Allotment Act

The Allotment Act, also known as the Dawes Act of 1887, was a U.S. law aimed at assimilating Native Americans by dividing their communal tribal lands into individual plots. Each Native family received a specific parcel to farm or live on, encouraging private property ownership. Surplus land not allocated to tribes was often sold to non-Native settlers. While intended to promote Native self-sufficiency, the act led to significant loss of tribal landholdings and disrupted Native cultural and social structures.