Bike ride participants leave for Cherokee
The 12 Cherokee Nation Remember the Removal Bike Ride participants left for Cherokee, on May 26 following a send-off ceremony at the Cherokee Nation W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex.
Cherokee Nation leaders along with friends and family, and co-workers of the cyclists gathered to wish the 2026 team success on the nearly three-week ride.
The riders joined six cyclists from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to train before the ride officially began on June 1.
“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 Remember the Removal Bike Ride spans approximately 950 miles along the northern route of Trail of Tears, beginning in New Echota, Georgia, the former capital of the Cherokee Nation, and ending on June 19 in Tahlequah. Each year the ride spans from Georgia to Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner praised the cyclists for their months of training leading up to the ride. The team rode nearly 1500 training miles at various elevations for the last 25 weeks.
“We will pray for our ambassadors to have a safe journey and the wisdom to take in what happened at these historic and infamous sites to the Cherokee people,” said Deputy Chief Warner. “This ride is the sum of many hours from various departments and volunteers across the Cherokee Nation. Everyone involved and Cherokees across the globe are eagerly awaiting their return.”
The cyclists will complete an average 60 miles per day, along the routes traveled by their Cherokee ancestors, who made the same trek by foot over 180 years ago.
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.; and Savanah Slayton, 22, of Oklahoma City, Okla.
Cherokee Nation Secretary of Natural Resources Christina Justice joins the ride as one of the few members of the Cherokee Nation Cabinet to participate in the 950-mile journey.
“It’s been a six-month endeavor getting ready for this trip, the experience has been incredible to put hundreds of miles on the road with my team,” said Secretary Justice. “We are getting only a fraction of what our ancestors went through on this journey. We have the resources and team on our side, but we will always have this uniquely Cherokee experience.”
Jaycee Gideon, of Stilwell, reflects on the training regimen before the send-off ceremony. She completed 25 weeks of training in preparation for the ride.
“We rode all around Cherokee County and some of Muskogee County, even if it rains, we’re in the gym training by putting those miles on,” said Gideon. “The hard part isn’t the physical training but the emotions and the experience of visiting where our ancestors are buried.”
Before leaving, the cyclists had their family trees mapped out by a professional genealogist, providing them insight into their ancestral past as well as connecting any family links they might share with one another. The cyclists also took language lessons to deepen their cultural immersion.
Adrian Gaches, of Stilwell, learned from the professional genealogist that most of the team are related to each other.
“We found out that a lot of us are cousins, I was so surprised to find that out and now we have a deeper connection to one another,” said Gaches. “I’m personally looking forward to visiting Blythe’s Ferry. We know that was the edge of our historic land and it must’ve felt like leaving the edge of the world for everyone who had to cross.”
During the bike ride, cyclists will visit several Cherokee gravesites and historic landmarks. Among the sites is Blythe Ferry in Tennessee on the westernmost edge of the old Cherokee Nation, as well as Mantle Rock in Kentucky, where Cherokees spent several weeks during the harsh winter of 1838-1839 waiting for the Ohio River to thaw and become passable.
Of the estimated 16,000 Cherokees forced to march to Indian Territory in the late 1830s, about 4,000 died due to exposure, starvation and disease, giving credence to the name Trail of Tears.
For more information on the Remember the Removal Bike Ride or to follow along during the journey, visit Facebook.com/removal.ride.
About Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation is the federally-recognized government of the Cherokee people and has inherent sovereign status recognized by treaty and law. The seat of tribal government is the W.W. Keeler Complex near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. With more than 470,000 citizens, 14,500 employees and a variety of tribal enterprises ranging from aerospace and defense contracts to entertainment venues, Cherokee Nation is one of the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma and is the largest tribal nation in the United States.
To learn more, please visit www.cherokee.org.