AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: Dawes Land Allotment Act (Day 171/309)

Hey APUSHers, let’s chat about the Dawes Land Allotment Act as part of my series- APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

Proceedings of the Third Annual Meeting of the Lake Mohonk Conference of Friends of the Indian, Indian Rights Association

Beginning in the 1880s, wealthy philanthropists met yearly to discuss American Indian policies at the Lake Mohonk Conference. Without inclusion of any Native Americans, these “Friends of the Indian” recommended ideas such as breaking up the reservations. 

Cheyenne Indians tearing up the tracks of the Union Pacific, Digital Public Library of America

At the same time, others viewed reservations lands as surplus and wanted to commit them to the public domain for economic development like railroads.

Dawes Act, Wikimedia Commons

Henry Dawes, a Massachusetts senator, proposed the Dawes Act after traveling to Indian territory. While originally against allotment, he worried that proposals by others would be even more damaging.

“Indian Lands for Sale,” National Park Service

The Dawes Land Allotment Act of 1887 proposed taking the land of the tribes that had been guaranteed through 374 treaties and divide it into parcels of acres to be distributed among tribal members. Future political maneuvering forced the sale of much of these lands. 

The Dawes Act violated the community oriented nature of tribes by forcing individuality. It impacted the sense of belonging and the generations of relationships that had been central to their way of life.

Join me tomorrow as I explain American Indian Boarding Schools in the next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!