Indigenous history: Trail of Tears and Indian removal act

 Indigenous history: Trail of Tears and Indian removal act

Imagine one day, the government asks you to evacuate your home and property, leave your, and forces you to abandon your culture and adopt a new culture which your colonizers have brought. This is something that Indigenous populations have to face. Native Americans are one of the most important parts of American society yet they were displaced, sidelined and forced to leave their homes to make place for the white colonisers. Native Americans hold a deep, spiritual connection with their lands.

The U.S. government’s implementation of the Indian Displacement Act called for displacing the Native American diaspora to cater to the white settlers and increase “American” territory marking a tragic point for Native American tribes. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which permitted the evacuation of thousands of natives from the southeastern region, to areas west of the Mississippi River, this action caused great pain, and suffering for the displaced native populations, yet it was propagated as a step toward “civilisation”. This displacement of tribes was unethical, a systematic evacuation of the indigenous population, and must be remembered as ethnic cleansing, thegenocide of Native American sovereignty, and the long-lasting cultural harm it caused.

The Indian Removal Act

On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed a crucial piece of legislation into law: the Indian Removal Act of 1830, with the intent of relocating Native American tribes in the southeast to areas west of the Mississippi River, namely in present-day Oklahoma. The rule was proposed as a means of resolving the dispute between Native Americans and European settlers who wanted to develop and cultivate the rich lands that the indigenous nations occupied.

With a slight majority in the House of Representatives, the Act was approved by Congress with the backing of President Jackson, the Democratic Party, and southern states keen to boost their agricultural economies. This Relocation was opposed by indigenous tribes, such as the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole. It was also opposed by the Whig Party and groups of clergy and missionaries.

The Trail of Tears

This phase is often used to refer to the tragic evacuation and the tedious journey which the indigenous diaspora had to endure.

The Cherokee tribe

tragic events followed by the passing of the Indian Removal Act was the forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation, Multiple tribes were affected apart from the Cherokee, this went on from 1838  to 1839 when the U.S. government forcibly relocated over 16,000 Cherokee from their homes in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee to what is now Oklahoma.

The Cherokee endured this punishing journey that lasted months. Many were forced to march through harsh terrain and cold terrible Weather with inadequate food, clothing, or medical supplies this led to the death of Thousands of indigenous people from disease, starvation, and exposure. It’s estimated that approximately 4,000 Cherokee, or a quarter of their population, perished during this forced march. The journey’s brutality left deep scars on Cherokee society, disrupting family structures and tribal unity.

The Cherokee had not so quietly accepted this removal. They went to the courts to prove their claims and the United States Supreme Court in Worcester vs. Georgia (1832) declared the acts of Georgia against the Cherokee unconstitutional.

Despite the Supreme Court siding with the Cherokee in Worcester, President Andrew Jackson didn’t enforce the ruling. Instead, he negotiated a land exchange treaty, partly because he feared conflict between Georgia militias and federal troops. Meanwhile, Native Americans weren’t recognized as U.S. citizens and couldn’t protect their lands under state law, even if they met citizenship requirements. We can see how native people were systematically targeted as they were not “US citizens” by law.

Choctaw tribe

The Choctaw tribes of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were forced to give up on their land through the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1831. Choctaw Nation was relocated west of the Mississippi River as part of the Indian Removal Act, with promises of support from the U.S. government. However, just like the Cherokee tribe, they saw harsh winters, floods, food shortages, and poor planning. Some Choctaws chose to stay in Mississippi but faced severe harassment and abuse. Those who relocated formed the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, while those who remained became the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The removal marked immense suffering and loss for the Choctaw people.

The myth of varnishing Indians

The myth of the “Vanishing Indian” was propagated among the citizens to justify the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears, in which the decline of the population was natural and inevitable; this myth is used to reduce the guilt among Americans. Historian Jeffrey Ostler states that removal policies started before Andrew Jackson and for Jackson, the Act was an ultimate culmination of decades-long policy. Cultural works like James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans supported these views, portraying Native Americans as vanishing and giving up their lands to whites.

Resistance

The life of most native Americans was marked with resistance against their oppressors for their land and culture. Theirresistance did not always have a positive result but highlighted the fierce determination of Native American peoples to protect their lands and way of life.

Seminole Resistance

In Florida, the Seminole Wars (1817–1858), were a series of conflicts among U.S. forces and the Seminole tribe.

The First Seminole War fought from 1817–1818 was triggered by cross-border slave raids and enslaved persons escaping from Georgia to Spanish Florida. When U.S. General Andrew Jackson invaded Florida, destroying Seminole, Mikasuki, and Black Seminole towns and took over Spanish forts, making the situation worse. This war was put to an end when Florida was given to the United States by Spain in the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819,

The Second Seminole War was Led by leaders like Osceola. The Seminoles refused to abandon their lands and fought against the U.S. military. Although the U.S. government eventually subdued most of the Seminoles, Many Seminoles escaped to the Everglades which is a wetland on the southern tip of the U.S. state of Florida. While some chiefs initially agreed to the move, many later refused to accept this act, claiming coercion and lack of authority to make such agreements. As resistance to relocation grew, hostilities escalated, culminating in the Dade Massacre in 1835, where Seminole forces ambushed and killed most of a U.S. Army company.Less than 500 Seminoles were eventually moved, The nation of Seminoles asserts that it is the only Native American tribe to have never ratified a peace agreement with the United States.

Navajo and Apache Struggles

In the Southwest, the Navajo and Apache tribes engaged in violent resistance. The Navajo, after years of raids and conflict, were forced to march on the Long Walk in 1864, a horrific journey to a reservation in New Mexico, where they suffered greatly. The Apache, led by leaders such as Geronimo, led the troops to raids and believed that Reservation life was confining to the free-moving Apache people, Geronimo led breakouts from the reservations in attempts to return his people to their previous nomadic lifestyle. They continued guerrilla warfare tactics against U.S. military forces throughout the late 19th century, which only ceased after Geronimo’s surrender in 1886.

The Plains Wars and the Battle of Little Bighorn

During the mid-late 19th century, indigenous people also fought back this was referred to as The Plains Wars, which involved numerous conflicts between Native tribes and the U.S. military. It lasted from the 1850s to 1890s.

One of the important  resistance movements to be remembered is the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876), also known as “Custer’s Last Stand.” Where alliance of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors led by prominent figures such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, defeated the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry, commanded by General George Armstrong Custer.

This victory was one of the last significant successes for Native resistance, marking a brief but powerful stand against U.S. encroachment. However, the victory was short-lived as the U.S. military quickly retaliated, leading to the eventual defeat of the Plains tribes.

Conclusion

Despite these acts of resistance, the U.S. government ultimately prevailed. By the end of the 19th century, most Native tribes had been forcibly removed from their lands and made to live on reservations. The Dawes Act (1887) further contributed to the erosion of Native communities and land by breaking up tribal land holdings and promoting individual land ownership.

Boarding schools were established with the goal of assimilating Native American children into white American culture, often stripping them of their native languages and traditions.

Native American populations and cultures were severely impacted. Today the Trail of Tears remains a symbol of the suffering experienced by Native American peoples during this period. It serves as a reminder of the resilience of Indigenous communities and the forced migration and assimilation in assimilation by  government.

Tanishka Sarang

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