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Dawes Severalty Act (1887) by Lillian Bonar Essay: Dawes Severalty Act (1887) Pages: 11 Rating: 3 stars Download Links: • Dawes Severalty Act (1887).pdf • Dawes Severalty Act (1887).doc Dawes Severalty Act (1887) In the past century, with the end of the warfare between the United States and Indian tribes and nations, the United States of America continued its efforts to acquire more land for the Indians. About this time the government and the 'Indian reformers' tried to turn Indians into Americans. A major aspect of this plan was the General Allotment or Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 which ended in 1934. The long term effects of the program were not as helpful as many had planned it to be, and in fact the effects of poverty as a result of this government interference can still be felt by the tribes today. The Dawes Severalty Act was passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for the granting of landholdings (allotments, usually 160 acres) to individual Native Americans, replacing communal tribal holdings. Sponsored by U.S. Senator H. L. Dawes , the aim of the act was to absorb tribe members into the larger national society. Allotments could be sold after a statutory period (25 years), and “surplus” land not allotted was opened to settlers. Within decades following the passage of the act the vast majority of what had been tribal land in the West was in white hands. The act also established a trust fund to collect and distribute proceeds from oil, mineral, timber, and grazing leases on Native American lands. The failure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to manage this trust fund properly led to legislation and lawsuits in the 1990s and early 2000s to force the government to properly account for the revenues collected. properly account for the revenues collected. The aim of the act was to encourage American Indians to take up agriculture and adopt 'the habits of...