<span>The cause of the Dawes Act was the complete takeover of most of the land of the Native American Indians. Because of this, land belonged to entire tribes, but not individuals. The Dawes Act was created in 1887 to allow surveys of tribal lands and then division of it so that allotments could be given to individual Native American Indians. The Dawes Act was amended twice, both in 1891 and again in 1906. The effect of the Dawes Act was a complete breakdown of the Native American tribes and their traditional way of life. Only the richer clans or families were given land allotments of crop lands. This led to homelessness of many Native American Indians.</span>
