In this affirming collaboration, debut author Chavez, a Cherokee Nation and San Felipe Pueblo citizen, joins Cherokee Nation citizen Sorell (Powwow Day) to chronicle the 2021 Remember the Removal bike ride, during which four Indigenous teenagers commemorate the history of the Trail of Tears. Concise opening passages introduce the participants and briefly contextualize the founding of the ride in 1984 by Cherokee Nation educators to combat increasing school dropout rates. Subsequent chapters recall the group’s six-month-long training regime and highlights the importance of the 2021 ride following the cancelation of the 2020 event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the first ride skipped since it became an annual tradition in 2009. Planned stops along the 950-mile route from Georgia to Oklahoma trace the removal path, emphasizing the organization’s mission to reinforce lessons about Cherokee history. A standout section details the group’s visit to Port Royal State Park, where a park manager shares stories about the removal, shows the riders a preserved portion of the trail, and offers blessed tobacco for them to pray. Ample full-color photographs, maps, and diagrams spotlight the teens and the sites they visited along their journey, amplifying the historical resonance of this sobering look into tragedy and memory. Concludes with a timeline, bibliography, and more.
—Publishers Weekly
Sibert Medal honoree Sorell and award-winning photographer Chavez, both citizens of the Cherokee Nation, combine talents in this narrative nonfiction account of the Cherokee Nation’s 2021 Remember the Removal (RTR) ride. They begin with background information on the annual 950-mile bike ride—from New Echota, Georgia, where the Trail of Tears began, to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation capital—and how its young riders (mostly high-school and college-age) used the event to honor their ancestors. A chapter devoted to the events that led to the forced removal of Cherokee peoples in 1838 and 1839 provides more context for the RTR ride. When discussing this history, the text acknowledges that some Cherokees enslaved Africans. The rest of the book becomes an extended photo essay as Sorell describes the riders’ extensive training, the ride itself, and the range of emotions as riders visit places their ancestors lived and suffered while Chavez’s photos document these moments. The effect leaves readers with a modern look at the continuing impact of history.
—Booklist
Gr 5 Up–Between 1838 to 1839, Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their homeland in Georgia and sent to what would be called Oklahoma in the event known as the Trail of Tears. Starting in 1984, Cherokee youth have biked the route, learning about their language, culture, and history along the way. Becoming an annual event in 2009, the Remember the Removal Ride (RTR) is documented by Cherokee Nation coauthors Sorell and Chavez, the latter of whom is the veteran program coordinator. They follow the 2021 group of riders, weaving the history of the Trail of Tears in with the 950-mile bike journey. Readers learn how participants train for the grueling ride, details of their route, what they experience along the way, the history of the Indian Removal Act, and the journey of the Cherokee ancestors. Full of color photographs, maps, and other images as well as chapter titles in both Cherokee and English, the book will introduce readers not only to the history of the removal, but also to this unique opportunity for Cherokee youth and adult mentors. Back matter includes timelines, source notes, bibliography, resources, and authors’ notes.VERDICT By connecting the records of the Trail with the current experiences of young people who participate in the RTR ride, this title will draw readers interested in history, Indigenous studies, and sports.
—School Library Journal
