Editing Dawes Act (section)

==Creation of reservations and assimilation==
During the early 1800s, the [[United States]] federal government attempted to address what it referred to as the "Indian<!-- Do not change to Native American, this was the term at the time --> Problem." Numerous [[European immigrants]] were settling on the eastern border of the Indian territories (where most of the Native American tribes had been relocated). Conflicts between the groups increased as they competed for resources and operated according to different cultural systems. Searching for a quick solution to their problem, Commissioner of Indian<!-- Do not change to Native American, this was the term at the time --> Affairs [[William Medill]] proposed establishing "colonies" or "reservations" that would be exclusively for the natives, similar to those which some native tribes had created for themselves in the east.<ref>Sandweiss, Martha A., Carol A. O’ Connor, and Clyde A. Milner II. ''The Oxford History of The American West'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. p. 174. Print.</ref> It was a form of relocation whereby the US government would offer a transfer of the natives from current locations to areas in the region beyond the [[Mississippi River]]. This would enable settlement by European Americans in the Southeast, where there was a growing demand for access to new lands.<ref>McDonnell, Janet. ''The Dispossession of the American Indian'', Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991. p. 1</ref>

The new policy intended to concentrate Native Americans in areas away from the new settlers. During the later nineteenth century, Native American tribes resisted the imposition of the reservation system and engaged with the United States Army (in what were called the [[Indian Wars]] in the West) for decades. Finally defeated by the [[United States|U.S.]] military force and continuing waves of new settlers, the tribes negotiated agreements to resettle on reservations.<ref>Carlson, Leonard A. ''Indians, Bureaucrats, and Land'', Westport, Connecticut: 1981. p. 6. Print.</ref> Native Americans ended up with a total of over {{convert|155|e6acre|km2}} of land, ranging from arid deserts to prime agricultural land.<ref>Carlson, Leonard A. ''Indians, Bureaucrats, and Land'', Westport, Connecticut: 1981, p. 1.</ref>

The [[Indian reservation|Reservation system]], while compulsory for Native Americans, allotted each tribe a claim to their new lands, protection over their territories, and the right to govern themselves. With the U.S. Senate to be involved only for negotiation and ratification of treaties, the Native Americans adjusted their ways of life and tried to maintain their traditions.<ref>Carlson (1981). ''Indians, Bureaucrats, and Land,'' p. 5.</ref> The traditional tribal organization, a defining characteristic of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] as a social unit, became apparent to the non-native communities of the United States. The tribe was viewed as a highly cohesive group, led by a hereditary, chosen chief, who exercised power and influence among the members of the tribe by aging traditions.<ref>Carlson (1981). ''Indians, Bureaucrats, and Land'', pp. 79–80</ref>

By the end of the 1880s, some U.S. stakeholders felt that the [[Cultural assimilation of Native Americans|assimilation of Native Americans into American culture]] was a top priority and was needed for the peoples' very survival. This was the belief among people who "admired" them, as well as people who thought they needed to leave behind their tribal landholding, reservations, traditions, and, ultimately, their Indian identities.<ref>Sandweiss, Martha A., Carol A. O’ Connor, and Clyde A. Milner II. ''The Oxford History of The American West''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. p. 174</ref> Senator Henry Dawes launched a campaign to "rid the nation of tribalism through the virtues of private property, allotting land parcels to Indian heads of family."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grande |first=Sandy |title=Red pedagogy: Native American social and political thought |date=2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0742518292 |location=New York |pages=96}}</ref>

On February 8, 1887, President [[Grover Cleveland]] signed the Dawes Allotment Act into law. Responsible for enacting the allotment of the tribal reservations into plots of land for individual households, the Dawes Act was intended by reformers to achieve six goals:
* breaking up of tribes as a social unit,
* encouraging individual initiatives,
* furthering the progress of native farmers,
* reducing the cost of native administration,
* securing parts of the reservations as Indian land, and
* opening the remainder of the land to White settlers for profit.<ref>Carlson (1981), ''Indians, Bureaucrats, and Land'', p. 79</ref>

The Act facilitated assimilation; they would become more "Americanized" as the government allotted the reservations and the Indians adapted to subsistence farming, the primary model at the time. Native Americans held specific ideologies pertaining to tribal land.<ref>McDonnell, Janet. ''The Dispossession of the American Indian''. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991. p. 1.</ref> 
Some natives began to adapt to the culture. They adopted the values of the dominant society and saw land as real estate to be bought and developed; they learned how to use their land effectively to become prosperous farmers.<ref>McDonnell, Janet. ''The Dispossession of the American Indian''. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991. p. 2. Print.</ref> As they were inducted as citizens of the country, they would shed those of their discourses and ideologies presumed to be uncivilized and exchange them for ones that allowed them to become industrious, self-supporting citizens, and finally rid themselves of their need for government supervision.<ref>McDonnell, Janet. ''The Dispossession of the American Indian''. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991. p. 3. Print.</ref>