Submit Corrections Cancel. You think you know me. But you don't know me. You think you own me. But you can't control me. You look at me. And there's just one thing that you see. So listen to me.
Much of this was subsequently lost and, as a result, the history of Native Americans is often presented as a morality tale. White Americans, headed by the federal government, were the âbad guysâ, cheating Indians out of their land and resources.
Initially, the Dawes Act did not apply to the so-called âFive Civilized Tribesâ (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole). These tribes had already adopted many elements of white European society and culture, which is why they were characterized as âcivilized.â