The Office of Indian Affairs was formed in 1824 to transfer Native Americans from the east to reservations in the west. They were responsible for keeping track of the population on the reservations, and there were far fewer Native Americans by the end of the 1800s than there were at the beginning of the century. Additionally, although they were responsible for providing resources to reservations, some workers would sell the goods off and pocket the money instead.
The Dawes act, signed in 1887, was intended to protect Native Americans from abuse, and attempted to assimilate them by moving them onto farms. It gave 160 acres to family heads, held under trust for 25 years, before the title was transferred. However, in order to receive this trust, they had to renounce their tribes, and the act ultimately failed in helping to assimilate Native Americans. …show more content…
This meant that they could treat them as enemies, and fought them in order to force them to back off and concede the land they resided on, which allowed the US to expand further
The Dawes act, signed in 1887, was intended to protect Native Americans from abuse, and attempted to assimilate them by moving them onto farms. It gave 160 acres to family heads, held under trust for 25 years, before the title was transferred. However, in order to receive this trust, they had to renounce their tribes, and the act ultimately failed in helping to assimilate Native Americans. …show more content…
This meant that they could treat them as enemies, and fought them in order to force them to back off and concede the land they resided on, which allowed the US to expand further