What was the effect of the Dawes Act on Native American tribes?
1 Answer
Loss of land and impoverishment.
Explanation:
The Dawes Act of 1887 (amended 1891, modified by the Curtis Act 1898, modified by the Burke Act 1906) authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian lands and then divide them into "allotments", smaller parcels. These allotments would then be offered to individuals of the tribe, with the remainder being declared "surplus" lands which could be sold to non-Native buyers.
It was an attempt to break up the communal way of living that had been traditionally followed by the tribes and thereby facilitate their assimilation into the then-current American free enterprise/private property model.
Although passed with what was claimed as being the best of intentions, namely to lift Indians out of poverty, the results were disastrous for the tribes. Native land ownership shrank from approximately 150 million acres in 1887 to only 48 million acres by 1934. Worse, given the conditions on the Great Plains the size of the allotments offered were often too small to sustain a family.
The breakup of communally owned land also diminished the roles and status of women. Later adjustments and changes made the entire system of land management of Indian lands complex, convoluted, and confusing.
Though it was formally ended in 1934, the effects of the land allotment acts and amendments are still felt today and will be into the future.
