One of the things that strikes Shmoop as presumptive and strange was the number of times the Dawes Act said that they were doing something only as long as it was to the advantage of the Native American in question:

That all allotments set apart under the provisions of this act shall be selected by the Indians […] and in such manner as to embrace the improvements of the Indians making the selection. (2.1)

That at any time after lands have been allotted to all the Indians of any tribe as herein provided, or sooner if in the opinion of the President it shall be for the best interests of said tribe, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with such Indian tribe for the purchase and release by said tribe […] (5.5)

The problem is that the government was assuming it knew what would be best for the Native Americans without even consulting with them. This was a nation that had already done a lot of things in the "best interests of the tribes", and most of them were actually done so that white settlers could get their hands on tribal land. (See "Indian Removal Act" in our "Compare and Contrast" section).

(Hint: You know what would've been best for the Native Americans? If we had left them the heck alone.)

And there's also that pesky little problem of privilege and abuse of power. Who was to be the final authority on what's best for the people in question? Well, obviously, the United States Government was the one who knew best. And those "negotiations" they talk about? Who do you think was able to come to the table with any bargaining power? The Native Americans had been impoverished and marginalized. They weren't exactly in a position to try and negotiate for better terms.