Dawes Adjustment Act

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Following the failure of the reservation policy, the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, also known as Dawes General Allotment Act, was put in place to encourage Indians to adapt to the American norms. The first thing that the Dawes Severalty Act impacted was the tribe’s landholding system. Instead of the entire population of Indians sharing all the land, the government assigned each individual Indian family a total of 160 acres for them to farm on, but they were restricted from selling or trading that land for 25 years. In addition to the termination of landholding, Indian traditions such as feasts and dances were outlawed and religious practices were discouraged. To furthermore encourage Indians to become more American-like, missionaries took Indian