July 4 and the New Pilgrims
Photo credit of Will Chavez and Cherokee Phoenix
Last month I was delighted to discover an annual cycling pilgrimage along the Trail of Tears, a nearly 1,000-mile ride that begins in Cherokee, North Carolina and ends in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The “Remember the Removal Bike Ride” is part of a leadership program for Cherokee youth that also memorializes the Cherokee people who died and endured the forcible removal of Indigenous people in 1838 and 1839.
I find this deeply inspirational that the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are making sure that their young people don’t forget their history of the Trail of Tears as a pilgrimage route to build the leadership of tomorrow among the Cherokee people.
But it is also got me thinking. If the Cherokee people are committing to a “Remember the Removal” pilgrimage for their youth, shouldn’t those of us who are descendants of white Europeans also “remember the removal” and come to terms with our role in that?
I have tilted this blog post “July 4 and the New Pilgrims.” I am embarking on this project to build a pilgrimage culture in America taking advantage of the growth of adventure travel at the same time church space is going to become increasingly available. This seemed to me to be the perfect opportunity to repurpose churches as hostels for hikers, bikers and pilgrims?
While the idea has created great energy, there have been a few detractors. Some have expressed concern that building an infrastructure for pilgrims on land that was inhabited by Indigenous peoples only exacerbates the colonial damage of our past history. But, I don ’t think the answer is to do away with the idea of pilgrimage. The Remember the Removal Ride is proof that pilgrimages have the power to transform and heal.
The answer, I believe, is to do exactly what the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have done. That is, remember the removal, remember the history, remember our ancestors and how their lives have shaped us. But for white European descendants remembering will not come in the form of “what was done to us,” but in the form of “what we did to others.” Therefore, these will likely be pilgrimages of confession, reparation and reconciliation.
July Fourth has just passed where we celebrate the battle to become “independent” from England. But, in America, we have become increasingly convicted about the sins and destruction that we have caused in the name of independence. We secured land and a way of life, but we did it on the backs Indigenous and black people. It is not a “guilt free” freedom that we have.
On this land, we have over 175,000 miles of designated routes and trails—most of it on land formerly inhabited by Indigenous people.
Photo credit of Will Chavez and Cherokee Phoenix
If we continue to use those routes just for our recreation, then, yes, we are doing little to heal the wounds of the past and create a better future. But if we walk or bike that 1,000 miles across land that was once inhabited by Indigenous people with an intent to confess, repair and reconcile, such a pilgrimage shifts from pure recreation to the re-creation of our relationship with the land and its people.
We still need pilgrims, but now rather than claiming the land we are traveling on we need to restore our relationship with the land with every sacred step or pedal stroke.
The Cherokee people are leading the way and teaching us how it is done.
Now it is our turn to “Remember the Removal.”
It may not feel good, but it’s the right thing to do.
Brian Heron
Cultural innovator and Spiritual Pilgrim