Story By Katie Hightower
This weekend, the city of Bridgeport will welcome the 32nd annual Trail of Tears memorial bike riders. Since 1993, each year on the third Saturday of September, thousands of bikers roared across northern Alabama to pay tribute to the millions of Native Americans who were forced from homes due to the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Thousands of Native Americans died on the long journey towards the West. In addition to the thousands of lives lost, a great portion of Native American culture was lost as well for those who chose to stay and hid their heritage. The memorial bike ride will not only honor the Native Americans who died, it will celebrate those who survived and tirelessly worked to preserve the history of the Native American people…