LAD #25: The Dawes Act

Approved in February 1887, the Dawes Act was put into place as a way to continue the policy of creating Indian reservations. To carry out this girl, the government set up a series of procedures that allotted certain parts of the reservation land to individual families for ownership. The U.S. looked to populate reservations in a more cooperative way other than forceful residency. The Dawes Act granted one-quarter section to each head of the family, an eighth for any person over eighteen, and a sixteenth for children younger than eighteen. In addition, the Act was designed to provide other benefits to the allotted landholder, like the addition of extra grazing lands when the original plot allotted became valuable for that purpose only. To prevent conflict between tribes and families, provisional lines could be drawn to ensure the total land area is equal to the rest of the land they were entitled to during the passing of the Act. Indians not on reservations can still be allotted land, if they applied to their local land office. Patents ensured that lands were owned by Indians within the U.S. for 25 years. Extension, selling, and purchasing was regulated by the Secretary of the Interior. Citizenship was offered to compliant Indians. However, the many displaced nations under Jackson's presidency did not apply to this law, nor did the Seneca Nation within New York.