The Rape of Indian Lands by Paul Wallace Gates is a seminal historical study examining the systematic dispossession of Native American lands in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Gates meticulously documents the legal, political, and economic mechanisms—particularly treaties, legislation, and government policies—that facilitated the transfer of millions of acres from Indigenous nations to settlers, railroads, and private interests.
The book provides a detailed account of key policies such as the Allotment Act (Dawes Act) of 1887, which sought to break up communal tribal lands into individual plots while opening “surplus” lands to non-Native settlement. Gates explores how these policies, often justified under the guise of “civilizing” Native peoples, resulted in widespread fraud, coercion, and corruption, leading to catastrophic loss of land, resources, and sovereignty for Indigenous communities.
Gates also examines the human consequences of these land seizures, including the displacement of tribes, the disruption of cultural and social systems, and the long-term economic marginalization of Native peoples. Through rigorous research using archival records, legal documents, and contemporary accounts, the book illustrates how the United States government systematically undermined Indigenous land rights and exploited legal and bureaucratic loopholes to facilitate land transfer.
The Rape of Indian Lands remains a critical resource for understanding the historical foundations of Native American land loss, federal Indian policy, and the enduring impacts of settler colonialism. It is essential reading for historians, scholars of Native American studies, and anyone seeking to understand the structural injustices that shaped the relationship between the United States and Indigenous nations.