Nelson Act of 1889 facts for kids
The Nelson Act of 1889 was an important United States law. Its full name was An act for the relief and civilization of the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota. This law aimed to move all Anishinaabe (also known as Ojibwe or Chippewa) people in Minnesota to the White Earth Indian Reservation. This reservation is located in the western part of the state.
The law also planned to take over the lands the Anishinaabe people left behind. These lands were then sold to European settlers. The United States Congress approved this law on January 14, 1889.
The Nelson Act was similar to the Dawes Act of 1887, but it focused on reservations in Minnesota. The Dawes Act had required that shared Native American lands be divided into smaller pieces for individual families. Any land left over was then sold.
The main goals of the Nelson Act were:
- To gather Native Americans in Minnesota onto one large reservation in the west.
- To encourage them to divide their shared lands into individual family plots. This was meant to help them start farming for themselves.
- To encourage them to adopt American ways of life, a process called assimilation.
This law showed the ongoing disagreements between white settlers and Native Americans in Minnesota. After the Dakota War of 1862, many white residents in Minnesota wanted to combine the reservations. They also wanted to reduce the amount of land controlled by Native Americans. This would make more land available for sale and for European settlers to live on.
Knute Nelson, a congressman from Minnesota, strongly supported dividing the Ojibwe lands in Northern Minnesota. He also pushed for selling the "extra" land to non-Native people. He and others wanted to force the Ojibwe to give up most of their reservation lands. The plan was to move these groups to the White Earth Reservation in the far west. Each family would receive their own piece of land. The rest of the land would then be sold to European settlers. These actions went against the agreements (treaties) the U.S. government had made with the tribes. However, the government still went ahead with the plan.
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa agreed to give up 3,000,000 acres of land. They kept the southern part of their reservation, which was next to Red Lake.
Native American Tribes Affected
The Nelson Act impacted many Native American tribes and bands in Minnesota. Here are some of the groups that were affected:
- Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
- Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians
- Winnebagoshish Band of Pillager Chippewa
- Leech Lake Band of Pillager Chippewa
- Cass Lake Band of Pillager Chippewa
- Otter Tail Lake Band of Pillager Chippewa
- Mille Lac Band of Mississippi Chippewa
- Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
- Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians
- Grand Portage Band of Chippewa
- White Oak Point Band of Mississippi Chippewa
- Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa
- Snake River Band of St. Croix Chippewa Indians
- And other scattered Native Americans belonging to these tribes who did not live on any reservation.
