ABSTRACT
“There is no selfishness, which is the bottom of civilization,” Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts complained about the Native Americans in Indian Territory. Speaking at the third annual meeting of the Mohonk Conference in 1883, Dawes praised the achievements of the Five Civilized Tribes, but, he argued, “They have got as far as they can go, because they own their land in common … and under that there is no enterprise to make your home any better than that of your neighbors.” 1
