Five Civilized Tribes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Five Civilized Tribes is the term applied to five Aboriginal American nations which lived in the Southeastern United States before their removal to other parts of country, especially the future Oklahoma. They were called "civilized" because they emulated Southern white society, including ownership of slaves.
The five Aboriginal nations labeled "civilized tribes" were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. Many Aboriginal Americans, especially those from other Aboriginal nations, object to the "five civilized tribes" label as racist. Some people have use the modified label "The Five Tribes," thereby avoiding the suggestion that all other Aboriginal peoples were savages.
The tribes were uprooted from their homes east of the Mississippi River in a series of removals over several decades and moved to what was Indian Territory and is now the eastern portion of the state of Oklahoma. The most famous removal was the Trail of Tears. This was ordered by President Andrew Jackson, despite a ruling of the Supreme Court that the order was unlawful. President Jackson said, "Justice Marshall has issued his opinion. Now, let him enforce it."
The Five Tribes were divided during the American Civil War as to which side to support. The Choctaw and Chickasaw fought on the Confederate side. The Creek, Seminole and especially the Cherokee were split between the Union and the Confederacy. The Cherokee fought a civil war within their own nation between those who supported the Union and those who supported the Confederacy.
Once the tribes had been relocated to Indian Territory, the United States government promised them that their lands would be free of white settlement. Of course, some settlers violated the agreement with impunity. In 1893, however, the government opened up the "Cherokee Strip" to white settlement by a great land run. And in 1907, the territories of Oklahoma and Indian Territory were merged into the new state of Oklahoma.
