Which Native Americans were affected?

The Native American nations most affected by the Trail of Tears were the Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee), Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, traditionally grouped together as the Five Civilized Tribes by nineteenth century writers because they had adopted many European-American practices including written constitutions, plantations, slavery, and Christian missions.

The Cherokee Nation occupied northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, southwestern North Carolina, and northeastern Alabama. By the 1820s the Cherokee had developed a written language using Sequoyah's syllabary completed in 1821, established a bilingual newspaper called the Cherokee Phoenix in 1828, adopted a written constitution modeled on the United States Constitution in 1827, and built a capital at New Echota. About 16,000 Cherokee were forcibly removed in 1838 to 1839 along the most famous Trail of Tears route, with approximately 4,000 deaths.

The Creek (Muscogee) Nation occupied central Alabama and Georgia. The Treaty of Cusseta of March 24, 1832 had partitioned Creek lands into individual allotments, and after fraud and pressure left most Creeks landless, the federal government forcibly removed about 23,000 of them in 1836 and 1837 with about 3,500 deaths.

The Chickasaw Nation occupied northern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama. They signed the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek in October 1832 and the Treaty of Doaksville in 1837 selling their land for about 530,000 dollars and accepting western relocation. About 4,000 Chickasaw moved between 1837 and 1838. They suffered a lower proportional death rate because they organized their own removal with their funds.

The Choctaw Nation occupied central Mississippi and Louisiana. Under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of September 27, 1830, about 14,000 Choctaw were forcibly removed between 1831 and 1833, with perhaps 2,500 deaths. About 5,000 stayed in Mississippi accepting individual allotments, although most were later defrauded out of their land.

The Seminole Nation occupied Florida and was a confederation incorporating Creek refugees, escaped enslaved Africans, and other groups. They resisted removal in three Seminole Wars: the First in 1816 to 1819, the Second from 1835 to 1842 led by Osceola, and the Third from 1855 to 1858. About 3,000 Seminoles were forcibly removed, but several hundred under leaders like Billy Bowlegs and Halpatter Tustenuggee remained hidden in the Everglades, and their descendants form the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe today.

After removal, all five nations rebuilt themselves in Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma), where they wrote new constitutions, founded schools and newspapers, and engaged in agriculture and ranching. They suffered further losses during the Civil War when factions sided with the Confederacy, after which the Reconstruction treaties of 1866 imposed additional land cessions.