The trail of tears was a horrific event that happened from 1830-1838. The Cherokee Indians were forced out of Georgia and into Oklahoma. When they refused to leave the government sent in troops to speed up the removal process. They kept them in stockades while they looted their homes and when they were done they made them walk 1,200 miles. Along the way about 5,000 Cherokees died. In 1907 Oklahoma became a state and their territory was gone.