The Trail of Tears was several forced movements of Indian groups in the United States after the Indian Removal Act. The nations that were removed include members of the Cherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, from their homes in the southeastern U.S. to a places west of the Mississippi River that was decided to be claimed as Indian land.
Native Americans who chose to join in with the American’s culture were allowed to stay and become citizens of the U.S. “For the right to remain on the land of their forefathers Ridge had taken pains to shed the life he had been raised to.” "(3) We Shall Remain - Trail of Tears." YouTube. YouTube, 16 May 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. The Indian people experienced starvation,