# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The 'Indian Problem'

White Americans, particularly those who lived on the western frontier, often feared and resented the Native Americans they encountered: To them, American Indians seemed to be an unfamiliar, alien people who occupied land that white settlers wanted (and believed they deserved).

Some officials in the early years of the American republic, such as President George Washington, believed that the best way to solve this "Indian problem" was to simply "civilize" the Native Americans. The goal of this civilization campaign was to make Native Americans as much like white Americans as possible by encouraging them convert to Christianity, learn to speak and read English and adopt European-style economic practices such as the individual ownership of land and other property (including, in some instances in the South, enslaved persons).

In the southeastern United States, many Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek and Cherokee people embraced these customs and became known as the "Five Civilized Tribes."

Did you know? Indian removal took place in the Northern states as well. In Illinois and Wisconsin, for example, the bloody Black Hawk War in 1832 opened to white settlement millions of acres of land that had belonged to the Sauk, Fox and other native nations.

But the Native Americans' land, located in parts of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee, was valuable, and it grew to be more coveted as white settlers flooded the region. Many of these whites yearned to make their fortunes by growing cotton, and often resorted to violent means to take land from their Indigenous neighbors. They stole livestock; burned and looted houses and towns; committed mass murder; and squatted on land that did not belong to them.

Worcester v. Georgia

State governments joined in this effort to drive Native Americans out of the South. Several states passed laws limiting Native American sovereignty and rights and encroaching on their territory.

In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the U.S. Supreme Court objected to these practices and affirmed that native nations were sovereign nations "in which the laws of Georgia [and other states] can have no force."

Even so, the maltreatment continued. As President Andrew Jackson noted in 1832, if no one intended to enforce the Supreme Court's rulings (which he certainly did not), then the decisions would "[fall]...still born." Southern states were determined to take ownership of Indian lands and would go to great lengths to secure this territory.

Indian Removal Act

Andrew Jackson had long been an advocate of what he called "Indian removal." As an Army general, he had spent years leading brutal campaigns against the Creeks in Georgia and Alabama and the Seminoles in Florida-campaigns that resulted in the transfer of hundreds of thousands of acres of land from Indian nations to white farmers.

As president, he continued this crusade. In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native-held land in the cotton kingdom east of the Mississippi for land to the west, in the "Indian colonization zone" that the United States had acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase. This "Indian territory" was located in present-day Oklahoma.

The law required the government to negotiate removal treaties fairly, voluntarily and peacefully: It did not permit the president or anyone else to coerce Native nations into giving up their ancestral lands. However, President Jackson and his government frequently ignored the letter of the law and forced Native Americans to vacate lands they had lived on for generations.

Trail of Tears

In the winter of 1831, under threat of invasion by the U.S. Army, the Choctaw became the first nation to be expelled from its land altogether. They made the journey to Indian Territory on foot (some "bound in chains and marched double file," one historian writes), and without any food, supplies or other help from the government.

Thousands of people died along the way. It was, one Choctaw leader told an Alabama newspaper, a "trail of tears and death."

The Indian-removal process continued. In 1836, the federal government drove the Creeks from their land for the last time: 3,500 of the 15,000 Creeks who set out for Oklahoma did not survive the trip.

Treaty of New Echota

The Cherokee people were divided: What was the best way to handle the government's determination to get its hands on their territory? Some wanted to stay and fight. Others thought it was more pragmatic to agree to leave in exchange for money and other concessions.

In 1835, a few self-appointed representatives of the Cherokee nation negotiated the Treaty of New Echota, which traded all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi - roughly 7 million acres - for $5 million, relocation assistance and compensation for lost property.

To the federal government, the treaty (signed in New Echota, Georgia) was a done deal, but a majority of the Cherokee felt betrayed. Importantly, the negotiators did not represent the tribal government or anyone else. Most Cherokee people considered the Treaty of New Echota fraudulent, and the Cherokee National Council voted in 1836 to reject it.

John Ross

"The instrument in question is not the act of our nation," wrote the nation's principal chief, John Ross, in a letter to the U.S. Senate protesting the Treaty of New Echota. "We are not parties to its covenants; it has not received the sanction of our people." Nearly 16,000 Cherokees signed Ross's petition, but Congress approved the treaty anyway.

By 1838, only about 2,000 Cherokees had left their Georgia homeland for Indian Territory. President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers to expedite the removal process. Scott and his troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while his men looted their homes and belongings.

Then, they marched the Indians more than 1,200 miles to Indian Territory. Whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, cholera and starvation were epidemic along the way. Historians estimate that more than 5,000 Cherokee died as a result of the journey.

Legacy of the Trail of Tears

By 1840, tens of thousands of Native Americans had been driven off of their land in the southeastern states and forced to move across the Mississippi to Indian Territory. The federal government promised that their new land would remain unmolested forever, but as the line of white settlement pushed westward, "Indian Country" shrank and shrank. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state and Indian Territory was considered lost.

A 2020 decision by the Supreme Court, however, highlighted ongoing interest in Native American territorial rights. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that a huge area of Oklahoma is still considered an American Indian reservation.

This decision left the state of Oklahoma unable to prosecute Native Americans accused of crimes on those tribal lands - only federal and tribal law enforcement can prosecute such crimes. (A later 2022 Supreme Court decision rolled back some provisions of the 2020 court finding.)

The Trail of Tears - actually a network of different routes - is over 5,000 miles long and covers nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Today, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is run by the National Park Service and portions of it are accessible on foot, by horse, by bicycle or by car.

Sources

Trail of Tears. NPS.gov.
Trail of Tears. Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
The Treaty of New Echota and the Trail of Tears. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The Treaty That Forced the Cherokee People from Their Homelands Goes on View. Smithsonian Magazine.
Justices rule swath of Oklahoma remains tribal reservation. Associated Press.
Justices limit 2020 ruling on tribal lands in Oklahoma. Associated Press.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trail of Tears: Definition, Date & Cherokee Nation - HISTORY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Trail of Tears was the deadly route Native Americans were forced to follow when they were pushed off their ancestral lands and into Oklahoma by the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story (Girls Survive)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Twelve-year-old Mary and her Cherokee family are forced out of their home in Georgia by U.S. soldiers in May 1838. From the beginning of the forced move, Mary and her family are separated from her father. Facing horrors such as internment, violence, disease, and harsh weather, Mary perseveres and...

# data[].attributes.body
This work is a tale of courage, bravery, and resiliency. It centers around Mary and her family as they walk the Trail of Tears. It teaches the heartbreaking reality of the situation in an age appropriate way. It is also incredibly historically accurate as the writer is a member of the Cherokee Nation herself. While the story ends on a somewhat happy note I think the authors notes really tie the reality back to it. I find it to be a very age appropriate addition to this subject.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Trail of Tears (Step into Reading Level 5)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Trail of Tears (Step into Reading Level 5) - Kindle edition by Bruchac, Joseph. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Trail of Tears (Step into Reading Level 5).

# data[].attributes.body
This book provides an age appropriate overview of the events that lead to the Trail of Tears, an insight into the "Principal Chief" of the Cherokee People, and a look at the tribe now.

I will say this feels somewhat "whitewashed". I like that it is though because I would like to teach my students to critically think of not only what information they are receiving but who they are receiving it from with its possible bias.

# data[].attributes.body
Students will be able to answer these questions:
1) Who are some of the Native-American Nations that walked the Trail of Tears?
2) Where were the Cherokee Nation originally and where did they move to?
3) What was the Treaty of Echota and when was it signed?
4) What was the main reason Native-Americans were moved?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Definition: The Trail of Tears was the name the Cherokee used to describe to the 1000 mile route, or trail, that they were forced to travel, from their homelands in the Southeastern United States to reservations in present day Oklahoma, as a result of the 1830 Indian Removal Act.

The Cherokee were members of the History of the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears - The Five Civilised Tribes
Five Civilised Tribes who lived in the Southeastern United States until the 1820s. The Five Civilized Tribes consisted of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole and Chickasaw. The Cherokee tribe referred to themselves as the "Principal People" as they were the largest tribe living in mountain areas of North and South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
Where is the Trail of Tears?

Many Cherokee converted to the Christian religion and built Christian Churches

The Cherokee lived in Anglo-European style houses

The Cherokee adopted the Anglo-European style of dress

The Cherokee adopted Anglo-European farming techniques and methods with herds of cattle, horses, swine and some sheep

The Cherokee adopted Anglo-European farming tools, including the plough and other agricultural tools and implements

The Cherokee adopted produced cotton and owned cotton plantations and black slaves

The Cherokee adopted had several large towns and villages

A written constitution

Two legislative chambers

A judiciary system

A public school system

The Choctaw were removed in 1831

The Seminole were removed in 1832

The Creek were removed in 1834

The Chickasaw were removed in 1837

The Cherokee were removed in 1838

A limited number of Cherokee in North Carolina remained in their homelands.

The Trail of Tears led to exposure in extremely cold weather conditions

Inadequate clothing

Malnutrition and Starvation

Disease

To walk the Trail of Tears it took SIX long months. One person out of every four died on the forced march across the Trail of Tears.
Picture of the Trail of Tears "There is the coldest weather in Illinois I ever experienced anywhere. The streams are all frozen over something like eight or twelve inches thick. We are compelled to cut through the ice to get water for ourselves and animals. It snows here every two or three days at the fartherest. We are now camped in Mississippi swamp four miles from the river, and there is no possible chance of crossing the river for the numerous quantity of ice that comes floating down the river
every day. We have only traveled sixty-five miles on the last month, including the time spent at this place,
which has been about three weeks. It is unknown when we shall cross the river...."

Smallpox

Malaria

Measles

Cholera

Whooping Cough

Influenza

Pneumonia

There was no cure for these diseases. There were no medicines or doctors on the Trail of Tears. The young, weak, elderly and the sick were the first to die. The Trail of Tears was followed by grieving, bereaved families and became littered with unmarked graves that were far away from their traditional homelands.

The Story of the Trail of Tears - The Dawes Rolls
At the end of the Trail of Tears was the promise of a tribal land but this promise would soon be broken. The U.S. government began a policy of breaking up tribal lands and allotting the lands to individuals. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed a commission, chaired by Senator Henry L. Dawes, to negotiate land with the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole tribes. An Act of Congress authorized the Commission headed by Henry L. Dawes to determine who was eligible for tribal membership and land allotment. The result of this commission eventually produced what is called, the Dawes Rolls or the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Dawes Rolls, or the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes, entitled an allotment of land to tribe members, in return for abolishing their tribal governments and recognizing Federal laws.

Trail of Tears

Interesting Facts and information about the Trail of Tears

Cherokee Trail of Tears

Facts and interesting info about the Trail of Tears

Lands & Tribal territories

Trail of Tears - Map

Cherokee Trail of Tears

Pictures and Videos of Native American Indians
The Trail of Tears. Discover the vast selection of pictures and videos of Native Indians. The pictures show the clothing, weapons and decorations that can be used as a really useful educational resource for kids and children of all ages. Our series of videos enable fast access to the images, pics, paintings and pictures together with information and many facts. We hope that this article on Trail of Tears will assist in your studies or homework and that you will enjoy watching the videos featuring many pictures of the Native Indians.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Definition: The Trail of Tears was the name the Cherokee used to describe to the 1000 mile route, or trail, that they were forced to travel, from their homelands in the Southeastern United States to reservations in present day Oklahoma, as a result of the 1830 Indian Removal Act.

# data[].attributes.body
The State of Kansas defines fourth grade Curriculum in relation to Socials studies standards as Follows:
1) Choices have consequences
2) Individuals have rights and responsibilities
3) Societies are shaped by the identities, beliefs, and practices of individuals and groups
4) Societies experience continuity and change over time
5) Relationships among people, places, ideas, and environments are dynamic

I think this topic covers all of those standards.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose this topic because I feel that it is widely unrepresented. There are a lot of aspects to American History that show how we are not always the good guys. I believe that student's need to see both the good and bad history of the nation as well as the rest of the world. As an adult I knew that Native Americans were relocated but I had almost no knowledge of the actual events, who perpetrated it, or the supposed rationale behind it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the 1830s the U.S. government took away the homelands of many Native American groups in the Southeast. It then forced them to move to lands west of the Mississippi River. Most of them had to walk all the way. This event is known as the Trail of Tears.