The Dawes Act of 1887, also known as the General Allotment Act, was a United States federal law that provided for the allotment of Native American tribal lands to individual households. It was intended to promote assimilation and to encourage individual land ownership among Native Americans, but it also had devastating effects on Native American communities.
Impact on American Indians
The Dawes Act had several negative consequences for American Indians.
- Loss of Land: The Dawes Act led to the loss of millions of acres of Native American land. By breaking up tribal lands into individual allotments, the U.S. government could more easily sell or lease surplus lands to non-Native settlers. Between 1887 and 1934, Native Americans lost more than 100 million acres of land, which was roughly two-thirds of their original land base.
- Individual Indebtedness: The allotments were often too small to support a family, leading many Native Americans to sell or mortgage their lands to non-Native buyers. This resulted in high rates of indebtedness and poverty among Native American communities.
- Cultural Disruption: The Dawes Act disrupted traditional Native American cultures and ways of life. It undermined tribal governments, communal ownership of land, and traditional subsistence systems. Many Native Americans were forced to abandon their traditional way of life and adopt a more Eurocentric lifestyle.
- Assimilation: The Dawes Act was part of a larger U.S. government policy of assimilation, which sought to eradicate Native American cultures and force Native Americans to adopt Anglo-American values and ways of life. The act aimed to "Americanize" Native Americans and to incorporate them into the dominant society.
The Dawes Act was eventually replaced by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which sought to reverse some of the damaging effects of the Dawes Act and to encourage tribal self-government and economic development. However, the Dawes Act had a lasting impact on Native American communities, and its effects are still felt today.