The Dawes Act of 1887 was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland on January 8, 1887. The act authorized the president to confiscate and redistribute tribal lands in the American West. According ...

How the Dawes Act cratered Native American wealth for generations. Under the Dawes Act of 1887, Native Americans lost more than 90 million acres of tribal land, which were sold to non-Native citizens.

On this day in 1887, President Grover Cleveland signed the Dawes Severalty Act, reversing a long-standing U.S. policy that permitted Indian tribes to maintain communal control of their lands and ...