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As early as 1867, bills were introduced in Congress to encourage irrigation and reclamation of unproductive land and, in 1877, the Desert Land Act linked irrigation to grants of public land. Congress also authorized studies of the Westâs geology and water supply, which culminated in comprehensive reports.
The act was the culmination of American attempts to destroy tribes and their governments and to open Indian lands to settlement by non-Indians and to development by railroads.. Land owned by Indians decreased from 138 million acres (560,000 km 2) in 1887 to 48 million acres (190,000 km 2) in 1934.ver the 47 years of the Act's life, Native Americans lost about 90 million acres (360,000 kmÂ²) of treaty land, or about two-thirds of the 1887 land base. About 90,000 Native Americans were made landless.