'PEACE AND DIGNITY' RUNS THROUGH AREA

Rachel Whitaker and her five companions were greeted by as many as 35 to 40 area residents when they entered Trails of Tears State Park over the weekend.

Whitaker, her four companions and an 8-year-old miniature Doberman named Bo, are running in the Peace and Dignity Journey 2000 -- an event designed to encourage healing and sovereignty among Native Americans.

"We started our march in Cherokee, N.C.," on July 19, she said. "From here, we go to Tahlequah, Okla., before continuing into Vera Cruz, Mexico, sometime in October.

The Peace and Dignity run is a three-month, relay event covering thousands of miles.

Whitaker's group -- known as the Yellow Arrow team -- takes turns on the road, and in the van.

Three groups are making Peace and Dignity Journey runs. The Blue Arrow group started in Canada, and the Red Arrow group started in Alaska. All will eventually meet in Vera Cruz in October.

The run is a "spiritual run, to heal our nations and to heal ourselves," Whitaker said. "The run speaks to many issues -- environmental concerns, sovereignty, world peace and family welfare."

This is the third running of the Peace and Dignity Journey. The first event was in 1992 and has been run every four years since.

Whitaker of Arizona and her group are fifth-generation relatives of Jesse Bushyhead of the Cherokee Nation. Bushyhead, a pastor, was the brother of Princess Otahki and is said to have helped erect a wood marker on Otahki's grave, north of Cape Girardeau. A permanent marker has since been installed.

Included in the Whitaker group are: Rachel Whitaker, 59; Dwayne Whitaker, 65; Patricia Whitaker, 59; Bill Rutledge, 60; Natasha Cobos, 11; and Bo.

The group, which arrived at Trails of Tears Park Sunday, spent Monday night at the home of Tom and April Rhodes in Jackson, Mo.

A group of about 30 met in the front yard of the Rhodes home for a prayer circle Tuesday morning, before the group left Jackson, en route to its first stop of the day, at Bollinger Mill State Park.

We changed our plans at the last minute," said Rachel Whitaker, "We originally planned to go into Arkansas but decided to go straight to Springfield, Mo., before continuing into Oklahoma."

"We've been joined along the route by local runners," said Whitaker. "We entered Hopkinsville, Ky., with as many 30 people in our group, and, we had four additional people in the group when we crossed the Mississippi from Illinois to Missouri."

The first night in Missouri was spent at Trail of Tears State Park.

The contingent that met the group here arranged for a campsite near the river.

"We had a big cookout, of hamburgers and hot dogs," said Whitaker.

The group also presented the runners with wild turkey feathers for their "family staff." The group has received various feathers along the route.

Along the way, runners are housed and fed by local people.

Despite fund-raising efforts, organizers say the hospitality of residents along the way is critical to the success of the run.

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