The Indian Removal Act formalized what had been the prevailing attitude of the American government towards native tribes as far back as the formative years of the nation. Since the American Revolution, treaties had sought to secure the valuable lands occupied by the eastern tribes. Some of these treaties offered trade items in exchange for the right to occupy these lands while others offered federal lands in the west as compensation. With the passage of the Indian Removal Act, efforts to negotiate land exchanges increased. The American government moved quickly to secure as much territory as it could and began to offer large tracts of land in the region west of the Mississippi River as compensation to native governments who yielded their eastern lands. While this effort was directed at all native communities in proximity to the American borderlands, particular attention was paid to the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations.
The Five Civilized Tribes
These five tribes represented the largest and most highly organized native governments in the southeast. Often referred to as “the five civilized tribes,” their economic and political achievements rivaled those of the southern states. The five southeastern tribes controlled some of the largest tracts of land in the region, land that the surrounding states sought to exploit. The first in a series of treaties authorizing land exchanges was directed at these five tribes. In September of 1830, delegations representing the principal communities of the Choctaw nation gathered at Dancing Rabbit Creek, in present day Mississippi to meet with representatives of the American government. The purpose of this summit was to discuss the disposition of Choctaw lands in the southeast.
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
The first land exchange to be negotiated under the Indian Removal Act was the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, signed by representatives of the Choctaw Nation. By assenting to the terms of this treaty, the Choctaw representatives agreed to cede control over all lands in the state of Mississippi to the United States--a block of land totaling 11 million acres. In exchange, the Choctaw would gain control over 15 million acres of land in Oklahoma--then known as Indian Territory. Almost immediately, individual Choctaw communities protested the terms of the agreement, arguing that the representatives who agreed to such a vast land cession did not speak for the nation as a whole. While the American government moved to occupy the land in question, many Choctaw communities refused to relocate.
Controversial Decision
The American government considered the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek to be thoroughly legal and aboveboard. Many communities within the Choctaw nation, however, did not. This difference of opinion is due to the fact that the United States viewed native tribes as sovereign nations. Treaties are made between sovereign nations. From the American perspective, the Choctaw delegation spoke for the Choctaw nation as a whole because the American delegation was empowered to due just that. This was not the case with the Choctaw representatives. The controversy that followed would threaten the entire Choctaw nation.
Sources;
Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1994).
Mark C Carnes, Ed. U.S. History. (New York: MacMillan Library Reference, 1998).
Marilyn Miller and Martin Faux, American History Desk Reference. (New York: MacMillan, 1997).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
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