1. The forced relocation of American Indians began with the
Indian Removal Act of 1830. 2. In 1838, the Cherokee Indians
became the fifth major tribe to experience forced relocation to
Indian Territory. The Cherokee Nation moved from its ancestral
homeland in parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and
Alabama to land set aside for them in what is now the state of
Oklahoma. 3. More than 15,000 Cherokee Indians were removed by
the U.S. Army. 4. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole
tribes were the other tribes that were forced to relocate. Over
100,000 Native Americans from the five tribes were forced to
move. 5. These people were held in concentration-like camps
through the summer, then they were then forced to travel over
1,000 miles, under very hard conditions to Indian Territory. 6.
Along the trail, nearly 4,000 Cherokee died of starvation,
exposure, or disease. 7. The Cherokees came to call this forced
move "Nunahi-Duna-Dlo-Hilu-I" or "Trail Where They Cried". 8.
The result of the U.S. Governme