The Dawes Act of 1887: Section 4: Off The Reservation Summary

  • Maybe you've been wondering about those Native Americans who weren't already on a reservation. Where does their land come from? Well, Section Four has got that covered.
  • This act is so kind as to tell those folks who are still living on their ancestral grounds that if they apply to the local land-office for the district in which those lands are located, the government will allot the land to them on the same basis as the land they're giving out to people living on reservations. 
  • In other words: Not on a reservation? No problem. We'll make you come into our office, apply for the land you and your family have been living on for generations, and we'll give you a small portion of those lands back, legally.
  • Well, that seems fair…