Over the first century of its existence, the United States government tried various strategies to solve what it often called the "Indian problem"—the persistence of Native American communities in the face of expanding Euroamerican settlement. Early policies were informed by a belief that Euroamericans and Indians could not coexist. Initially, the federal government sought to remove Indians from lands Euroamericans desired. As Euroamerican expanded to every part of U.S. territory, policy shifted from removal to that of creating reservations, small islands of Indian land surrounded by a sea of Euroamerican settlement. Pressure grew in the late nineteenth century both to open up reservations to settlers and to find a way for Indians and Euroamericans to coexist peacefully. Policy makers and reformers alike began to promote allotment in severalty—the division of Indian lands into individually owned parcels—and the sale of leftover...