The SE States – 9 States, 21% of the US Population… But Only 2% of US Indian Tribes?

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 promoted by President Andrew Jackson ordered all of the Indians living east of the Mississippi River to move west of the Mississippi River and prompted the infamous Trail of Tears. One of the strongest motivators of the Indian Removal Act was the discovery of significant amounts of gold in the Dahlonega, Georgia, an area in the foothills of the smoky mountains. Nearly 200 years later, the United States still clearly reflects this tragedy in the population patterns of the Southeastern states.

Today, while almost 21% of the US population resides in the 9 southeastern states, there are only 10 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, or less than 2% of the 566 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in the United States. The chart below illustrates the imbalance. A number of tribes in the southeast have sought Federal recognition and faced numerous hurdles in proving their continued existence – a daunting task for a group that was forced out of their homeland at gunpoint.

This is the beginning of a monthly series that will feature a story of the plight of one of the 10 southeastern Tribes and an introduction to Tribes currently seeking Federal Recognition.  The posts are a tribute to the perseverance and tenacity of each of the Tribes.

State	Population (in millions)	Fed Rec Tribes
Alabama	4.8	1
Arkansas	3.0	0
Florida	19.9	2
Georgia	10.1m	0
Louisiana	4.6	4
Mississippi	3.0	1
North Carolina	9.9	1
South Carolina	4.8	0
Tennessee	6.5	0
Total Southeast US	66.8/20.9%	10/1.8%
Total U. S.	318.8	566

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Division, May 8, 2015.