Indian Territory

Initially most of the land west of the Mississippi River; after 1834 the term was restricted to the present state of Oklahoma. After the Indian Relocation Act of 1830, most of the American Indians east of the Mississippi were relocated to Indian Territory, some forcibly, including the Five Civilized Tribes from 1838. Indian Territory became the Territory of Oklahoma in 1890; ‘Oklahoma’ means ‘red people’ in the Choctaw language.