d Indian tribal territories in the West be subdivided into allotments of 40 to 160 acres and distributed to individual Indians. The land remaining was sold to whites, with the proceeds used to pay for Indian education. The Cherokees, boasting their own school system, were at first exempted from the Dawes Act, but later they too were forced to suffer the indignities of allotment: " . . . federal mandates terminating tribal courts and tribal government, preferential treatment of white squatters on Indian land, [and] leasing of tribal mineral rights by the secretary of the interior" (Norman, 1995, p. 92).
As originally conceived, Indian education was viewed by the federal government as a reward for Native Americans: " . . . provision of instruction, usually in the 'arts of civilization' was a 'bonus' incorporated into treaties . . . " (Noriega, 1992, p. 377). The United States appropriated $20,000 per year for such educational services in 1793. As white settlers moved westward, conquering more Indian tribes, the government set aside additional federal funds
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