The Dawes Act and Its Impact

The General Allotment Act of 1887, commonly known as the Dawes Act, was one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting Native American land rights in United States history. Named after its sponsor, Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, the act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Native Americans.

The stated objective of the Dawes Act was to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society by encouraging them to take up farming and abandon their traditional communal way of life. However, the act had devastating consequences for Native American communities and their land holdings.

Key Provisions of the Dawes Act

• Each family head would receive 160 acres (65 hectares)
• Each single person over 18 and orphan under 18 would receive 80 acres (32 hectares)
• Each other single person under 18 would receive 40 acres (16 hectares)
• Land would be held in trust by the government for 25 years
• "Surplus" land would be sold to non-Native settlers

The implementation of the Dawes Act led to a significant reduction in land held by Native Americans. Before the act, Native Americans held approximately 138 million acres. By 1934, when the allotment policy ended with the Indian Reorganization Act, Native American land holdings had been reduced to about 48 million acres—a loss of nearly 90 million acres.