In the 1850's Congress passed the Indian Appropriations Act which called on all Native Americans to give up claims to their land and to move onto reservations. In practice, this act of forcing Native Americans onto reservations had been going on for decades prior. But the Indian Appropriations Act was the first law pased by Congress that called for all Native Americans to move onto reservations. Many Native tribes obeyed the law and voluntarily moved onto reservations while others were compelled onto reservations by war and bloodshed, most noteably the Sioux and Nez Perce. Finally, in 1877 Congress passed the Dawes Act which attempted to end the Native American's way of life once and for all. Below, learn about two aspects of the Dawes Act that had far-reaching and tramatic consequences to Native Americans.
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The first and perhaps most important part of the Dawes Act called for each Native American family to recieve 160 acres of land. If the Native American had no family he would then be given 80 acres of land. The land that was given was on the Native American's reservation and any extra land that was not given to tribe members would be bought and sold to "non-Indians". This in many respects became a land grab by the U.S. government as not all of the land on reservations was taken by Native Americans. Furthermore, in some cases, the worst land on a reservation was given to Native Americans.
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The second and most tramatic part of the Dawes Act was the acceleration of the Indian boarding schools program. Indian boarding schools had been around for decades prior to the Dawes Act. However, after passage of the act, the building of these schools accelerated. Indian boarding schools were schools built so Native American children would become better assimilated to American culture and life. Sometimes starting at the age of 4 or 5, Native American children were forcefully taken from their parents and shipped off to an Indian boarding school hundreds of miles from their homes. Once at these schools, the children were given American names, had their hair cut short, taught to read and speak English, and were forbidden from speaking the language of their tribe. These children were kept at these schools for years at a time and never allowed to go home. If the children broke any rules or attempted to run away they recieved harsh punishments that sometimes including being beaten. The motto of these schools was to "kill the Indian, save the man".The schools wanted the children to become Americanized and to forget their Native American heritage.
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Questions
1. Why was giving Native Americans 160 acres of reservation land bad? How could this lead to the destruction of Native American life?
2. How did sending Native American children to Indian boarding schools help destroy Native American life? If you were a Native American and sent to one of these schools what would have been the worst part of it?
3. Was Manifest Destiny a good thing for Native Americans? Why or Why not? What was the best or worst aspect of Manifest Destiny as far as Native Americans are concerned?
2. How did sending Native American children to Indian boarding schools help destroy Native American life? If you were a Native American and sent to one of these schools what would have been the worst part of it?
3. Was Manifest Destiny a good thing for Native Americans? Why or Why not? What was the best or worst aspect of Manifest Destiny as far as Native Americans are concerned?