Dividing a people

The Dawes Act was used in order to organize indian land and to facilitate their assimilation into society. American Indians were suppose to benefit from this parceling of land. Unfortunately, the reverse happened, and I think it just strengthened tribal bonds even more to their traditions and way of life. Private ownership was intended to create a more independent way of living. The tribe, as a people, were broken up into smaller families and were to learn to care for their land on their own, for themselves. American Indians do not share this type of mentality. They do not "own" nature, though they created it and learned to utilize it the best. They look out for all, not just themselves. When they run, they run together. They are one herd, not a bunch of small ones. For the Navajos, the sheep was their sustenance, because it was who they were, not just what they did. The Navajo father said to his son, "So with anyone who comes to you and tells you to let the herd go, you mustn't let the herd go, because as soon as you do there'll be nothing left of them..." The herd: sheep, a tribe of people, in jeopardy of dissolving. When the government stepped in, thinking they knew what was best for a group that already knew what was best for them and who knew the land far better than the government, all "good-intentioned" plans failed.