The Indians: search for a solution As people moved westward

The Indians: search for a solution
As people moved westward beyond the Mississippi, they continually encroached upon the vast lands of the various Indian tribes. These huge areas in which the Indians hunted and wandered seemed empty and unused. The pioneers saw them as places for mining, for cattle-raising, and for farming, and kept exerting pressure on the United States government to grant them some of this territory. The government then мейд several new treaties with the Indians, which reduced their lands to smaller tracts called reservations. Within these smaller areas it was difficult о maintain many of their customs.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century there arose a number of organizations which were opposed to this injustice and which championed the cause of the Indians. Several writers focused on their plight and on the moral obligation of the United States to right the wrong that was done о them.
One attempt to deal with problem was the Dawes Act of 1887. This divided the reservation lands into homesteads of 160 acres, each given to an Indian family. Congress also granted the Indians funds for education, which was to be compulsory. Unfortunately these well-intentioned programs did not work out. The Indians were accustomed to common ownership of tribal lands and to tribal units rather than to independent family living and most of them had never been farmers. A new law passed in 1934 was somewhat better adapted to Indian customs and needs. It established self-government of communities on Indian lands, though they still remained under the supervision of the Bureau о Indian Affairs.
Today about half of the Indian population still live on reservations; the rest live cities. All American Indians in the United States have had citizenship since 1924, but life has not improved for many of them who are very poor. After long silence, Indian groups have begun in recent years to demand control over their schools and over other aspects of their life.
Recently there has been in a number of Indian tribes an awakening to the opportunities of modern business that may lead to their economic independence. Large sums of money won in lawsuits against state governments (for Indian lands taken from them long ago) have been invested in profitable utilities and other businesses. Also, in 1987 the federal government began funding the special education of some Indian students who will return to the reservation and use what they have learned to improve the community. It is hoped that these developments will lead to a better life for Native Americans - as many Indians prefer to be called.
Choose the correct answer to bring out the main ideas of the text:(избери верный ответ и обведи его)
1. What did the Indians do in huge areas?
A. They mined gold.
B. Indians hunted and wandered.
C. They kept order.
2. What treaty did the government make for?
A. To reduce Indians' original lands.
B. To broaden their territory.
C. To kill the "Native Americans".
3. Who opposed to the government's injustice?
A. Indians
B. A number of organizations.
C. Some members of the government
4. When was the Dawes Act adopted?
A. in 1924
B. in 1887
C. in 1987
5. How many Indians still live in reservations?
A. half of the Indian population
B. one million
C. all population
6. What do American Indians have since 1924?
A. schools
B. own houses
C. citizenship