Changes in the Government’s Attitude

• In the 1880s the government decided that reservations only encouraged Indians to live as part of a tribe, rather than as individuals. Getting rid of reservations would free up land for settlers, reduce costs and force Indians to assimilate.
• The Dawes Act (1887)


  The Dawes Act was like a Homestead Act for Plains Indians.

  • Each Indian family was given a 160-acre plot of reservation land
  • Single people got 80 acres and orphans 40 acres
  • Plains Indians who accepted and left their reservation could become American citizens
  • All the reservation land left over was sold to whites (e.g. in Oklahoma)
• The Dawes Act is significant because it made life for Plains Indians even harder. The small, poor quality plots made farming very difficult – many gave up and sold their land to whites
• In 1890 the Indian Frontier officially ceased to exist, and the first national park was created (Yosemite) to protect the little areas of wilderness that remained.