Dawes Act 1887: Negative Impact On Unity, Self-Government, And Culture

For the overall question of this lab I used primary source two the Dawes Act 1887. The Dawes Act had an negative impact on the unity, self-government, and culture of Native Americans. It also allowed emphasis on individual land ownership. Native Americans supported a great deal at the hands of white men, during these times trying to protect their culture and their way of living. Legislators hoped to complete the assimilation process by forcing the deterioration of the communal life-style of the Native societies and imposing western values of strength to nuclear families and values of the dependency economics strictly within this small household unit by dividing reservation lands into privately owned. Native Americans lost over 90 million acres

of land over the 47 years of the Act’s life. Land deemed to be beyond what was needed for allotment was open to white settlers. Profits from the sales of these lands were often invested in programs meant to aid American Indians. Sec 5. “ That upon the approval of the allotments provided for in this act by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall cause patents to issue therefor in the name of the allottees, which patents shall be of the legal effect, and declare that the United States does and will hold the land thus allotted, for the period of twenty-five years, in trust for the sole use and benefit of the Indian to whom such allotment shall have been made.”