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How did the Choctaw experience forced removal from the Southeast?

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Map of the southeastern United States showing the historical locations of various Indigenous peoples, with tribal names such as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Natchez, Catawba, and Calusa labeled across the region. A red outline marks the general boundary of the Southeast cultural area, extending from eastern Texas and Louisiana through the Gulf Coast, up to the Atlantic coast and into parts of the Carolinas and Virginia. Major bodies of water like the Gulf of Mexico and the Atla
Indigenous peoples of the American Southeast

The Choctaw were the first of the Southeastern nations to finalize negotiations under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, agreeing to cede their lands in exchange for territory west of the Mississippi River, transportation, and logistical support.12

Despite these agreements, the federal government lacked the experience and infrastructure to manage the mass relocation of civilians and their property. The experience was defined by severe bureaucratic incompetence and corruption, which left the Choctaw poorly provisioned for their journey. As a result, many Choctaw suffered and died from exposure, malnutrition, exhaustion, and disease. This tragic relocation was part of the broader forced removal of Indigenous peoples in the 1830s, an era of collective suffering that is remembered as the Trail of Tears.21