BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Native American Trail of Tears Bicycle Ride and Cherokee Challenge

From the CherokeeLink Newsletter:

Osiyo,

A group of students continue their journey of retracing the Trail of Tears on bicycle. This year's Remember the Removal Ride will be a more than 900-mile bike ride will take 23 days, with each day traveling from 40 to 70 miles per day. The riders will stop daily to learn about things that happened along the Trail of Tears. They are have been riding for 10 days. To follow them on their journey or to send words of encouragement please visit www.remembertheremoval.org.

Are you looking for a way to get fit and healthy this summer? Check out information about the Cherokee Challenge. The Challenge is a series of runs and walks that you can join. For more information visit Cherokee Challenge .

Wado! (Thank you)
Cherokee Nation
P.O.Box 948
Tahlequah, OK 74465918
453-5000
communications@cherokee.org

I tried to send a message of encouragement to the riders, but my system would not allow the email to go through - so, I will print it here:

Prayers and thoughts are with each and everyone of you who are putting yourselves out there in remembrance of the suffering your Ancestors endured.

Cherokee Traveler's Blessing
I will draw thorns from your feet.
We will walk the white path of life together.
Like a brother of my own blood, I will love you.
I will wipe tears from your eyes, when you are sad.
I will put your aching heart to rest.

My heart aches for the suffering your Ancestors endured. My heart rejoices for the way your people survived with nobility and courage.

It is people like you who make me proud to know the first peoples of this land are such a wonderful part of our history and our future.

May Great Spirit bless each and every one of you.

The Trail of Tears riders have completed their symbolic task.

From the Cherokee Phoenix:

"The bicyclists who rode nearly 1,000 miles through six states learned leadership, teamwork and Cherokee history, but they also shared some of their ancestors� pain. Although the pain was physical, the challenges were mental, said most of the bicyclists who endured the third �Remember the Removal� ride. The ride retraced the northern route of the Trail of Tears."