Indian Removals in Indiana

Indian removals in Indiana began in the early 1830s and was mostly completed by 1846. The removals were preceded by several treaties, beginning in 1795, that gradually purchased most of the state from various tribes. The removals were part of a larger nationwide Indian Removal Act passed by the United States Congress and being carried out by the administration of United States President Andrew Jackson. By the time the removals began to occur, most of the tribes, like the Shawnee and the Wea, had left the state voluntarily, migrating into Canada and Missouri. The only significant tribes remaining were the Miami and the Potawatomi, both of which were already confined to reservation from previously signed treaties.

The largest tribe in the state, the Miami Tribe, was the last to be removed, although many in the tribe were permitted to remain on lands they owned privately, and guaranteed to them under the Treaty of St. Mary's. The terms of the treaties were considered generous at the time, and all Indians except the village of 859 Potawatomi, led by Chief Menominee, voluntarily left the state. The tribe of Chief Menominee were forcibly removed in the 1838 Potawatomi Trail of Death, where at least forty members of the tribe died. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians were the only other Indians left in the state after the end of the removals.