In the 1830s , Congress forcibly removed these tribes from their ancestral homelands to designated Indian Territory . The migration from these homelands to the designated territory is infamously known as the Trail of Tears . During the American Civil War , some of the tribes supported the Confederates . After the Union victory , the “ Five Tribes ” ceded all its territory in western Oklahoma . The Muscogee ( Creek ) ’s present boundaries reflect two cessions . In 1856 , the Muscogee ( Creek ) Nation “ cede d ” lands to the Seminoles . In 1866 , Congress signed the Treaty with the Creek where the Muscogee ( Creek ) Nation “ cede d … to the United States ” lands in return for $ 975,168
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Carpenter v. Murphy