The Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana gathered outside their tribal complex Sunday, the smell of burnt sage tinting the brisk morning air as members prepared for their annual march to the Wabash River, memorializing the 500 members of their nation who were loaded onto canal boats and removed from Indiana.

The morning began with the smudging of each member, a ceremonial practice that Tribal Secretary Sarah Siders said cleanses them in preparation for the ceremonies. During the smudging ceremony, sage is burnt inside a clam shell and fanned towards participants using a feather, while silent prayers are said.

Members of the Miami Nation Drum Group carried the drum from their tribal complex at the former Peru High School building on Miami Street to the Wabash River during their annual Removal March, beating the drum intermittently as they walked.

After each participant was smudged, they began marching toward the Wabash River, led by a group of men carrying their tribal drum and flags. Once at the river, the group performed songs on the drum, said prayers, and took part in ceremonies to remember the members of their nation.

The women’s council walked on the South Broadway bridge to lay flowers over the Wabash River. They leaned over the bridge’s railing, clasping carnations and other flowers as they remembered their ancestors who were forced to leave their land. One by one, the women dropped the flowers and watched as they fell into the river and were carried away with the current, just as the Indiana Miami were in 1830.