Between 1814 and 1840 , the Five Civilized Tribes had gradually ceded most of their lands in the Southeast section of the US through a series of treaties . The southern part of Indian Country ( what eventually became the State of Oklahoma ) served as the destination for the policy of Indian removal , a policy pursued intermittently by American presidents early in the 19th century , but aggressively pursued by President Andrew Jackson after the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 . The Five Civilized Tribes in the South were the most prominent tribes displaced by the policy , a relocation that came to be known as the Trail of Tears during the Choctaw removals starting in 1831 . The trail ended in what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma , where there were already many Indians living in the territory , as well as whites and escaped slaves . Other tribes , such as the Delaware , Cheyenne , and Apache were also forced to relocate to the Indian territory
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Indian Territory