What was the goal of the Dawes Severalty Act regarding Native American land?

The Dawes Severalty Act, enacted in 1887, aimed primarily to assimilate Native Americans into American society by promoting individual land ownership. The act sought to break up tribal landholdings and allocate individual parcels to Native American families. By providing each family with a specific amount of land, the government intended to encourage the adoption of Western agricultural practices and the concept of private property. This shift was seen as a way to integrate Native Americans into the broader economic framework of the United States, moving them away from communal and tribal land customs toward individualistic ownership. The underlying belief was that by making land ownership personal and private, Native Americans would become more self-sufficient and adopt American cultural values, thereby facilitating their assimilation into mainstream society. Thus, the emphasis of the Dawes Act on individual land ownership is what makes this answer correct.