Historical Background
When America claimed its independence in 1776, American leaders pushed the Indians westward. America began on the East coast, but continued to expand west. Many people wanted the land for farming and mining. In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was established and forced the Indians west of the Mississippi River.
"Native Americans were still called savages living in the midst of civilized farmers. By the 1870s, Indian reform groups were becoming more powerful. The Indian Rights Association conducted their own investigations of conditions on the reservations and was one of the first organizations to hire a full time lobbyist in Washington. Like the slavery abolitionists before them, the Indian reform movement pointed out the flawed morality of taking the land of indigenous people simply because the Europeans "discovered" the land and wanted it."
http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/boarding.html
"Native Americans were still called savages living in the midst of civilized farmers. By the 1870s, Indian reform groups were becoming more powerful. The Indian Rights Association conducted their own investigations of conditions on the reservations and was one of the first organizations to hire a full time lobbyist in Washington. Like the slavery abolitionists before them, the Indian reform movement pointed out the flawed morality of taking the land of indigenous people simply because the Europeans "discovered" the land and wanted it."
http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/boarding.html
The Allotment of 1887
The Allotment Act of 1887 authorized the President of America to survey Indian tribal land and divide it into amounts for every individual Indian. The U.S. changed the Indians names, as they did to the Indian children in the boarding schools.