Goal of Assimilation

• According to Nebraskastudies.org, a main goal of the act was to integrate American Indians into the general population. Government policies encouraged the break up of reservations so American Indians would be blended into national life as ordinary citizens. Dawes specifically supported Indians driving cars, eating white America's foods, and wearing non-native American clothing.
  
  

White Settlers and Indian Reservations

• The Dawes Act and the Dawes Allotment Act caused protected American Indian reservations to be sold off in parcels to non-native Americans. The evolution of federal law made it progressively easier for previously protected American Indian territories to be bought by white Americans. According to the Sovereign Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, this led to the general devastation of the American Indian reservation system. As the geographical area occupied by white settlers continued to sprawl, the reservation lands provided the needed space for traditional, American expansion.
  
  

Example of Oneida

• The Wisconsin Oneida Reservation is a stark example of the effect the Dawes Act and the Dawes Allotment Plan had on tribal lands. The Sovereign Oneida Nation of Wisconsin states that the reservation originally contained 65,428 acres but was eventually reduced to only a few hundred acres after being deluged with white settlers.
  
  

End Result

• American Indian reservations were created through formal treaties with the U.S. government and the American Indian nations. The relocation of American Indians to specified tracts of land was morally objectionable to some, but the reservation system did legally recognize tribal nations and their laws. The Dawes Act and the Dawes Allotment Act propelled a further degradation of American Indian sovereignty with its assault on the reservation system