Last Thursday afternoon, Kacey Fishinghawk pedaled her Trek Domane road bike into Stilwell, Okla. The 23-year-old Fishinghawk, a member of the Cherokee Nation, was part of Remember the Removal, an annual bike ride that traces the nearly 950-mile-long northern route of the Trail of Tears.

The ride is a tribute to the estimated 16,000 Cherokees who were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory in 1838-1839. About 4,000 died along the way.

"It's not an easy journey," said Fishinghawk, who is from Tahlequah, Okla. "But it has put things into perspective for me and really opened my eyes."

The ride began in New Echota, Ga., and went through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois,........

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