The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893. Its purpose was to convince the Five Civilized Tribes to agree to cede tribal title of Indian lands under an allotment process to the individual Indian (See Dawes Act for other tribes). In November 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed Henry L. Dawes as chairman, and Meridith H. Kidd and Archibald S. McKennon as members.
See also: Dawes Act