Question

What was the 1884 amendment to the Indian Act of 1880 designed to do?

A) Promote Indigenous communities
B) Preserve the practice of potlatch
C) Dismantle Indigenous communities
D) Facilitate progress

Answer 1

The 1884 amendment to the Indian Act sought to dismantle Indigenous communities and assimilate Native Americans into white settler society by dividing tribal lands into individual parcels.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 1884 amendment to the Indian Act of 1880 was designed to dismantle Indigenous communities. This policy was part of a larger governmental strategy to assimilate Native Americans into the dominant culture of the United States. Through acts like the Dawes Act of 1887, the government aimed to divide reservation lands into individual parcels for Native Americans. The underlying belief was that by owning and farming individual pieces of land, Indigenous peoples would adopt the lifestyle of white settlers and lose their distinct cultural practices, facilitating what was considered progress by the government toward assimilation. However, this led to a loss of tribal sovereignty and communal living practices, critically undermining traditional ways of life.