Bike ride to mark forced Cherokee removals of 1830s

CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) – The descendants of Cherokee Indians forced from their ancestral homes in North Carolina and Georgia will mark the historic tragedy of nearly 180 years ago with a cross-country bicycle ride.

WLOS reports that a handful of Cherokee men and women were training Saturday in Swain County for next month’s remembrance ride. They will meet ten cyclists from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma to retrace the 1,000-mile journey west that their ancestors were forced to march.

North Carolina cyclist Marisa Cabe says she thinks it’s important for Cherokee to remember that they are connected no matter where they live.

The ride starting in northern Georgia marks the Trail of Tears, when thousands of Cherokee died because the U.S. government forced them off their land to Indian Territory of Oklahoma.