Final answer:
The Indian Removal Act harmed Indigenous peoples, leading to the Trail of Tears and the fragmentation of tribes. The Five Civilized Tribes suffered greatly, with enslaved persons among them also enduring the hardships of forced migration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary groups harmed by the Indian Removal Act were the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly those tribes living within the boundaries of states seeking to expand their territory. The Indian Removal Act, championed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, led to the forcible relocation of Native American tribes to lands west of the Mississippi, which had drastic consequences including illness, death, and the loss of cultural identity and heritage. Among those affected were the Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creeks, Chickasaw, and Seminole. These groups endured the Trail of Tears, on which thousands perished. Some Native American tribes owned enslaved persons, who also suffered during these forced migrations. The long-term effects included political and social fragmentation of these tribes, as they were often split into separate groups, some resisting removal and others acquiescing, resulting in geographically and politically divided communities.
While white colonists and U.S. officials facilitated and instituted these policies, there were no direct harms to these groups comparable to the injustices and suffering of the Indigenous peoples. White landowners and settlers benefitted from the Indian Removal by gaining access to the lands the Native Americans were forced to vacate.