How many people died on the Trail of Death?

During the journey to Kansas, 42 people died, 28 of them children. Historian Jacob Piatt Dunn is credited for naming the Potawatomi's forced march "The Trail of Death" in his book, True Indian Stories (1909). It was the single largest Indian removal in the state.

Similarly one may ask, why did the trail of death happen?

Trail of Death. In 1838, the Potawatomi Indians in the state of Indiana were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands by order of the U.S. government. The 859 Potawatomi who started the journey traveled across Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and finally Kansas before arriving at their intended destination.

Subsequently, question is, how many creek died on the Trail of Tears?

Trail of Tears
Deaths	Cherokee (4,000) Creek Seminole (3,000 in Second Seminole War – 1835–1842) Chickasaw (3,500) Choctaw (2,500–6,000) Ponca (200)
Victims	Five Civilized Tribes of Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Ponca and Ho-Chunk/Winnebago nations
Perpetrators	U.S. Government, U.S. Army, state militias

Accordingly, what really happened on the Trail of Tears?

In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects.

Did the Trail of Tears Go through Indiana?

Many are acquainted with the Trail of Tears, the forced migration of 15,000 Cherokees from the Smoky Mountains to Oklahoma in 1838. But another deadly exodus of Native Americans began in Indiana that same year.

33 Related Question Answers Found

How long was the trail of death?

During the journey of approximately 660 miles (1,060 km) over 61 days, more than 40 persons died, most of them children. It marked the single largest Indian removal in Indiana history.

Where are the Potawatomi located?

The Potawatomi first lived in Lower Michigan, then moved to northern Wisconsin and eventually settled into northern Indiana and central Illinois. In the early 19th century, major portions of Potawatomi lands were seized by the U.S. government.

How did trail of tears affect America?

The Trail of Tears was a cruel act by the United States Federal Government and southerners that greatly impacted American History. The migration of the Cherokees opened prime land to southern cotton farmers, boosting cotton production and an increase of the American economy.

Who can buy a house on an Indian reservation?

And no one can get a mortgage because the property on the reservation is held in trust by the federal government; most of it also is “owned” communally by the tribe. No bank could ever foreclose on a property, because the bank can't own reservation land.

Why is the Indian Removal Act important?

The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for white settlement of their ancestral lands.

Is Choctaw Cherokee?

The term "Five Civilized Tribes" derives from the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States. It refers to five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek (Muscogee), and Seminole. The Five Civilized Tribes tended to maintain stable political relations with the Europeans.

What happened to the Cherokees in 1838?

Cherokee Indian Removal. The removal, or forced emigration, of Cherokee Indians occurred in 1838, when the U.S. military and various state militias forced some 15,000 Cherokees from their homes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee and moved them west to Indian Territory (now present-day Oklahoma).

How do I find out what Native American tribe I belong to?

Trace Indian Ancestry. To determine if you are eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe, contact the tribe, or tribes, you claim ancestry from. It is the individual tribes who set tribal enrollment requirements.

What does trail of tears mean?

Trail of Tears. The route along which the United States government forced several tribes of Native Americans, including the Cherokees, Seminoles, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks, to migrate to reservations west of the Mississippi River in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s.

What happened to the Native Americans?

Native Americans were greatly affected by the European colonization of the Americas, which began in 1492, and their population declined precipitously overwhelmingly due to introduced diseases as well as warfare, including biological warfare, territorial confiscation and slavery.

What were the effects of the Indian Removal Act?

Intrusions of land-hungry settlers, treaties with the U.S., and the Indian Removal Act (1830) resulted in the forced removal and migration of many eastern Indian nations to lands west of the Mississippi.

What happened to the creeks?

Upon defeat, the Creeks ceded 23,000,000 acres of land (half of Alabama and part of southern Georgia); they were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the 1830s. There with the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, they constituted one of the Five Civilized Tribes.