‘Remember the Removal’ cyclists depart Tahlequah

BY BRITTNEY BENNETT

Giduwa Cherokee News

“Remember the Removal” cyclists stop in front of their bike trailer before departing May 30 from Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The cyclists will meet with riders from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians before beginning the 950-mile ride from New Echota, Georgia, back to Tahlequah. BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Inaugural mentor cyclist and Cherokee Phoenix Assistant Editor Will Chavez shares a hug with friend Joseph Erb before departing May 30 from Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Chavez was a participant in the original 1984 “Remember the Removal” ride. BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cyclist Raven Girty, 20, of Gore, Oklahoma, hugs a family member on May 30 at the “Remember the Removal’ send-off at the Cherokee Nation’s One Fire Field. Cyclists were chosen based upon a number of areas, including a personal essay and the completion of a physical fitness exam. BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cyclist Gaya Pickup, 21, of Salina, Oklahoma, poses with her parents Chris and Kathy at the May 30 “Remember the Removal” send-off in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Family, friends and supporters joined Cherokee Nation officials on May 30 in an early morning send-off at the tribe’s One Fire Field for the 2017 “Remember the Removal” cyclists as they departed for North Carolina.The riders will meet cyclists from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for a 950-mile ride that begins June 4 in New Echota, Georgia, and concludes June 22 in Tahlequah.Principal Chief Bill John Baker called the “Remember the Removal” ride one of the tribe’s “greatest programs” and praised the riders for their dedication.“If it was only the will to take this ride, everybody would do it, but it takes more than will,” Baker said. “These young people have prepared to make this ride. They have worked extremely hard since the first of the year as a team working together, taking care of each other already.”The cyclists will follow the Trail of Tears’ northern route, which spans seven states and gives them the chance to visit historical sites their ancestors traveled through during the forced removal from their Southeastern homelands in 1838-39.Of the estimated 16,000 Cherokees who were forced to make the journey to Indian Territory, about 4,000 died due to exposure, starvation and disease.Among the sites are Blythe’s Ferry in Tennessee, the westernmost edge of the old CN, and Mantle Rock in Kentucky, where Cherokees huddled together for warmth under a hanging rock as the only source of shelter during the winter.“I’m really excited about Mantle Rock,” KenLea Henson, 23, said. “It’s really emotional. I’m really excited to take this journey and represent my ancestors and trace their steps.”She said the experience has been “intense but rewarding” and is grateful for the friends she has made in preparation for the journey.“We’re coming into this completely strangers to each other, and now as we get to this point, we’re a lot closer. But I know by the end of the journey we’re going to be even more closer because of what we’re going to experience,” she said.The cyclists began training in January, riding together every weekend in Cherokee County and parts of Arkansas to build their strength and endurance.Cyclist Brian Barlow, 22, admits there were moments of self-doubt, but he took his cues from his Cherokee ancestors to keep pushing through.“It’s the same with each practice,” he said. “It’s one pedal at a time, one hill at a time, one mile at a time, and I think that just makes me think of how our ancestors did it too, as one day at a time.”The hours spent riding have also given more meaning to the place Barlow calls home.“It’s not an accident by any means that we’re here in Tahlequah,” he said. “Lots of people here in Tahlequah are Cherokee and to be able to say, “‘you’re not here by accident. You’re here because your ancestors walked, and you are the product of that grit and that endurance and that perseverance.’ I think that’s pretty amazing.”Cherokee Phoenix Assistant Editor Will Chavez, 50, was selected to join the journey as the inaugural mentor rider. A participant of the original 1984 “Remember the Removal” ride, Chavez understands the lifelong bonds that can emerge between cyclists throughout the journey.“I have at least half a dozen people I went with in 1984 that I still talk to regularly,” he said. “One of the guys I rode with in my group showed up today. I consider him a brother. He’s a good guy and we’ve shared a lot of pain and endured a lot in that first ride, so we’ll always be bonded by that.”Chavez said he believes in the program because of its commitment to building strong Cherokee leaders of the future in a way that pays tribute to the Cherokees who had come before.“The ride means a lot of different things to me, but most importantly I always tell people and I always tell the other riders, we’re doing this to honor our ancestors and commemorate what they endured and the fact that they survived for us to be here today,” he said. “That’s the most important part to me.”Chavez will provide Facebook and Instagram updates for the Cherokee Phoenix while on the ride.Along with Henson, Barlow and Chavez, the other riders are Breanna Anderson, 21, of Sand Springs; Shelby Deal, 19, of Porum; Raven Girty, 20, of Gore; Gaya Pickup, 21, of Salina; Trey Pritchett, 19, of Stilwell; Hunter Scott, 16, of Bunch; Skylar Vann, 23, of Locust Grove; and Susie Worley-Means, 24, of Stilwell.