LAD#21 - Dawes Act

The Dawes Act was approved by Congress on February 8th, 1887. It is divided into eleven sections which provide and declare the acts and provisions of the removal and relocation of Native Americans to designated reservations. It states that any tribe or band of Indians shall hereafter be located upon any reservation created for their use. It would be advantageous for agricultural and grazing purpose, even reservation land can be surveyed or resurveyed if necessary. IT then proceeds to declare how much each family member or single person shall receive upon relocation to the reservation. The highest being the head of a family, who would have received one-quarter of a section, and the lowest being a single person under eighteen years, who would have only received one-sixteenth of a section. In the case that there is not sufficient land in any of said reservations, each individual of each of said classes pro rata shall be allotted land in accordance with the provisions of this act. It provides that any Indian not residing upon a reservation shall make settlements upon any surveyed or unsurveyed lands of the United States, upon the same amount of land they would have been allotted if they had been relocated to a reservation. It is declared that the United States does and will hold the land thus allotted for the period of twenty-five years in trust for the sole use and benefit of the Indians. At the end of this said period, they are discharged of all charge or incumbrance, yet it is within the right of the President to extend this period. After land haves been allotted to all Indians, it shall be the best interests of the tribe to negotiate with the secretary of the Interior for purchase and release by the tribe. The Dawes Act guarantees that Indians shall have the benefit of and be subject to the laws, both civil and criminal of the State or Territory which they reside in. It further provides equal protection of the Indians under the law. Section 8 relays the tribes or bands of Indians who have been exempted from relocation to a reservation by the Dawes Act. Though the land is supposedly the Native Americans' is it stated that Congress has the right and the power to grant right of way through any lands granted, for railroads, highways, telegraph lines, or for public use.