The primary focus of U.S. government policy towards Native Americans in the 19th century was to assimilate them into Euro-American culture. Policies aimed at breaking up tribal lands through the Dawes Act sought to promote individual land ownership and agriculture, which contradicted communal living traditions. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forcibly relocated tribes from their ancestral homelands, exemplified by the Trail of Tears. Schools were established to educate Native American children in Western ways, further eroding cultural identities. This approach fostered significant socio-economic challenges for Indigenous peoples and contributed to the extensive loss of their lands and rights.