A motorcycle run to honor Native American Veterans kicked off Saturday morning from a New Falls Road church in Levittown and culminated in Skippack, Montgomery County.
When the organizers of the event woke up on Saturday morning, the weather outlook wasn’t very promising. It looked as though it would rain throughout the first portion of the day. Despite the rain, the people from Arrows for American Indians, the organizing body, gathered at the kick off point and waited for other riders.
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“Even if we got rained out today, we’ve been doing a lot of education and work to raise awareness,” said Cathy Leary, a board member for the organization.
“We’re just here to raise awareness of Native Americans’ culture and history,” said a rider who goes by “Lizard Man,” the president of the run.
The organization held a similar run last year, which went to the Carlisle Indian School, where Native American children were forced to assimilate. According to organizing members of the bike run, the kids would be beaten for speaking their own language and be forced to cut their hair.
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From the United Christian Church on New Falls Road, the group rode to Bikes Built Better in Horsham, where they planned on gaining additional riders. From Horsham, the car and bike caravan rode to Skippack to honor Patrick “Littlewolf” Brooks, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bart Cartwright, a member of the Delaware Nation Lenape tribe, was present to see the riders off and bless the ride with a traditional sage smudge.
“It clears your mind, taking away the bad spirits and bringing in the good,” Cartwright said.
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The ride took about six months to plan, according to the organizers. Fewer people than expected showed up to the initial kick off due to the rain. Organizers were undeterred, however.
“It’s going to be a success because we have already raised awareness about the Carlisle Indian School,” Leary explained.
The weather was anticipated to get more favorable along the route and as the day progressed.
Credit: Erich Martin/Levittownnow.com
