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Trail of Tears
From 1830 to 1850, 100,000 Native Americans were forced from the ancestral homes and west across the Mississippi River. Many between these years were beaten brutally and sometimes beaten until death. An estimated 3,500 Creeks died in Alabama. -
Indian Removal Act of 1830
Authorized voluntary relocation of Native Americans to the west of the Mississippi River. Few tribes peacefully left their homes, while others resisted and were forced to move. -
Choctaws sign treaty to move to "Arkansas"
In September of 1830, the tribe of the Choctaws became the first tribe to sign the treaty for them to voluntarily move to what would become the state of Arkansas. -
Andrew's offer
In 1835, Andrew Jackson appointed a treaty commissioner to offer up 4.5 million dollars to the Cherokee tribe to move. In October, the offer was rejected by the Cherokee nation. -
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Second Seminole War
After refusing to leave their Florida ancestral lands, the Seminoles sparked a second war lead by Chief Osceola. The US Army became victorious in December of 1845 meaning the tribe would be forced out of Florida. -
the Treaty of New Echota
The Treaty of New Echota was agreed to by about 500 of the thousands of Cherokees, meaning the Cherokee nation would cede its lands in exchange for new land in "Indian Territory" and $5,700,00. Though the treaty was not signed by a single elected tribal official, Congress ratified the treaty on May 23, 1836. -
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The Fraudulent Document
Chief Ross and Cherokee National Council members repeated that the document was fraud and petitioned the document with over 15,000 Cherokee signatures to congress. On April 23, 1838, Raplh Waldo Emerson urged President Martin Van Buren to not inflict "a vast outrage upon the Cherokee nation." But it was not listened to. -
Cherokee's forced travels
Chief John Ross, of the Cherokee tribe, believed they wouldn't be forced to move, but federal troops soon began to roundup the Cherokees at gunpoint into stockades. Due to limited ways of navigation, the Cherokees delay was granted for them to wait until the fall to continue travel. -
Chief John Ross' defeat
Accepting defeat, about 1600 people followed Chief John Ross in hazardous weather on overland trails. -
The Last of them
Up until March of 1839, Native American tribes arrived in various states across the Mississippi River due to the Indian Removal Act. -
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Lost
Before 1907, the Native Americans were promised their land to be unmolested forever, but as white settlement continued, "Indian Country" shrank. By 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Indian territory became lost. -
Historical Trail of Tears
Commemorating 17 Cherokee trails and almost 2,200 miles of land & water routes, U.S Congress designated the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Where it streches across Alabama, Arkansa, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. -
Rightfully said
In 2020, the decision of the Supreme Court highlighted Native American territorial rights. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled a large part of Oklahoma should still be considered an American Indian reservation. This decision left Oklahoma unable to prosecute Native Americans accused of crimes on American Indian reservations, only federal and tribal law enforcement can prosecute such crimes.
