In the 1830s, many Americans supported the Indian Removal Act because they believed that it was necessary for the expansion and development of the United States. They saw Native American lands as unproductive and wanted to use them for agriculture and settlement. Additionally, many Americans held racist attitudes towards Native Americans and saw them as inferior and in need of assimilation into American society. Supporters of the Indian Removal Act also argued that removing Native American tribes from their lands and resettling them in the West would protect them from conflict with white settlers and promote their safety.
Despite the US Government enacting treaties with Indigenous peoples that recognized their sovereignty and rights to their lands, the government constantly broke these treaties. This had a devastating effect on Native American life and culture. Many tribes were forced to leave their ancestral lands and relocate to unfamiliar territories, resulting in the loss of their traditional ways of life and significant cultural disruption. Additionally, the forced relocation of Indigenous peoples led to significant loss of life, with thousands dying on the Trail of Tears alone. The government’s failure to uphold treaties also eroded trust between Native American communities and the federal government, perpetuating a cycle of broken promises and mistrust that still affects Indigenous peoples today.