The Indian Removal Act was signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Indian tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands. The act enjoyed strong support from the non-Indian peoples of the South, but there was a large amount of resistance from the Indian tribes. Cherokee tribes came together as an independent nation to stop this relocation, but they were unsuccessful. As part of my American History course in college, I was given a writing prompt to address the government about the Indian Removal Act. This struck me rather deeply, as I have both Native American friends and family across many different tribes. I can't remember the exact wording of the prompt, but I do remember that I strayed a bit from the directions as I had a case of writers block. Luckily however, I managed to move my professor enough to get an A (which wasn't very hard to be honest, because he's a very friendly and understanding guy). The following is an address to the American People from a Cherokee Indian.