Under the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, the United States broke up Native American reservations and gave Native American families homesteads to farm. Homesteaders were required to live on their land for twenty-five years and were required to give up their Native American traditions. At the end of the twenty-five years, the Native Americans would own the land and would become U.S. Citizens.

Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was purposely made to ensure that Native American tribal lands were subdivided into appropriations for Native American heads of families and individuals.

Consequently, the rest available lands were declared surplus and made accessible for sale to the nonnatives or corporations such as those involved in Railroad construction.

The act was named after Senator Henry Dawes. Around 1934, this Act had made land owned by Native Americans to reduce from 138 million acres to 48 million acres.

Hence, it can be concluded that Under the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, the United States broke up Native American reservations and gave Native American families homesteads to farm.