Five Civilized Tribes

The Muskogean-speaking nations of Indians (Chickasaws, Creeks, Choctaws, Cherokees, Seminoles) who originally inhabited the present SE USA. The Cherokees, in particular, adopted white ways, establishing a republic, and acquiring literacy in their own language and English. Nonetheless, they were removed to beyond the Mississippi R in the 1830s, along the ‘trail of tears’.

The Five Civilized Tribes is the term applied to five Native American nations, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, considered "civilized" by white society because they had adopted many of the colonists' customs (including the ownership of plantations and slaves) and had generally good relations with their neighbors. The Five Civilized Tribes lived in the Southeastern United States before their removal to other parts of country, especially the future Oklahoma.

Today, many Native Americans, especially those from other nations, find the "Five Civilized Tribes" label patronizing or racist. When the tribes are discussed together, sometimes the modified label "Five Tribes" is used to avoid the suggestion that all other indigenous peoples were savages.

The tribes were uprooted from their homes east of the Mississippi River in a series of removals, authorized by federal legislation, over several decades and moved to what was then called Indian Territory and is now the eastern portion of the state of Oklahoma.

The Five Tribes were divided during the American Civil War as to which side to support.

Once the tribes had been relocated to Indian Territory, the United States government promised that their lands would be free of white settlement.