The Trail of Death: A Pilgrimage of Remembrance, Lament, and Transformation HTE564
This 10-day pilgrimage traces the route of the 1838 forced removal by the U.S. military of about 850 Potawatomi people from their ancestral homeland in northern Indiana to present-day Osawatomie, Kansas. Participants will remember this expulsion with their bodies by walking several miles of the route each day, recognizing markers of the Trail of Death with prayer and song, and by camping each night. Along the way, they will read journals and letters from the time of the removal and will meet with Potawatomi descendants of those who walked the Trail of Death to hear their stories and perspectives. Participants will explore the theologies and priorities that contributed to White settler colonialism and will seek what new paths God opens for repair today as they walk in remembrance and lament. The pilgrimage begins with two days of orientation on the AMBS campus.
The dates for the 2026 course are May 11–21.