CHEROKEE, N.C. — 12 members of the Cherokee Nation are getting ready to begin a 950-mile bike ride across the Trail of Tears.
Starting on June 1, the cyclists will leave Cherokee, North Carolina, and will travel to Tahlequah. The annual event takes about three weeks to complete.
Six cyclists from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will join the members of the Cherokee Nation.
“This ride represents so much of who we are, these individuals are a physical representation of the harm from a period in the United States in which Federal Indian Policy and those who enacted it decided we were meant to be a footnote in history,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Hoskin. “The Cherokee people fought in the courts of the United States and won, our ancestors resisted and that built something in our national character. This next generation of Cherokees are the most capable and we are proud to see them off on this journey.”
The participants have been training for 25 weeks, riding nearly 1,500 training miles at different elevations to prepare for the event.
The cyclists will average about 60 miles a day.
The 2026 Remember the Removal cyclists include:
- Adrian Gaches, 20, of Stilwell, Okla.
- Adrienne Keene, 40, of Tulsa, Okla.
- Ashley Adair, 24, of Wagoner, Okla.
- Christina Justice, 50, of Tahlequah, Okla.
- Colton Brinsfield, 23, of Checotah, Okla.
- Dugan Gibson, 21, of Talala, Okla.
- Ella Mounce, 22, of Stilwell, Okla.
- Jaden Carrol, 24, of Tahlequah, Okla.
- Jaycee Gideon, 20, of Stilwell, Okla.
- Kristen Mankiller, 43, of Tahlequah, Okla.
- Taylor Pearce, 23, of Leach, Okla.
- Savanah Slayton, 22, of Oklahoma City, Okla.
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