The Indian Removal Act of 1830, enacted by President Andrew Jackson, sought to remove all Native nations in the Southeast portion of the United States to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Cherokee people fought against removal, taking it to the Supreme Court in the landmark case Worcester v. Georgia, which determined that removal was unconstitutional. However, Jackson moved forward despite the court’s decision, and Cherokee people were forcibly removed in 1838, resulting in extreme numbers of death and sickness. Some strategically found ways to stay in our ancestral homelands and would eventually become the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). The existence of the EBCI and other Native nations that remain in the Southeast today are a reminder that the Indian Removal Act, although incredibly impactful in separating Native nations, failed in its ultimate goal of total land dispossession.