Understanding the Dawes Act: Definition and Impact on Native American Lands

Understanding the Dawes Act: The General Allotment Act of 1887, or the Dawes Act, is considered prime U.S. policy designed to divide Native American lands by allotting them separately. The act, which got its name from Senator Henry Dawes, intended to make Native Americans private landowners, but instead caused many to lose their land and culture.

Through Understanding the Dawes Act: Through this unit, readers discover just what the Indian Reorganization Act hoped to achieve, how it was put into effect, and its continuing impact on Native lands and cultures.

The main idea here is Understanding the Dawes Act. The powers of the policy over Native American lands are studied in this analysis, and it especially focuses on its historical reasons and the consequences it had for Native American people.

In Understanding the Dawes Act: By the Dawes Act, 160-acre plots were given to each head of Native American household, and unused land was sold to non-Native settlers. Because of this, the amount of Native-held land decreased from 138 million acres in 1887 to 48 million by 1934.

The main goal of the policy was to foster farming among Native Americans and civilize their communities, but this obstructed their ways of communal land use. Understanding the Dawes Act: Definition and Impact on Native American Lands

Many Native farmers, not well-suited to farming or tricked by others, saw their lands taken way, meaning two-thirds of allotted lands eventually became owned by people other than Native Americans. Understanding the Dawes Act: Definition and Impact on Native American Lands.

As a result of this act, tribal powers were reduced, such as in the instance of the Cherokee Nation, and its effects lasted for decades, with the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act finally working to restore tribal properties. Going through the content of Understanding the Dawes Act. The policy created a great deal of damage and continues to shape the efforts of Native Americans to maintain their lands and culture. Understanding the Dawes Act: Definition and Impact on Native American Lands