jul 25, 1887 - Dawes Severalty Act

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The U.S. government would be guided by a forced assimilation policy toward Native Americans for 50 years after this legislation. It dissolved many tribes as legal entities, wiped out tribal ownership of land and gave each Indian head of family 160 acres of land, and made Indians eligible for citizenship and title to the land after 25 years of good behavior. Programs like the Carlisle Indian School in PA were extended with $ from the sale of Indian lands under this legislation. The massacre Wounded Knee (1890) is an example of the policy, 200 Indian men, women and children were attacked and killed for practicing the banned "Ghost Dance."

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