SS 4 Standard 1 Combo
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Standard Indicator
Indian Removal in the 1830s
Purpose
Students will describe the removal of Indian groups in the 1830s.
curriculum
Materials
For the teacher: several 18" × 24" pieces of poster board, outline map
of the continental United States, classroom map of the United States,
book regarding removal of the Indians (e.g., Trail of Tears: The Rise
and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle, Cherokee Legends and
the Trail of Tears by Tom Underwood, or The Trail of Tears by Gloria
Johoda)
For each student: copy of Black Line Master (BLM) The Removal
of Indians from Indiana
For each group of students: 18" × 24" outline map of the continental
United States, markers or crayons
Activity
English/
Language Arts
Have students write
a diary entry from the
point of view of one
of the Indians who was
removed from Indiana.
extending
THE
A. Indian Removal in the 1830s
1. Say to students: “The nineteenth century was a time of much
growth in population for the United States and for Indiana.
As more and more settlers came to Indiana in the early
nineteenth century, the more land they wanted. But much
of this land was already occupied by Indians.”
2. Tell students that as early as 1802, settlers in Georgia were trying
to have the federal government remove the Cherokee Indians
from the land they wanted to own.
3. Tell students that soon the Seminole tribe in Florida, the Creek
Indians in Alabama and Georgia, and the Chickisaw and Choctaw
Indians in Mississippi were all having disputes over the land
on which they were living. Use the outline map of the United
States to point out the locations of these Indian tribes.
4. Explain that Andrew Jackson, who was then president, and the
Congress of the United States decided that these Indians should
be moved to Oklahoma, so Congress passed the Indian Removal
Act in 1830.
5. Write on the chalkboard: “Within 10 years after the passing
of the Indian Removal Act, 70,000 Indians had moved across
the Mississippi.” Tell students that many Indians died on
this journey.
(continued)
Standard 1 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 4
Indiana Social Studies Grade 4 Standards Resource, February 2003
connecting
across the
ACTIVITY
Have students do
additional research
to learn about Indian
tribes currently living
in Indiana and
describe how these
tribes maintain their
traditions and customs.
Standards Links
4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.1.6
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Standard 1
4.1.5
SS 4 Standard 1 Combo
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Activity (continued)
Standard 1
6. Tell students you are going to read a book to them about this
Indian removal and read aloud the book you have chosen.
B. Miami Indian Removal
1. Tell students that the Miami Indians living in Indiana were also
removed from their land in a way similar to how the Cherokees
were removed from Georgia.
2. Hand out copies of the BLM The Removal of Indians from
Indiana. Have students take turns reading the BLM aloud.
3. After students have finished reading the BLM, ask:
Where were the Indians taken in 1840?
Where were they taken a few years later?
Why do you think the government felt they were doing
the Indians a favor by moving them together?
4. Discuss students’ responses.
C. Mapping the Removal
1. Divide the class into groups of three or four students and give
each group an enlarged map of the United States on poster board.
2. Have groups decide how they will design their map of the location
of the Indians in Indiana after the War of 1812 and their removal
during the 1830s and 1840s.
3. Encourage groups to use the information from the BLM to help
in their research. Explain that they will also need to use a United
States map from their social studies text or an atlas to locate St.
Louis, the Missouri River, Kansas City, Osage, and Oklahoma.
4. Instruct groups to include a map key and legend to make their
maps clear to other readers.
Questions for Review
Basic Concepts
While students are completing their BLMs, discuss the following:
What were the two main reasons the settlers wanted the Indians’
land in Indiana?
From what areas other than Indiana were Indians
being removed?
What was the Indian Removal Act of 1830?
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Standard 1 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 4
Indiana Social Studies Grade 4 Standards Resource, February 2003
SS 4 Standard 1 Combo
12/30/02
2:05 PM
Page 49
Name:
The Removal of Indians from Indiana
After the war of 1812, the government of the United States came to the Indians and said
that they wanted more land in northern Indiana and the rest of the states. In the Treaty
of St. Mary’s, the Indians gave up much of their land in central Indiana. Some large sections
of land in northern Indiana were still property of the Indians, however. The U.S. government
thought the Indians should farm on the land, but the Indians refused.
The settlers were jealous of the good farmland that had been set aside for the Indian
reservations. In 1826, another treaty was signed, which pushed the Indians into an even
smaller area. The European settlers who were farmers in this area needed ways to get their
crops to market. Many new roads were needed, but the Indians were on the land where roads
would be built. The government also wanted to build canals to go where there were no rivers
so that goods could be shipped more easily, but Indians were living on the land where canals
would be built. One of the most important canals that the settlers and the government wanted
was the canal going from the Maumee River at Fort Wayne to the Wabash River. It would have
connected the Great Lakes with the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It was a good idea for trade,
but it would have to go through many of the Indian villages that were left.
Soon, the settlers insisted that the Indians had to be removed from this land and sent
to the West, beyond the Mississippi River. The United States government passed a bill called
the Indian Removal Act of 1830. They thought they were doing the Indians a favor by moving
them as a group so that they could stay with their families, but the Indians did not want
to move from the land that they had lived on for hundreds of years.
In treaties signed in 1834 and in 1838, the Miamis agreed to leave Indiana. A final treaty
signed in 1840 said they would leave within five years. The tribe was given half a million
dollars and the government said they would pay off the debt owed by the tribe members to
merchants and traders.
Nearly 700 Miamis left Peru, Indiana, on October 6, 1846. They were put on canal boats
to Ohio and then on steamboats on the Ohio River. They went to St. Louis, then up the Missouri
River to where Kansas City is today. Their new home was in Osage, Kansas. Only 323 Miamis
made it to Kansas after a long and dangerous journey. A few years later many Indian tribes
were taken to what is now Oklahoma.
Standard 1 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 4
Indiana Social Studies Grade 4 Standards Resource, February 2003
Black Line Master 1
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SS 4 Standard 1 Combo
12/30/02
2:05 PM
Page 50
The Removal of Indians from Indiana
Teacher Directions
Hand out copies of the BLM The Removal of Indians from Indiana. Have students take turns
reading the BLM aloud.
After students have finished reading the BLM, ask: “Where were the Indians taken in 1840?
Where were they taken a few years later? Why do you think the government felt they were doing
the Indians a favor by moving them together?” Discuss students’ responses.
Divide the class into groups of three or four students and give each group an enlarged map of the
United States on poster board. Have groups decide how they will design their map of the location
of the Indians in Indiana after the War of 1812 and their removal during the 1830s and 1840s.
Encourage groups to use the information from their BLMs to help in their research. Explain that
they will also need to use a United States map from their social studies text or an atlas to locate
St. Louis, the Missouri River, Kansas City, Osage, and Oklahoma. Instruct groups to include a
map key and legend to make their map clear to other readers.
Answer Key
Not applicable.
Black Line Master 1
page 50
Standard 1 / Curriculum Framework / Activity 4
Indiana Social Studies Grade 4 Standards Resource, February 2003