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Passing of The Indian Removal Act
In 1830 congress sealed the fate of Native Americans by passing the Indian Removal Act, giving president Andrew Jackson the greenlight to start sending the Native Americans westward. -
Period: to
Trail of Death
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The Plight of The Potawatomi
The Indian Potawatomi signed nine treaties in 1836, ceding their remainin greservation in Indiana to the United States. The U.S. government paid them one dollar an acre for their land and gave them two years from the signing of the treaty to move west of the Mississippi. -
Witnesses to the Removal
Two European witnesses left detailed accounts that provide a glimpse of Potawatomi life prior to removal and insight into the Trail of Death. -
Father Benjamin Petit's Journal
Father Benjamin Marie Petit was a Catholic missionary stationed in Indiana in 1837. As he accompanied the Potawanomi on the Trail of Death in 1838. He wrote frequent letters on the way. -
Removal Plans
Removal plans were forming. His sketches and paintings show the Potawatomi going about their daily lives. From his diary we learn that several individuals were left behind at Twin Lakes as the evacuation began because they were to sick or elderly to undertake the journey. -
The Potawatomi Trail of Death Begins
It was the deadline for the Potawatomi to leave their land. Some of the potawatomi had already left the area, but Menominee and others had not.Whites started to arrive at Menominee's villages and violence erupted. -
Crossing the Mississippi
On Octoer 10th the Potawatomi crossed the Mississippi on steam ferry boats and entered Missouri. -
Kansas Soil
The Indians touched Kansas soil on Novemeber 2 and reached their final destination of Osawatomie, Kansas, on November 4 1838. They had traveled around 660 miles in two months.
