Home > History > United States and Canada > U.S. History

Research topic:Dawes Act

Find more facts and information on our topic page about Dawes Act

Dawes Act

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Dawes Act or General Allotment Act, 1887, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for the granting of landholdings ( allotments, usually 160 acres/65 hectares) to individual Native Americans, replacing communal tribal holdings. Sponsored by U.S. Senator H. L. Dawes , the aim of the act was to absorb tribe members into the larger national society. Allotments could be sold after a statutory period (25 years), and "surplus" land not allotted was opened to settlers. Within decades following the passage of the act the vast majority of what had been tribal land in the West was in white hands.

The act also established a trust fund to collect and distribute proceeds from oil, mineral, timber, and grazing leases on Native American lands. The failure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to manage this trust fund properly led to legislation and lawsuits in the 1990s and early 2000s to force the government to properly account for the revenues collected.

Author not available, DAWES ACT., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008


Find more facts and information related to the .
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE AVIATION TRUST FUND:GERALD L. DILLINGHAM
; ...Subcommittee: We are pleased to be here today to discuss the financial condition of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund). The Trust Fund was established by the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-258) to help fund the development... Read more
FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE AVIATION TRUST FUND:JAMES C. MAY
; ...the financial condition of the Aviation Trust Fund and alternative mechanisms for financing...a robust debate on how to ``fix`` the Trust Fund, it is never too soon to identify the...ninety percent of the revenue for the Trust Fund [CHART 1], even though we account for... Read more
Peter York on Ads: Child Trust Fund - Pink-faced Trustafarians in long coats called to account
; Trust fund always were two lovely words. They meant...last century, the kind of playing that trust fund boys and babes did changed with fashion...to be a painter. Later, you could be a trust fund revolutionary, a trust fund drug dealer... Read more
About That Trust Fund
; ...debate on the nature of the Social Security trust fund. We'd like to explain why having a trust fund doesn't avoid the difficult choices that...financing shortfalls. In the early 1980s the trust fund was nearing exhaustion. Then reforms, enacted... Read more
MEDICARE TRUST FUND AILING : MEDICARE GETS BAD PROGNOSIS.(News)
; ...York Times Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund lost $4.2 billion in the first half of...administration officials last year. The trust fund, which pays hospital bills for the elderly...1995 through March of this year, the trust fund spent $60.5 billion and took in $56.3... Read more
Congress May Be Straddling Lanes on Use of Highway Trust Fund
; ...leaders over control of the federal highway trust fund. In an era of deficit reduction and fiscal...prudence, surpluses in the bulging highway trust fund loom as a tantalizing target for the...dramatically mount. This year, for example, trust fund revenues totaled $26.3 billion ... Read more
FAULTY TRUST FUND
; ...trying for years to craft an asbestos trust fund. It still doesn't have it right, and...die before their cases are resolved. A trust fund could remedy this by ensuring that all...26 billion under current law. With the trust fund, they would pay only $5.6 billion. According... Read more
NSW:Walker workers will stop strike if a trust fund is set up
; ...Walker workers will stop strike if a trust fund is set up SYDNEY, April 30 AAP - Workers...Australia would return to work tomorrow if a trust fund for entitlements was set up, the Australian...arbitrator which included setting up the trust fund. He said the company had already ... Read more
Airport and Airway Trust Fund: Financial Outlook Is Positive, but the Trust Fund's Balance Would Be Affected If Taxes Were Suspended.
; ...2003 The multibillion dollar Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund) provides most of the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Trust Fund relies on revenue from 10 taxes, including passenger... Read more
Colorado Children's Trust Fund Should Get Help or Be Dissolved, Auditor Says.
; ...came through. The Colorado Children's Trust Fund gave $25,000 to get First Visitor off...times as large. If not for the Children's Trust Fund we might not have gotten this far this...However, not everyone thinks the Children's Trust Fund, which was set up by the Legislature... Read more

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

Dawes Severalty Act
Dawes Severalty Act (1887), an important law relating to Indian...to 1950 . Bibliography D.S. Otis , The Dawes Act and the Allotment of Indian Lands , ed...Prucha, 1973. Michael R. McLaughlin , The Dawes Act, or Indian General Allotment Act of 1887... Read more
The Dawes Act
The Dawes Act The Indian Problem. Richard Henry Pratt...citizenship was extended to all Indians. The Dawes Act. Partly in response to this legal ambiguity...Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. Under the Dawes Act, the federal government would survey all... Read more
Dawes General Allotment Act
or Dawes Severalty Act (1887) U.S. land-distribution law proposed by Sen. Henry L...thirds of the Indian land by 1932. Dawes General Allotment Act Dawes General Allotment Act Dawes General Allotment Act Read more
Dawes Commission
Dawes Commission commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, created by the U.S. Congress in 1893 under the Dawes Act with H. L. Dawes as chairman. Its aim was the reorganization of the...allotting lands to individuals. Author not available, DAWES COMMISSION. , The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth ... Read more
Henry Laurens Dawes
...of the U.S. Weather Bureau. Dawes entered the U.S. Senate in...cheekbones and a gray beard, Dawes never achieved national prominence...under Federal criminal laws. Dawes is best remembered as author of the Dawes Severalty Act (1887). Originating in his...clinging to their tribal ways, the ... Read more

Related research topics

Online videos

Banksy: The Drinker Kidnap

For Students and teachers!

HighBeam Encyclopedia provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

HighBeam Encyclopedia provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: