Remember the Removal Riders representing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) on this year’s ride are shown, left to right, Mary Caley, Nathaniel Cummings-Lambert, TW Saunooke, Jamy Queen, Daryl Martin, and Freida Saylor. They are shown prior to a send-off event held at Kituwah on the evening of Friday, May 30. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
KITUWAH – The 2025 Remember the Removal (RTR) riders received a send-off from Kituwah, the Mother Town of the Cherokee, on the evening of Friday, May 30. Riders will embark on the journey from New Echota, Ga., former capital of the Cherokee Nation, on Monday, June 2 and will arrive in Tahlequah, Okla. on Saturday, June 21.
The ride is a 950-mile cycling event which retraces the northern route of the Trail of Tears through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. A total of 18 riders, representing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and the Cherokee Nation, will go on this year’s ride.
“The riders chose to do this ride because they feel something within themselves,” said Nelson Lambert, EBCI RTR coordinator and a 2023 RTR alumni. “They’re connected to something deeper, and they want to honor their ancestors by doing this.”
He added, “The family of these riders are making a sacrifice as well. This journey is over two weeks long and they’re missing time out with their loved ones. A lot of the EBCI riders are mothers and fathers and we even have some grandfathers on our team. So, it’s a sacrifice for them, too.”
The riders representing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on this year’s ride include: Daryl Martin, Freida Saylor, Mary Caley, Nathaniel Cummings-Lambert, TW Saunooke, and Jamy Queen.
The 2025 Remember the Removal Riders, representing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Nation (Okla.), are shown, along with RTR Alumni, at Kituwah just prior to the start of a send-off event on the evening of Friday, May 30.
They are joining 12 riders from the Cherokee Nation including: AP Anderson, Kalina Campos, Stephanie Conduff, Kacey Fishinghawk, Adriauna Garcia, Baylee Gregg, Jeremy Hamilton, Kiyah Holmes, Baleigh James-Levy, Jenny Kliest, Lexi Melton, and Mackenzie Teehee.
Jake Stephens, EBCI RTR coordinator and a 2015 RTR alumni, commented, “Bringing us together to unite the Western side and our Eastern side brothers and sisters helps us carry on this bond and the traditions of our family, our ancestors, and the Kituwah way – treating each other correctly, treating each other right, and being respectful to one another.
Kituwah has come back to us, not just as a piece of land, but as a place in our hearts for us to grow, to do the right things in the world. There are so many things going on crazy in the world. It’s wonderful for us to get back together, be part of our roots, and get back to that Kituwah way of being right with one another and being right with ourselves in our own ways.”
EBCI Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks, said, “As you think about this place and the importance of it, it really just grabs your heart in regards to our Cherokee history…it makes me proud for us to come together and truly be unified and have common goals around health and common goals around education and success and entrepreneurship. These are the things that have really given us the resources to do what we do with our language and our health system and all these things that maintain us as a sovereign nation.”
Shawna Baker, a 2024 RTR alumni and former Chief Justice of the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, gave the riders three words to remember – seventeen, strawberry, and statesmanship.
“Seventeen is a significant number for you. You are the seventeenth group of cyclists to follow in your ancestors’ sacred footsteps. We had seventeen detachments walk the Trail.”
Baker went on to say, “The strawberry in Cherokee culture, as we all know, represents for us a story – a story about love, a story about forgiveness, a story about reconciliation.”
On statesmanship, she noted, “As you put on your jersey each and every morning, as you meet with people throughout towns and communities along the way, you’re going to shake hands, you’re going to lock eyes, and you are going to be statesmen, stateswomen, statespersons for your community, for the Cherokee Nation. You are the leaders of our community. You are leaders today and you’re going to be leaders tomorrow.”
Angelina Jumper, an EBCI tribal member and 2024 RTR alumni, commented, “Before we ever put tires on the trail, we spent five months training right here in our homelands. Day after day, riding through the same lands where our ancestors once lived freely – land filled with their songs, their footsteps, and their memories. I felt something shift in me. That time wasn’t just a preparation for a physical journey ahead. But, it became a spiritual awakening. The land spoke and I listened, and it reminded me of who I am and where I come from.
Riding from town to town made me realize that this ride isn’t about how far we go, but it’s about how deeply that we remember. In remembering I found pride, not just in our survival, but in our resistance. I was proud to say that I come from ancestors who refused to go quietly, who fought removal in every breath they had in courts, in councils, and on the ground.”
She went on to say, “To this years’ riders, you are continuing the legacy of our strong ancestors. Every mile you ride you reclaim what was stolen. You restore stories that our history tried to erase. You carry the spirit of those that walked that trail and the strength of those who stood their ground. There will be hard days ahead and the trail will test you in every way possible – emotionally, spiritually, and physically – but I promise this journey will give you more than it takes. It will teach you a deeper meaning in who you are.”
Noah Hicks, an EBCI tribal member and 2024 RTR alumni, said, “Every person here – your family, your friends, but most importantly your ancestors – are proud of you and they’re going to be with you every step of the way.
It’s going to get emotional. It’s going to be hard physically. Be each other’s strength. Lean on each other. Be there for each other because at the end of the day you’re all one team.”
