Which of the following best describes a reason behind passage of the Dawes Act?

The Dawes Act divided tribally held land into individual allotments, aiming to assimilate Indigenous peoples into white American culture by replacing communal landholding and traditional ways of life. Any land left over after allotments could be opened to white settlers, so the act did not open more land for Indigenous peoples or end white homesteading. The best choice is “change the customs of Indigenous peoples.”

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