In the 19th century , the United States government removed a number of Native Americans to federally-owned and - designated Indian reservations . Native Americans were removed from the Northern to the Western States . The most well-known removals were those of the 1830s from the Southeast , starting with the Choctaw people . Under the 1830 Indian Removal Act , the Five Civilized Tribes were relocated from their place , east of the Mississippi River , to the Indian Territory in the west . The process resulted in great social dislocation for all , numerous deaths , and the " Trail of Tears " for the Cherokee Nation . Resistance to Indian removal led to several violent conflicts , including the Second Seminole War in Florida
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Population transfer