Editing Indian Territory (section)

===Tribes from the Southeastern Woodlands===
{{Main|Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands}}
[[File:Etowah Aerial HRoe 2016.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The [[Mississippian culture]] was a [[Mound Builders|mound-building]] Native American culture that flourished in North America before the arrival of Europeans.]]
[[File:Cherokee National Capitol.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1|[[Cherokee National Capitol|Cherokee Nation Historic Courthouse]] in [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma]], built in 1849, the oldest public building standing in [[Oklahoma]]<ref>Moser, George W. [http://www.leftmoon.com/cherokee10/history.asp A Brief History of Cherokee Lodge #10] (retrieved 26 June 2009).</ref>]] 
[[File:choctaw capitol museum.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1|The historic Choctaw Capitol of [[Tuskahoma, Oklahoma]], built in 1884]]
Many of the tribes forcibly relocated to Indian Territory were from [[Southeastern United States]], including the so-called [[Five Civilized Tribes]] or [[Cherokee]], [[Chickasaw]], [[Choctaw]], [[Muscogee Creeks]], and [[Seminole]], but also the [[Natchez people|Natchez]], [[Yuchi people|Yuchi]], [[Alabama people|Alabama]], [[Koasati people|Koasati]], and [[Caddo people]].

Between 1814 and 1840, the [[Five Civilized Tribes]] had gradually ceded most of their lands in the Southeast section of the US through a series of treaties. The southern part of Indian Country (what eventually became the State of Oklahoma) served as the destination for the policy of Indian removal, a policy pursued intermittently by [[President of the United States|American presidents]] early in the 19th century, but aggressively pursued by President Andrew Jackson after the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Five Civilized Tribes in the [[Southern United States|South]] were the most prominent tribes displaced by the policy, a relocation that came to be known as the [[Trail of Tears]] during the Choctaw removals starting in 1831. The trail ended in what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma, where there were already many Indians living in the territory, as well as whites and escaped slaves. Other tribes, such as the [[Lenape|Delaware]], [[Cheyenne]], and [[Apache]] were also forced to relocate to the Indian territory.

The [[Five Civilized Tribes]] established tribal capitals in the following towns:
* [[Cherokee Nation]] – [[Tahlequah, Oklahoma|Tahlequah]]
* [[Chickasaw Nation]] – [[Tishomingo, Oklahoma|Tishomingo]] (later moved to [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]])
* [[Choctaw Nation]] – [[Tuskahoma, Oklahoma|Tuskahoma]] (later moved to [[Durant, Oklahoma|Durant]])
* [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation|Creek Nation]] – [[Okmulgee, Oklahoma|Okmulgee]]
* [[Seminole Nation of Oklahoma|Seminole Nation]] – [[Wewoka, Oklahoma|Wewoka]]

These tribes founded towns such as [[Tulsa]], [[Ardmore, Oklahoma|Ardmore]], [[Muskogee, Oklahoma|Muskogee]], which became some of the larger towns in the state. They also brought their African [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] to Oklahoma, which added to the [[African Americans|African American]] population in the state.
* Beginning in 1783, the [[List of Choctaw treaties|Choctaw signed a series of treaties]] with the Americans. The [[Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek]] was the first removal treaty carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act, ceding land in the future state of [[Mississippi]] in exchange for land in the future state of Oklahoma, resulting in the [[Choctaw Trail of Tears]].
* The [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation]] began the process of moving to Indian Territory with the 1814 [[Treaty of Fort Jackson]] and the [[Treaty of Washington (1826)|1826 Treaty of Washington]]. The 1832 [[Treaty of Cusseta]] ceded all Creek claims east of the [[Mississippi River]] to the United States.
* The 1835 the [[Treaty of New Echota]] established terms under which the entire [[Cherokee Nation]] was expected to cede its territory in the Southeast and move to Indian Territory. Although the treaty was not approved by the Cherokee National Council, it was ratified by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] and resulted in the [[Cherokee Trail of Tears]].
* The [[Chickasaw#Removal era (1837)|Chickasaw]], rather than receiving [[land grants]] in exchange for ceding [[indigenous land rights]], received financial compensation. The tribe negotiated a $3 million payment for their native lands, which was not fully funded by the U.S. for 30 years. In 1836, the [[Chickasaw]] agreed to purchase land from the previously removed Choctaws for $530,000.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Jesse | last1 = Burt | first2 = Bob | last2 = Ferguson | title = Indians of the Southeast: Then and Now | year = 1973 | publisher = Nashville and New York: Abingdon Press | chapter = The Removal | pages = [https://archive.org/details/indiansofsouthea00burt/page/170 170–173] | isbn = 978-0-687-18793-5 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/indiansofsouthea00burt/page/170 }}</ref>
* The [[Seminole]] People, originally from the present-day state of [[Florida]], signed the [[Treaty of Payne's Landing]] in 1832, in response to the 1830 [[Indian Removal Act]], that forced the tribes to move to Indian Territory in present-day [[Oklahoma]]. In October 1832, a delegation arrived in Indian Territory and conferred with the Creek Nation tribe that had already been removed to the area. In 1833, an agreement was signed at [[Fort Gibson, Oklahoma|Fort Gibson]] (on the [[Arkansas River]] just east of Muskogee, Oklahoma), accepting the area in the western part of the Creek Nation. However, the chiefs in Florida did not agree to the agreement.  In spite of the disagreement, the treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate in April 1834.