Answer:
During the late 19th century, Western Native American life was most affected by the Dawes Severalty Act, also known as the General Allotment Act. This legislation, passed in 1887, had a profound and detrimental impact on Native American communities in the West. The Dawes Act sought to break up communal land ownership among tribes by dividing reservation lands into individual allotments, which were then distributed to Native American households. The goal was to encourage farming and assimilation into Western agricultural practices. However, the Act resulted in the loss of significant amounts of tribal land, displacement of Native Americans from their traditional territories, and the undermining of tribal sovereignty and communal ways of life. It had long-lasting negative consequences for Native American communities and their cultural heritage.
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