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Which states were crossed by the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail?

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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 Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, which commemorates the forced relocation of Indigenous peoples during the 1830s, spans portions of nine states. These states are:

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Missouri
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee

The trail, which was designated as a National Historic Trail by the U.S. Congress in 1987, was significantly expanded in 2009 to include various newly documented routes, as well as specific roundup and dispersion sites, ultimately stretching over 5,000 miles.1