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Indian Removal 1830's
The Indian Removal Act was legislated by the United States Congress, in 1830. The Removal Act did not actually order the removal of any Native Americans. Rather, it authorized the President to negotiate land-exchange treaties with tribes living within the boundaries of existing states.
Essentially this meant encouraging the Indians from east of the Mississippi river to
relocate west of the Mississippi on land that was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
The land chosen for the Indians, Indian Territory, was at that time remote and
unsettled by white Americans. What would become Indian Territory was already known
to many of the eastern tribes, as a lucrative hunting area. Tribe hunting parties
often made seasonal hunting treks to this area for meat.
The loss and suffering resulting from the physical relocation was one of Americas most
shameful acts. The Trail of Tears was one of many episodes of total disregard for human
rights and suffering occurring during the relocation.
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