I don’t know if you’ve seen them, “virtual walks”, where usually for a fee, you could “hike Yellowstone”, getting a “digital postcard” when you reach Old Faithful or the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. At the end, you’d get a medal. They have them for all over the world. All you do is add your steps for the day to a tracker.
The Choctaw Nation has offered a virtual walk along the Trail of Tears since 2020. Open to members of the Choctaw Nation, the trail winds from the Mother Mound in Mississippi to the Indian Nation of Oklahoma. 636 miles. That’s a looong walk, but with a team and steps added together… it becomes manageable. Soooooooo… Victoria and I signed up.
We have three months to complete it. That may be a challenge when the weather changes, but for now, we’re off on a journey!
There are over 1,000 teams honoring the ancestors that walked the Trail of Tears. Right now, we’re ranked 223rd. If you look at the map, our team is the lion icon to the left of the green rabbit.
Obviously, it doesn’t show all the teams.
Victoria and I have walked 50 miles so far. So long as we keep ahead of the little green pacer rabbit, we will be doing good.
The Mother Mound, “Nvnih Waiya”, can be found by Choctaw, Mississippi. It is said to be the birthplace of the Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations. Legend has it that two brothers, Chahta and Chikasa, lived in the far western country where the soil was poor. Looking for fertile soil, each evening they planted an upright pole. In the morning, the pole would be leaning in the direction they should travel. Finally, they reached a spot where the pole remained upright and they knew they had arrived home. The Choctaw then built an earth mound in that place.
I will share further “postcards” as we receive them. We have until the end of January to retrace the steps our ancestors traveled. Wish us luck!
Find me here!
