<P> Between 1830 and 1850 , the Chickasaw , Choctaw , Creek , Seminole , and Cherokee people ( including mixed - race and black freedmen and slaves who lived among them ) were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the Southeastern United States , and relocated farther west . Those Native Americans who were relocated were forced to march to their destinations by state and local militias . The Cherokee removal in 1838 ( the last forced removal east of the Mississippi ) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega , Georgia in 1828 , resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush . Approximately 2,000 -- 6,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee perished along the way . </P>
<P> Between 1830 and 1850 , the Chickasaw , Choctaw , Creek , Seminole , and Cherokee people ( including mixed - race and black freedmen and slaves who lived among them ) were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the Southeastern United States , and relocated farther west . Those Native Americans who were relocated were forced to march to their destinations by state and local militias . The Cherokee removal in 1838 ( the last forced removal east of the Mississippi ) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega , Georgia in 1828 , resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush . Approximately 2,000 -- 6,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee perished along the way . </P>
how many cherokees were on the trail of tears
how many cherokees were on the trail of tears
16,543
16,543