In 1887, he marshaled through Congress the General Allotment Act, a law designed to force Indians into an American way of life. This act, also known as the Dawes Severalty Act, abolished the system of providing tribes with large tracts of land to use as they saw fit. Instead, the government would provide individual Indian men with land for farming. The Allotment Act dramatically reduced the land available to tribes and destroyed their ability to live off game, which relied on unsettled land for its habitat.
