The ride's meaning

To the editor:

If you are going to ride to honor and or remember the American Indians who sacrificed their lives and land, then why would you not want to end the ride in Alabama, where they were placed on boats and shipped to Oklahoma? In Waterloo, thousands of Indians also lost their lives.

Whatever the issue, personal or political, the ride is not about us, it is about remembering those who lost their lives and land. The only right thing to do for those Indians would be to ride the original Trail of Tears.

If merchandising is a problem, with original Trail of Tears items that should and can be policed by the mayors of each city the ride visits, and if its not, shame on that mayor. The money from the sale of original Trail of Tears merchandise goes to scholarships for American Indians.

The Trail of Tears board needs to reconsider.

Vanessa Keenum

Muscle Shoals