Analyze the Dawes General Allotment Act 1887 (138M Indigenous acres in 1887 reduced to 48M by 1934 = 65% loss) + Carlisle Indian Industrial School 1879 founded by Richard Pratt + 'Kill the Indian, save the man' July 4 1892 + 408 federal boarding schools 1819-1969 (Newland 2022 US DOI Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative) — named as cultural genocide per current historiography
Exercise
Difficulty 2
~3 min
hist.g8.f.ex_47
Short Answer
Prompt
How many acres did Indigenous nations lose between 1887 (Dawes Act) and 1934 (Indian Reorganization Act)?
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric
criteria
- 138M acres 1887 -> 48M by 1934 = ~65% loss in 47 years
- Cites Treuer 2019 OR Dunbar-Ortiz 2014 OR Blackhawk 2023
Hints
- Dawes Act broke communal tribal land into 160-acre individual allotments + excess sold to white settlers.
- Burke Act 1906 + Curtis Act 1898 accelerated.
Misconceptions to watch
- Underestimating land loss magnitude
Used in lessons