Five Civilized Tribes Portraits

Though it was often one-sided and biased, the relationship between American Indians and white settlers was of long duration. One early milestone in that relationship was the recognition of the Five Civilized Tribes.

Five tribes lived east of the Mississippi in what became North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Eventually, white settlers thought it would be desirable to re-locate these tribes.

The U.S. government entered into a treaty called the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 27, 1830, to remove the Choctaws to land west of the Mississippi. Similar treaties were made between the government and other tribes, who were to govern themselves so long as their laws didn’t conflict with those of the U.S., its treaties, and the Constitution.

The Five Civilized Tribes are: Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole Indians.