Native Americans have been oppressed, discriminated against, and mistreated since the Europeans first came to America. Countless Native Americans have died at the hands of white settlers. One of the worst accounts of their mistreatment, however, was the Trail of Tears. The “Nunna dual Tsuny,” as the Cherokee call it, refers to the forced mass movement of Cherokee people to Indian Territory in Arkansas and Oklahoma. (Hook, 6-8) It was a tragic event in the history of the United States.
When European explorers first came to America and encountered the Native Americans, the Native Americans were very friendly towards them. But these Europeans brought diseases such as smallpox and measles. The Native Americans had never encountered these diseases,…show more content… During the American Revolution, many Cherokee people were killed by American colonists. After the Americans won the war, they took control of the thirteen colonies, which included land belonging to Native Americans. Native American peoples’ land was taken from them. This caused warfare between some Northern tribes and the American colonists. To keep peace between the nations, the United States and the Cherokee signed the Treaty of Hopewell in 1785, which set the boundaries of the Cherokee land and allowed them to remove any white settlers that impeded on their land. (Hook, 19-24)
In order for the white settlers and Native Americans to live together, the US government believed that the Native American people needed to become more “civilized.” Native Americans were made to learn English and start practicing the white settlers’ way of life. The US gave them tools such as hoes and plows so that they would practice agriculture instead of relying on hunting and gathering as the US thought they did. The Native Americans began to grow cotton and some even had plantations and owned slaves. (Hook, 28-29) These tribes that integrated themselves into white society were named the “Five Civilized Tribes.” These tribes were composed of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek, and Choctaw.…show more content… Jefferson sought to create less reliance on hunting among the tribes and more reliance on farming so that the US could acquire the land that the Native Americans used for hunting. However, it did not work out as Jefferson had hoped, and Native Americans were not willing to give up as much land as he had wanted. Jefferson then created the Compact of 1802, in which he stated that he would get rid of the land titles of the Cherokee and remove them from Georgia. After the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson sought to relocate the Native Americans west of the Mississippi. The US government attempted to get the tribes to move voluntarily, and some did move from their homelands of their own will. But those who did not move voluntarily were soon forced to leave after gold was discovered in Georgia. (Hook, 30-32,
