The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) refers to the forced displacement of approximately 100,000 Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States to “Indian Territory” (modern-day Oklahoma). This tragic event, driven by the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and systemic racism, primarily targeted the Five Civilized Tribes—Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole—and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 15,000–16,000 people due to disease, starvation, and exposure . Below is a detailed overview: Causes and Legal Context Indian Removal Act (1830): Signed by President Andrew Jackson, this law authorized the federal government to negotiate treaties exchanging Native lands east of the Mississippi River for territory in the West. While framed as “voluntary,” coercion and military force were widely used . Gold and Land Greed: The discovery of gold in Georgia (1828) intensified settler demands for Cherokee land, leading to state lotteries that redistributed Indigenous territory to white settlers