The
Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the
General Allotment Act or the
Dawes Severalty Act of 1887), adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey
American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians. Those who accepted allotments and lived separately from the tribe would be granted United States citizenship. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891, in 1898 by the
Curtis Act, and again in 1906 by the
Burke Act.