Final answer:
The Dawes Act of 1887 represented a departure from earlier U.S. Indian policy by forcing Native Americans onto individual properties, encouraging assimilation, and undermining their communal lifestyle.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Dawes Act of 1887 represented a departure from earlier U.S. Indian policy in several ways. Firstly, it reversed the policy of isolating Native Americans on reservations and instead forced them onto individual properties that were intermingled with White settlers. This change reduced the Native Americans' capacity for power as a group. Secondly, the Act aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society by allocating land to individuals and encouraging them to adopt American farming methods. Lastly, the Act resulted in the loss of Native American communal lifestyle, which was the basis of their social, economic, and religious ways of life.