Cherokee youth bike riders on the "Remember the Removal Ride" will arrive at Pea Ridge National Military Park on June 20 as they travel through the park retracing the Trail of Tears route.
Remember the Removal is an annual bicycle ride across seven states, covering approximately 950 miles, that commemorates the forced removal of the Cherokee from their homeland during the winter of 1838-39. This commemorative ride began June 4 in New Echota, Ga., and will end June 22 in Tahlequah, Okla.
Park visitors are encouraged to welcome the Cherokee youth following the path of their ancestors and participate in a guided walk of the park's Trail of Tears sites, including Elkhorn Tavern, Ruddick's Field, and historic roads.
Activities begin at noon with a cannon firing demonstration at the Visitor Center followed by a walking tour with the Cherokee Youth Bike Riders that begins at the Elkhorn Tavern at 1 p.m.
The tour will last approximately two hours and allows visitors to:
• Walk in the footsteps of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears
• Witness the power of place through the riders' encounter with the trail
• Discover the landscape of the late 1830s and how the park is preserving it
• See inside the tavern and learn its function at the time of Indian Removal
• Find out how historic documents shed light on the Trail of Tears experience
• Learn from archaeologists about discoveries in the park.
For more details on the ride, visit: www.cherokee.org/remembertheremoval.
To learn more about the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, visit www.nps.gov/trte.
Pea Ridge National Military Park preserves and commemorates the March 1862 Civil War battle that helped Union forces maintain physical and political control of the state of Missouri. Administered by the National Park Service, the 4,300-acre battlefield is located six miles east of Pea Ridge, just off of U.S. Highway 62.
The event is sponsored by the National Park Service, National Park Foundation, and the Trail of Tears Association.
Community on 06/14/2017