[Maps from Hale’s Epitome of Geography]

Native American tribes across the southern United States, prior to their forced removal.

This interesting group of eight different maps was originally published in Boston in 1830 as part of Nathan Hale’s An Epitome of Universal Geography, Or, a Description of the Various Countries of the Globe. Included in the group are Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Each sheet presents a different state in the southern U.S. and identifies settlements, counties, geographic features, and Native American tribes and agencies. The last are of particular interest, since the same year as publication, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act.

This piece of legislation authorized the federal government to issue lands west of the Mississippi River in exchange for indigenous territory within existing state borders. Many peoples resisted the policy, with one of the most infamous episodes being the forced migration of the ‘Five Civilized Tribes’ (Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw), often known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’

Source: Library of Congress; Google Books