Native Voices, Map Showing the Cherokee Trail of Tears and Other Forced Relocation Marches

This map from Native Voices depicts the forced relocation marches of various Native American tribes during the 1830s as the U.S. government pressed for more land in order to accommodate the nation' rapid growth. The 1830 Indian Removal Act, signed by President Andrew Jackson, authorized the negotiation of treaties with Native American tribes to cede their lands in exchange their lands in the west. When tribes would not cooperate they were forcibly removed. In 1838, the US Department of War removed about 17,000 Cherokee, relocating them to “Indian Territory” in present day Oklahoma. This 1,200 mile march, shown on the map and known as the Trail of Tears, resulted in the deaths of at least 6,000 Cherokee men, women and children. As this map also illustrates, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek and Seminole peoples were also forcibly removed from their lands to reserved Indian Territory.