“How Could This Happen?”: Context for American Indian Removal
The forced removal of the American Indian tribes and people from land that is today the State of Ohio, through formal and informal means by the government of the United States and its people, had many causes and took many forms. The resulting violence was intentional and dramatic - at once personal and communal, emotional and physical, systematic and random.
Sometimes mockingly referred to as “the Andrew Jackson Travel Agency,” the formal policies and laws, combined with the less formal - but often no-less-direct - social movements, “cultural opportunities”, and other choices that American Indians faced resulted in an onslaught of unceasing pressures that forced many hard, if not impossible, choices. Understanding this history is critical to understanding the direct and withering impacts it has had throughout our history, including the world we live in today.
Sometimes mockingly referred to as “the Andrew Jackson Travel Agency,” the formal policies and laws, combined with the less formal - but often no-less-direct - social movements, “cultural opportunities”, and other choices that American Indians faced resulted in an onslaught of unceasing pressures that forced many hard, if not impossible, choices. Understanding this history is critical to understanding the direct and withering impacts it has had throughout our history, including the world we live in today.