The Cherokee Trail of Tears refers to the forced relocation in 1838 of the Cherokee Nation from their lands in Georgia to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States, which results in the deaths of approximately 4,000 Cherokees.The Cherokees are not the only Native Americans forced to emigrate as a result of the Indian Removal efforts of the United States.

Other Native American groups from the Indiana Territory and Florida are also removed.

The phrase, “Trail of Tears”, is sometimes used to refer to similar events endured by other Indian people, especially among the Five Civilized Tribes.

The phrase originated as a description of the forcible removal of the Choctaw nation in 1831.The Cherokee Trail of Tears results from the enforcement of the Treaty of New Echota, an agreement signed under the provisions of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which exchanged Native American land in the East for lands west of the Mississippi River, but which was never accepted by the elected tribal leadership or a majority of the Cherokee people.

Nevertheless, the treaty, passed by Congress by a single vote, and signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, is imposed by his successor President Martin Van Buren who allows Georgian state troops to round up about 17,000 Cherokees in concentration camps before being sent to the West.

Most of the deaths occur from disease, starvation and cold in these camps.

After the initial roundup, the U.S. military continues to oversee the emigration until they meet the forced destination.