I speak as a person who is 1/8 indian. one of my great grandfathers was "some sort of Indian" They now call them "melungeons". Let's take a look at why the trail of tears happened. It was a matter of security.
When white settlers came they lived on land "Purchased"from Indians. They'd go out and some passing Indian would "sell" the land for the offered goods. A lot of times this worked well but when France and England got in to a fight the French allied Indians came at the settlers with tomahawks. When the French lost those Indians were forced to move away from the settlers. The Cherokee and creek Indians were British Allies. The British allied Indians lived rather peacefully near the whites along the Tennessee /VA border until the troubles of the 1770s, when the British sent them to attack the frontier settlements. And again they came at us with tomahawks.. After the revolution, they, like their Tory allies were forced to move away from the settlers areas. The Cherokee allies moved down into the Chattanooga area, Northern NC and GA. The creeks had always lived in Alabama and Arkansas. In the war of 1812, they came at the settlers again on behalf of a foreign power. when the US. following that war became a bit of threat, the Spanish in Florida wanted a buffer riled them up to expand influence into GA and some of the other southern areas. When they came at us again,supported by Spain this time,Andy Jackson went south and kicked their ass and the Spanish in Florida, the Indians in Alabama and southern TN. After Andy's incursion, Spain sold Florida to the US and gave up all claims. Following that war some groups continued their hostilities and when Andy became President he moved them all west because they were the allies of anyone who had designs on the USA. A lot of Indians lived peacefully with the whites and stayed in their areas but certain clans of the Cherokee and creeks continued raids and Andy said move them west. He settled them on top of one of the richest oil fields in US history. The whites did not want to steal their land, they wanted to buy certain tracts at a fair price for the times. and Indian con men sold it to them. Anyway, the socialist made the revision of history about the eastern indians in the 1950's. Now the western expansion is another story. those lands we did take by conquest, but even there, they were supported against us by the Mexican and British governments.
Salute
Bob Taylor