The Indians had to work on their land for 25 years until they were able to sell it. “There was to be a 25 year trust period to keep Indians from selling their land allotments.” (4029) That means about 1/3 of their life, they would be working on land. I would let the Indians sell their land after 5 years because they would be able to focus on their family and money.
Farming on the land was also necessary for the Indians, or else their land would be taken away. “The Dawes Act was supposed to encourage Indians to become farmers.” (4029) While farming on the land, most of the land was to small for farming, and they would get little rain through year, almost making it impossible to farm. I think if the Indians’ land was suitable for farming than they could farm, however if their land was not suitable, or got little rain, than farming is optional.
With farming, the Indians had to pay taxes. The land was not a choice to get and now they have to pay taxes on it. If the didn’t pay taxes, then the land would be taken away. The Indians shouldn’t have had to pay taxes because they were forced to take control of the land.
I would change the Dawes Act because they were treating the Indians unfairly and taking away their rights as a Native American. The federal government placed guardianship under all the tribes. The ways I changed the Dawes Act would have been successful because the Indians would have gotten a little more of their way, and they wouldn’t have been mad at the whites.
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