Write a 200-300 word summary of a current issue between Native Americans and the federal government. Identify the legislation that you think is linked to the issue, and explain why you think there is a connection. During the late 1800s, Congress believed that the best way to foster assimilation of Indians was to “introduce among the Indians the customs and pursuits of civilized life and gradually absorb them into the mass of our citizens.” Under the General Allotment Act of 1887 (the Dawes Act), tribal lands were divided into parcels between 40 and 160 acres in size. The total land area comprised by the allotments was small compared to the amount of land that had been held by tribes at the passage of the Act. The remaining Indian lands were declared surplus by the government and opened for non-Indian settlement. Section 5 of the Dawes Act required the United States to “hold the land thus allotted, for the period of twenty-five years, in trust for the sole use and benefit of......
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Approximate Word Count: 348
Approximate Pages: 2 (260 words per double-spaced page) |