Transcription
The Trail of Tears refers to the forced displacement of what white American colonizers called the Five Civilized Tribes over 20 years between 1830 and 1850. Somewhere around 60,000 to 100,000 Native Americans were forced from their homes into land the new government had decided would be Indian Territory. During their removal, countless died from exposure, disease, and starvation. Their unnecessary deaths are now seen as a near genocidal event, and the route they walked and died upon is forevermore known as the Trail of Tears.
The Five Civilized Tribes refers to the major Native American nations that originally lived in America's Deep South. These were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole tribes. In the early days of European colonization, tensions between the Europeans and the "merciless Indians," as they were called, were high. The Native Americans understandably fought hard to keep their land, which the invaders didn't particularly like, as they felt they were entitled to it. Later, President George Washington deemed American natives as biologically equal but with an inferior society. He encouraged the process of civilization that Thomas Jefferson continued in his tenure.
What followed was some tribes assimilating somewhat into European culture, with cross-cultural marriages even taking place in some instances. Although, more often than not, this was forced assimilation and erasure of their natural culture. In order to avoid more deaths at the hands of European Americans, the five tribes we've already mentioned were the ones to do this, converting to Christianity and developing centralized governments, English literacy, written constitutions, and even owned their own African-American slaves like the white colonizers. This uneasy peace was maintained until the white Americans kicked things up a notch. It wasn't sufficient that they had invaded another culture's territory and brought diseases that ran rampant; they now decided they deserved all the land for themselves. As their settlements grew and people became greedier, even the five tribes who had shown a willingness to integrate with the European Americans became victims of their desire to own everything.
In 1829, Andrew Jackson became president. He had been a strong proponent for the removal of Native Americans for at least a decade already, and now that he was in power, he was determined to accomplish this goal, and he didn't waste any time. On May 28, 1830, less than a year into his presidency, Jackson signed what was called the Indian Removal Act. The act allowed Jackson to negotiate with the tribes for their removal to land the European Americans had decided was more appropriate for them, west of the Mississippi River. In other words, the settlers wanted to expand and weren't going to let the native citizens of America get in their way. The act removed any claim the Native Americans had to their own land and supported relocation funded by the U.S. government. And although the law stated that the president couldn't move the tribes without a mutually agreed treaty, Jackson was not about to let that stand in his way should negotiations fail. Jackson continued to somewhat work with tribal leaders to negotiate their removal west, but history does not look favorably upon his treatment of Native American tribes and his aggressive pursuit of their removal.
The first treaty was signed that first year with the Choctaw tribe. After years of land loss and hardships for them, their feelings can be summed up by their leader, George W. Hawkins, who wrote, "We as Choctaws rather chose to suffer and be free than live under the degrading influence of laws which our voice could not be heard in their formation." The Choctaw tribe were the first victims of the Trail of Tears. Between 1821 and 1833, all but approximately five to six thousand Choctaw had been moved to the west. During their removal, they endured freezing temperatures, flooded rivers, and extreme food shortages. One group was completely lost in the Lake Providence swamps, while those who completed the journey experienced heavy losses of their family and friends along the way. All in all, it's predicted anywhere between 2,500 and 6,000 Choctaw tribe members died on the Trail of Tears from disease and mishaps along the way, prompting one chief to refer to the experience as a "trail of tears and death." Those who remained endured no better, victim to frequent harassment, intimidation, destruction of their properties, and in some cases, murdered by the European Americans who resented their presence.
Although the seven chiefs of the Seminole tribe had signed a treaty agreeing to move west, upon returning home from scouting the land, most immediately renounced the statement, claiming they had been forced into signing. Given the general attitude of Jackson and his government, this is most likely true. What followed was nearly seven years of fighting, starting in 1835 and ending in 1842. It was the longest and most costly of all the Indian conflicts. Can't say we feel too sorry for the U.S. government there, as the Seminole resisted relocation. Florida and the U.S. government sent troops and equipment to help the army force the tribe over the river. They were successful, and it's predicted they forcibly relocated somewhere between three to four thousand Seminole tribes people. The number of Seminole who died in the war is uncertain, but it's likely between 700 to 1,000 members of the tribe. Around 500 Seminoles did escape to the Everglades, whom the government, after much fighting, left in peace, realizing they would not be able to subjugate them easily because of the terrain and climate of the region. They remain the only federally recognized tribe which never signed a peace treaty with the U.S.
The Muscogee (Creek) tribe had been working with the U.S. government and Andrew Jackson before his inauguration as president. Although the Muscogee signed a treaty with the U.S. government, the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832, whites moved into their territory before everything was settled, and land speculators deliberately defrauded and stole from the lands of the Muscogee Creeks. By 1836, there was an uprising from the tribe's people, protecting their land from the fraudulent and invasive practices of the whites. The uprising ended abruptly when soldiers began rounding up Creek people and forcibly extracting them to the Indian Territory of Fort Gibson. Over the next year, more than fifteen thousand Muscogee Creeks were forced from their homes with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. With the army in tow, they made their way along the 750-mile route now known as the Creek Trail of Tears. It's estimated over 3,500 men, women, and children died on the journey, and that's not to mention those that were forced into concentration camps for their safety but who actually found themselves raped, enslaved, and murdered. Overall, some numbers estimating the total Creek Trail of Tears death toll go up as high as 8,000, more than half of the tribe's entire number.
The Chickasaw tribe was the only one to hold out for financial compensation from the U.S. government. They signed the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek in 1832 but held out until 1837 for their agreed-upon $3 million. Unsurprisingly, they didn't receive this money until nearly 30 years later, despite their removal beginning in 1837. In the meantime, they negotiated with the Choctaw tribe, eventually paying them $530,000 for access to parts of their Indian Territory. Once they agreed, the Chickasaw gathered at Tennessee with their belongings and African-American slaves to cross the Mississippi River to their new homes along the Trail of Tears. Of the 3,100 who took part in the first movement, 500 died from dysentery and smallpox. By the end of their removals, over 3,500 had died. It wasn't until the 20th century that they were once again federally recognized as an independent government.
Although approximately 2,000 Cherokee had relocated voluntarily to Indian Territory, this wasn't sufficient or fast enough for the U.S. government, and by 1838, they stepped in to forcibly remove other members of the tribe. It was a one-thousand-mile walk from the homes of the approximately thirteen thousand Cherokee tribes people to their newly provided Indian Territory during an extremely harsh winter. On the way, their numbers quickly began to fall, as many died of disease, malnutrition, and exposure. One of the most tragic moments for the tribe came when they reached Berry's Ferry, a ferry they needed to cross the Ohio River. The journey usually cost around 12 cents; the Cherokee tribe members were charged one dollar each. Many died huddled under the mantle rock waiting for the ferry to allow them to cross. A volunteer soldier even wrote of their removal, "I fought through the American Civil War and have seen men shot to pieces and slaughtered by thousands, but the Cherokee removal was the cruelest work I ever knew." Approximately 4,000 Cherokee died on the Trail of Tears, almost a third of their total number.
How European Americans treated Native Americans during their years of expansion and since has long been looked upon with disapproval and disgust, but few outside know the true horrors of the Trail of Tears and the unfathomable circumstances of the tribe's route to their new homes that resulted in a near genocide of the Native American people.