Trail of Tears: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date	c. 1830 - 1840
Location	Indian Territory • United States
Participants	Cherokee • Chickasaw • Choctaw • Muscogee • Indigenous peoples of the American Southeast • Eastern Woodlands Indians
Context	Indian Removal Act • Seminole Wars • Proclamation of 1763

Photos

Infographic map showing the routes of the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of five major Native American nations from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in the 1830s, highlighting 9 states crossed, 5,045 miles traveled, key routes and camps, and major events.

Thematic map of the Indian Frontier in 1841, highlighting in pink the regions west of the Mississippi River where various Native American tribes were relocated. Labeled tribes include Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Shawnee, Delaware, Osage, Sauk and Fox, Ottawa, and others, with surrounding territories and neighboring states also marked.

Painting of a group of Sauk and Fox people in traditional clothing and feathered headdresses, some standing and some seated, with hills and open landscape in the background.

Robert Lindneux: The Trail of Tears

Map showing the routes of the Trail of Tears across the southeastern and south-central United States. Red lines indicate land routes and blue lines indicate water routes taken by displaced Native American groups, mainly Cherokee, from locations in Georgia, Tennessee, and surrounding areas to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Key cities, modern state boundaries, and forts along the routes are labeled.

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Topics

Property law Trail of Tears: Routes, Statistics, and Notable Events Seminole westward movement

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

American frontier: From Plymouth Rock to the Trail of Tears

Key People

Black Hawk or Makataimeshekiakiah, painting by Charles Bird King, c. 1837.

Black Hawk

Sauk and Fox leader

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

American army officer

Ross, John

John Ross

chief of Cherokee Nation