The first leg is underway for the Cherokee Nation's annual Remember the Removal Bike Ride.

Twelve cyclists left Tahlequah and are headed for South Carolina. The cyclists meet riders from the Eastern Band there.

They will then make the 950-mile ride back, from Georgia to Oklahoma, retracing the Trail of Tears through seven states.

This year marks 168 years since the tribe's forced relocation to what would become Oklahoma. | CLICK HERE for more.