1830 Indiana

During the 1830s tensions increased among Indians, the United States government, and white settlers in Indiana. The U.S. government’s policy toward Indians during this period began in the 1820s with the appointment of Thomas L. McKenney as the first commissioner of the Office of Indian Affairs under the War Department. The 1830 Indian Removal Act set the tone for native-white relations for the next two decades. The forced migration of the Five Civilized Tribes is the most famous case of removal but this pattern repeated itself throughout the nation, including Indiana.