The Trail of Tears for the Native Americans

The relocation and movement of Native Americans from their various homelands within the boundaries of the United States to an area called the “Indian Territory” is known as the Trail of Tears. The terminology cam originally form the removal of Choctaw Nation in 1831, but became the general nomenclature for all Native Americans being sent to what is the present day Oklahoma.

After a series of treaties were signed with the Choctaw nation starting in 1801, the tribes located in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana were limited to an area of 11 million acres. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek eventually surrendered that remaining territory to the United States and removal of the Choctaw was to commence immediately.

The U.S. Secretary of War Lewis Cass was put in charge of the operation by the President. He appointed George Gains to manage the logistics of the removals. He ordered that Native American groups assemble in Memphis and Vicksburg and a march westward would commence on November 1, 1831. Just as the marches began, cold temperatures, flash floods and sleet engulfed the area. Of the 17,000 Choctaws that made the move west, nearly 6,000 died along the way. Nearly 6,000 Choctaws chose to remain despite the threat of conflict. For the next decades, they were subject to harassment by settlers and eventually formed the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Following the acquisition of Florida from Spain in the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1821, negotiations began to move the Seminole Indians of the area west. An area was set aside for the Native Americans near a number of Creek Indians. A delegation of seven chiefs inspected the reservation. After returning, the U.S. government stated that the treaty had been signed and forcible removal was now standard operating procedure. Learning what happened to the Choctaw, the Seminoles chose to fight instead. A group of Seminoles joined with escaped slaves and launched a series of attacks on troops that were supposed to remove the tribes.

The War Department launched a counterstrike which cost the lives of many soldiers and Seminole warriors. Chief Osceola evaded capture for nearly a decade, retreating to the Everglades where he continued hit and run strikes. Eventually, the Seminole either moved or were eradicated. According to the U.S. government, approximately $20 million was spent over the course of time in fighting the war.

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