Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities

by Mahmood Mamdani

The critical legal maneuvers were the Dawes Act of 1887 and Curtis Act of 1898, also known as the allotment acts. These gave reservation authorities the power to identify deserving Indians and grant them allotments of land in “trust patent.” This meant the land title would be held in trust by the United States for twenty-five years, after which the premises would at last be conveyed to the Indian as common law property. Initially the Dawes Act called on the BIA to allot 160 acres of tribal land to each Indian head of household, but this was later amended to 80 acres. Those taking allotments were also required to renounce their tribal membership but were promised citizenship instead. The guarantee of citizenship was soon diluted. The 1906 Burke Act amended Dawes, requiring that the promise of citizenship would only be realized after the twenty-five-year period was complete.63 This had the effect of tethering Indians to reservations.