Dawes Manyty Act (1887)In the last century, with the end of the war between the United States and the Indian tribes and nations, the United States of America continued its efforts to acquire more land for the Indians. During this time the government and “Indian reformers” attempted to turn Indians into Americans. An important aspect of this plan was the General Allotmentor Dawes Diversity Act of 1887 which ended in 1934. The long-term effects of the program were not as beneficial as many had predicted, and indeed the effects of poverty as a result of this government interference it can still be felt by the tribes today. The Dawes Multiplety Act was passed by the United States Congress to provide for the granting of land holdings (plots, usually 160 acres) to individual Native Americans, replacing communal tribal holdings. Sponsored by U.S. Senator H. L. Dawes, the goal The goal of the act was to absorb tribal members into the larger national society. Plots could be sold after a period established by law (25 years) and unallocated “surplus” land was opened to settlers. In the decades after the law passed, the vast majority of what had been tribal land in the West was in white hands. The law also established a trust fund to collect and distribute revenues from oil, minerals, timber, and grazing leases on Native American lands. The Bureau of Indian Affairs' failure to adequately manage this trust fund led to legislation and lawsuits in the 1990s and early 2000s to force the government to properly account for the revenue collected. The purpose of the act was to encourage American Indians to engage in agriculture and to adopt ' the habits of...... middle of paper ......ws, Chickasaws, Seminoles and Osages, Miamies and Peorias, andSacs and Foxes, in the Indian Territory, nor to any of the reservations of the Seneca nation of New York Indians in the State of New York, nor to that strip of territory in the State of Nebraska adjoining the Sioux nation to the south added by executive order. The final section of the Dawes Act (section 11) provides that nothing in this act shall be so construed as to prevent the removal of the Southern Ute Indians from their present reservation in southwestern Colorado to a new reservation by and with the consent of a majority of the members adult males of said tribe. The Dawes Diversity Act was passed on February 8, 1887. The Long Term The effects of the act were not as helpful as many had predicted. The act fortunately failed to achieve its purpose.