Trail of Tears Bike Team due at Choctaw headquarters May 22

DURANT, Okla. — The Trail of Tears is being remembered in a unique and personal way. Choctaws and friends of the Choctaw Nation are bicycling 400 miles over some of the original paths walked by Choctaws in the early 1830s.

The 2026 Choctaw Trail of Tears Bike Team is honoring Choctaw ancestors who were forced to leave their homelands in Mississippi and Alabama to what was then Indian Territory – now Oklahoma. Thousands of people died under the difficulty of the journey that began in 1831. The 2026 Choctaw Bike Team will travel for seven days, from Columbus, Miss. across four states to reach Durant. The public is invited to welcome the bike riders and their support team home as they finish their journey to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Headquarters.

The bike team expects to arrive on Friday, May 22 between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. in front of Choctaw headquarters, 1802 Chukka Hina, Durant.

The public and media are invited to welcome home the 18-member 2026 Choctaw Trail of Tears Bike Team. This year’s riders include three men and eight women, ages 20 to 80.

For updates from the trail by the 2026 Trail of Tears Bike Team, visit their Facebook page.