LAD #25

In February of 1887, the Dawes Act was approved by congress. This Act provided for the relocation of Native Americans onto specified reservations. According to the Dawes Act, all Native Americans would be reassigned to a section of land to live on; this land would also be surveyed at any time. This act then continues on to designate how much land each Indian would be given out. Of course, the head of the family is to receive the most land. It then says that if an Indian was not given any land on a reservation then they were aloud to live anywhere else in the country. This act was specified to only be binding for 25 years. At the end of the 25 years, the president could make the decision to extend or not the act. This act entitles the Indians to the benefits of being under the American law, this included equal rights. One catch was that the government could use the reservation land for public use is deemed necessary to the country.