How a single policy cost Native Americans 90 million acres of treaty land
In short: In the late 19th century, the American West underwent a radical transformation. Through the implementation of the Dawes Act, government architects sought to dismantle tribal unity, triggering a massive loss of territory and a profound shift in the lives of the Sioux people.
The 2007 HBO film *Bury My and Heart at Wounded Knee*, directed by Yves Simoneau, dramatizes the turbulent era of the 1860s and 1870s. Based on Dee Brown’s 1970 non-fiction book, the narrative explores the transition of Native Americans from traditional lifestyles to reservation life. The film's title itself is an homage to a line from Stephen Vincent Benét’s poem, "American Names."
Central to this history is the Dawes Act of 1887 and the subsequent work of the Dawes Commission, which operated from 1893 to 1914. Led by U.S. Senator Henry L. Dawes, the policy aimed to force cultural assimilation by breaking up the Great Sioux Reservation into individual households for subsistence farming. The consequences were devastating: over a 47-year period, Native Americans lost approximately 90 million acres of treaty land—roughly two-thirds of their 1887 land base—leaving about 90,000 people landless.
Through characters such as the Dartmouth and Boston University-educated physician Charles Eastman and the Sioux leader Sitting Bull, the movie depicts conflicting viewpoints, including the latter's defiance of schemes aimed at erasing his tribe's heritage. While reformers like Elaine Goodale worked on reservations, the era was marked by spiritual upheaval, such as Wovoka’s Ghost Dance movement. On 29 December 1890, the 7th Cavalry slaughtered almost 200 Native American women, men, and children at Wounded Knee Creek, terminating this era of optimism and struggle.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film)
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