pm
This is an event that hopefully will allow its participants to visit parts of the nation they wouldn't otherwise. I hope the cities through which they pass will grant them all the hospitality at their disposal and take out time to honor our Cherokee ancestors who perished because of various things the "Euro-Americans" did, some of which are still being done today. Having a heritage that is part Swiss and part Cherokee (I guess that makes me "Swiss Cheese) I have always prayed for a better way for the Native Americans of all Tribes. I hope this event helps bring about more awareness to those needs. We can't go back and fix that day, but we can be more willing to accept one another, regardless of our race (or races, as In my case). Thanks for the article and all the best to you and to the riders. As parts of the Trail of Tears came through McMinnville, Tennessee, I am hoping their journey brings them here. It would honor us to have this mission bless our humble city.

Monday April 6, 2009, 1:15 am
Press on. We cannot let the people forget the debt to the Native Americans, or the genocide inflicted on them...........

Monday April 6, 2009, 4:15 pm
I love the term the Removal, it says so much about how it was felt. I honor those who will experience the trek and pray for their success and learning. Perhaps the we should consider sending some of the more dastardly wall street idiots and the billionaire who bilked so many people on a winter trek guarded by native people to commemorate and experience the realities of life rather than the fantasy the billions bought.