Cherokee removal
The Cherokee removal (May 25, 1838 – 1839), part of the Indian removal, refers to the removal of an estimated 15,500 Cherokees and 1,500 African-American slaves from the U.S. states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to the West according to the terms of the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. It is estimated that 3,500 Cherokees and African-American slaves died en route.
| Cherokee removal | |
|---|---|
| Part of Indian removal | |
| Locations | New Echota, Cherokee Nation 34°32′22″N 84°54′31″W Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation 35°54′41″N 94°58′38″W |
| Planned by | United States Army |
| Commanded by | Major-General Winfield Scott |
| Objective | Removal of the Cherokees remaining in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to the West according to the terms of the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. |
| Date | Began May 25, 1838 |
| Executed by | Eastern Division of the Army |
| Casualties | ~3,500 Cherokee dead or missing |
The map shows the locations of the Cherokee Nation capital before removal from the southeastern United States and the present day. The first national capital was located in New Echota (right). In 1839, the capital was moved to its present location in Tahlequah (left). | |
The Cherokee have come to call the event Nu na da ul tsun yi (the place where they cried); another term is Tlo va sa (our removal)—both phrases not used at the time, and that seem to be of Choctaw origin. Removal actions (voluntary, reluctant or forcible) occurred to other American Indian groups in the American South, North, Midwest, Southwest, and the Plains regions. The Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muskogee (Creek), and Cherokee were removed reluctantly. The Seminole in Florida resisted removal by the United States Army for decades (1817–1850) with guerrilla warfare, part of the intermittent Native American Wars that lasted from 1540 to 1924. Some Seminole remained in their Florida home country, while others were transported to Indian Territory in shackles.
The phrase "Trail of Tears" is used to refer to similar events endured by other Indian groups, especially among the "Five Civilized Tribes". The phrase originated as a description of the involuntary removal of the Choctaw in 1831.