Dawes Act of 1887
Dawes Act of 1887
The Dawes Act of 1887 also referred to as the General Allotment
Act or the Dawes Severalty Act, authorized the President of the
United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it
into allotments for individual Native Americans. In order to
convince Native Americans to relocate and lay claim to the
assigned lands the government offered an incentive, citizenship.
In order to earn U.S. citizenship Native Americans would have to
accept the allotments and live separately from their tribes tending
their property on their own.
Important Requirements of the Dawes Act:
• A head of family would receive a grant of 160 acres
• A single person or orphan over 18 years of age
would receive a grant of 80 acres
• Individuals under the age of 18 would receive 40
acres each
• The allotments would be held in trust by the U.S.
Government for 25 years
• Eligible Native Americans had four years to select
their land afterwards the selection would be made
for them by the Secretary of the Interior
Video: The Dawes Act of 1887
• While watching the video below consider the shifting reality
faced by the Native American people of 1887, and whether or
not the information presented depicts history as we study it
today.
• Also consider the different interpretations of reality from the
view points of the Native Americans, and the United States
government officials.
• What does the rhetoric of the video express?
• Consider that rhetoric leads to many different interpretations
of reality that affect our view regarding the world around us
(Borchers).
• How are the views/realities of those affected by the Dawes Act
different/same?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45HATCWo2PQ
Purpose
•
The purpose of the Dawes Act was supposedly intended to
protect Native American property rights and welfare during
the coming land rush that was anticipated when Indian lands
would be opened to settlers. However, the purpose of the
Dawes Act was also an attempt to integrate Native American
Indians into white society by changing their lifestyle to the
"civilized" western lifestyle of farmers and settlers.
Congressman Henry Dawes who authored the act stated his
belief that assigning property rights to Native Americans would
urge the "civilizing process" stating that to be civilized meant
to "wear civilized clothes...cultivate the ground, live in houses,
ride in Studebaker wagons, send children to school, drink
whiskey [and] own property".
Changes to Native American Culture:
• To break up tribes
• To halt the nomadic lifestyle of Native Americans
• To integrate Native Americans into the lifestyle and culture of western
Americans
• To enroll with the Bureau of Indian Affairs - later called the 'Dawes Rolls'
• To encourage Native Indians to adopt a settled farming based existence
• To reduce the cost of the administration of Native Americans
• To settle and allot individual Native Americans plots of land
• To open the remainder of the "surplus" land to white settlers for profit
1880's Native American Imagery
Before and After Photo of Boy Indian Student
White Teachers and Native American Students
Native American Family
Native American Group of Women and Children
Dawes Act and Oklahoma
The passing of the
Dawes Act in 1887
opened the way for the
sale of Native American
lands prompting white
settlement in Indian
territory. The now
unassigned lands were
considered the best
public land in the
United states.
The passing of the Indian
Appropriations Bill of 1889
allowed for the two million acres
to be opened for settlement.
The land cleared by the passing
of the Dawes Act was about to
host the first Oklahoma Land
Rush.
The Oklahoma Land Rush
An astounding 50,000 white settlers
flooded the plains to stake their
claim of the available two million
acres of Native American lands now
open for settlement.
Video: Land Run OK Moments
While watching the video below consider how the rhetoric used influences our
perception of this part of Oklahoma's history.
According to Gerard Hauser, "A sense of history provides continuity of customs
and traditions, of law, and of accomplishments..." (Hauser 190).
How does the rhetoric of this video shape our view of the Oklahoma Land Rush?
Was the settling of Oklahoma after the passing of the Dawes Act an
accomplishment? Why or Why not?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3qpVkZkGes
Assignments
• CONTENT SKILLS
o Content Standard 1: The student will analyze the transformation of the United
States through its civil rights struggles, immigrant experiences, settlement of the
American West, and the industrialization of American society in the PostReconstruction through the Progressive Eras, 1865 to 1900.
Questions 1:
Examine the rationale behind federal policies toward Native Americans
including the establishment of reservations, attempts at assimilation, and the
impact of the Dawes Act on tribal sovereignty and land ownership.
Content Standard 2: The student will evaluate the major political and
economic events that transformed the land and its people prior to statehood.
Questions 2:
Compare and contrast multiple points of view to evaluate the impact of the
Dawes Act which resulted in the loss of tribal communal lands and the
redistribution of lands by various means including land runs as typified by the
Unassigned Lands and tribal allotments.
Useful Links
• National Archives: Maps of Indian Territory, the Dawes Act, and
Will Rogers' Enrollment Case File
• History: Cleveland signs devastating Dawes Act into law
• PBS: Arc
• History: The Oklahoma Land Rush Begins
• Oklahoma Historical Society: Oklahoma Land Run
References
•
Alchin, Linda. "Dawes Act." Siteseen Ltd. Mar. 2013. Web. 08 May 2015.
Borchers, Timothy. Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction. Long Grove: Waveland Press,
2006. Print.
Fitzham, John. "The Dawes Act of 1887." Youtube. Youtube, 23 Jan. 2011. Web. 08 May
2015.
Hauser, Gerard A. Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. 2nd Ed. Long Grove: Waveland
Press, 2002. Print.
History: The Oklahoma Land Rush Begins. A&E Networks. Web. 08 May 2015.
Oklahoma Council Social Studies, prod. "Land Run 1889 OK Moments." Youtube.
Youtube, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 May
2015.
Oklahoma Historical Society, prod. "The Oklahoma Land Run." Web. 08 May 2015.
PBS, prod. "New Perspectives on the West: The Dawes Act of 1887." THE WEST FILM
PROJECT and WETA. 2001. Web. 08
May 2015.
United States. Dept. of Education. "Oklahoma Academic Standards." Social Studies.
US Dept. of Education. n.d.
Web. 08 May 2015.