Cherokee Couple traveling Trail of Tears in covered wagon
By Kat Russell, Photojournalist
Kentucky New Era
August 1, 2014
http://www.kentuckynewera.com/news/article_43001076-1932-11e4-ac1f-0019bb2963f4.html
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
Fifteen years ago, Noqahelisi had a vision during a period of fasting and prayer. She was told she was going to make a long journey on horseback.
“I was told I was to do it with a horse and I was to follow in the steps of my grandmothers,” she said.
It took her a while, she said, to understand the meaning of what she had seen.
“It took me a year to figure out that — wait a minute — I had grandmothers on the Trail of Tears,” she said.
After the vision, Noqahelisi talked with her son, John Bunce, and together they started planning. But they were never able to make that journey together.
In September of 2012, her son was killed in an accidental shooting. He was 26 years old.
Now, nearly two years after her son’s death, Noqahelisi and her husband Gene Glasscock — who are both of Cherokee descent — are making the trip she and her son planned, and they are doing it in a mule-drawn covered wagon.
The two, along with their dog Belle, left from Flat Top Mountain, North Carolina, on April 28 and on Thursday morning their wagon, pulled by their mules Kitty and Kate, rolled into the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park in Hopkinsville.
The couple, who call each other “Mama” and “Papa,” will stay in the park until Monday, when they will head toward Princeton.
“I was told I was to do it with a horse and I was to follow in the steps of my grandmothers,” she said.
It took her a while, she said, to understand the meaning of what she had seen.
“It took me a year to figure out that — wait a minute — I had grandmothers on the Trail of Tears,” she said.
After the vision, Noqahelisi talked with her son, John Bunce, and together they started planning. But they were never able to make that journey together.
In September of 2012, her son was killed in an accidental shooting. He was 26 years old.
Now, nearly two years after her son’s death, Noqahelisi and her husband Gene Glasscock — who are both of Cherokee descent — are making the trip she and her son planned, and they are doing it in a mule-drawn covered wagon.
The two, along with their dog Belle, left from Flat Top Mountain, North Carolina, on April 28 and on Thursday morning their wagon, pulled by their mules Kitty and Kate, rolled into the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park in Hopkinsville.
The couple, who call each other “Mama” and “Papa,” will stay in the park until Monday, when they will head toward Princeton.
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
For Gene, these long distance journeys are nothing new. He’s been traveling on horseback since the 1980s.
He spent 2 years in the ’80s riding his horse from the Arctic Circle in Canada to the equator in Ecuador. Gene said when he arrived in Ecuador he was greeted by the country’s president and Gene gave him a horse.
At first, he said, the journey was about seeing the country and the wildlife, but after meeting people along the way and seeing their struggles, his purpose changed.
“I found out that the real interest was the people, and as a result of seeing the needs of the people, it turned me to missions. You look at all the needs and you think ‘What can I do to help?’”
Gene ended up doing missionary work in Paraguay for three years, teaching English and the Bible. His time there gave him an idea for his next big ride.
Upon returning to the United States in 2002, Gene set out again, this time riding to the state capitals of each of the 48 states in the continental U.S. This ride took him three years.
“It was a fundraiser to raise money to bring young people from Paraguay to the United States so they could go to college at Pensacola Christian (College) and then go back and help their people,” he said.
In 2010, Gene set out again, this time driving his covered wagon from coast to coast. He started near San Diego, California, and ended at Jekyll Island, Georgia.
“Papa has the distinction of having ridden more miles on horseback than any human on the earth today,” Noqahelisi said of her husband. “He’s documented over 30,000 miles on horseback ... So he’s had quite a distinctive career and he’s a very distinctive person.”
He spent 2 years in the ’80s riding his horse from the Arctic Circle in Canada to the equator in Ecuador. Gene said when he arrived in Ecuador he was greeted by the country’s president and Gene gave him a horse.
At first, he said, the journey was about seeing the country and the wildlife, but after meeting people along the way and seeing their struggles, his purpose changed.
“I found out that the real interest was the people, and as a result of seeing the needs of the people, it turned me to missions. You look at all the needs and you think ‘What can I do to help?’”
Gene ended up doing missionary work in Paraguay for three years, teaching English and the Bible. His time there gave him an idea for his next big ride.
Upon returning to the United States in 2002, Gene set out again, this time riding to the state capitals of each of the 48 states in the continental U.S. This ride took him three years.
“It was a fundraiser to raise money to bring young people from Paraguay to the United States so they could go to college at Pensacola Christian (College) and then go back and help their people,” he said.
In 2010, Gene set out again, this time driving his covered wagon from coast to coast. He started near San Diego, California, and ended at Jekyll Island, Georgia.
“Papa has the distinction of having ridden more miles on horseback than any human on the earth today,” Noqahelisi said of her husband. “He’s documented over 30,000 miles on horseback ... So he’s had quite a distinctive career and he’s a very distinctive person.”
Kat Russell / Kentucky New Era
This time, Gene and his wife are riding in memory of John, whose ashes are making the journey with them.
The couple met shortly after John died and were married a year later.
“It was the creator — the Lord — that brought us together,” Noqahelisi said. “It happened so organically and as we got to know each other, I knew that this was a relationship I could commit to.”
All the while, she said, the memory of the journey she and her son had planned called to her.
“I was in such a place of deep, deep grief, after my son died,” Noqahelisi said. “All I could think of was doing the Trail of Tears. All that kept coming to my mind was to do the journey that Johnny and I had planned on doing.”
Now, approximately 350 miles into their nearly 900-mile expedition, the couple averages about 15 miles of travel each day, always being careful to ensure the wellbeing of their mules. And along the way, they said, they have met the most generous people who come out to talk with them about their trip and often bring them fresh food or produce from their gardens.
The trip, Noqahelisi said, has been one of healing for her after the darkness she suffered following her son’s death.
“This journey, we have had such an outpouring of goodwill and generosity and kindness that it’s healing for me because I now know that there are wonderful people out there — there’s good people,” she said. “And that’s what I’m learning. I have learned that it is possible to stand in such a terrific darkness — the darkest times in our lives — and if we open our hearts and not become attached to the darkness … if we open our hearts, God’s love can flow through that darkness and into our hearts and that right there is what will sustain us.”
The couple said they hope to make it to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where the Trail of Tears ends, by October 11 — Gene’s birthday. He will be turning 80 and he wants to celebrate his birthday in the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
QuickInfo
The Trail of Tears refers to the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans in the 1830s as part of Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. Thousands camped in Hopkinsville in the winter of 1838.
Native American nations from the southeastern part of the United States, including an estimated 17,000 Cherokees, were forced to give up their lands and walk thousands of miles to a specially designated Indian territory across the Mississippi in present-day Oklahoma.
Thousands of Native Americans, including approximately 4,000 Cherokees, died from hunger, disease and exposure during the journey.
The couple met shortly after John died and were married a year later.
“It was the creator — the Lord — that brought us together,” Noqahelisi said. “It happened so organically and as we got to know each other, I knew that this was a relationship I could commit to.”
All the while, she said, the memory of the journey she and her son had planned called to her.
“I was in such a place of deep, deep grief, after my son died,” Noqahelisi said. “All I could think of was doing the Trail of Tears. All that kept coming to my mind was to do the journey that Johnny and I had planned on doing.”
Now, approximately 350 miles into their nearly 900-mile expedition, the couple averages about 15 miles of travel each day, always being careful to ensure the wellbeing of their mules. And along the way, they said, they have met the most generous people who come out to talk with them about their trip and often bring them fresh food or produce from their gardens.
The trip, Noqahelisi said, has been one of healing for her after the darkness she suffered following her son’s death.
“This journey, we have had such an outpouring of goodwill and generosity and kindness that it’s healing for me because I now know that there are wonderful people out there — there’s good people,” she said. “And that’s what I’m learning. I have learned that it is possible to stand in such a terrific darkness — the darkest times in our lives — and if we open our hearts and not become attached to the darkness … if we open our hearts, God’s love can flow through that darkness and into our hearts and that right there is what will sustain us.”
The couple said they hope to make it to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where the Trail of Tears ends, by October 11 — Gene’s birthday. He will be turning 80 and he wants to celebrate his birthday in the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
QuickInfo
The Trail of Tears refers to the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans in the 1830s as part of Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. Thousands camped in Hopkinsville in the winter of 1838.
Native American nations from the southeastern part of the United States, including an estimated 17,000 Cherokees, were forced to give up their lands and walk thousands of miles to a specially designated Indian territory across the Mississippi in present-day Oklahoma.
Thousands of Native Americans, including approximately 4,000 Cherokees, died from hunger, disease and exposure during the journey.
