From the time Europeans first arrived on the continent of Turtle Island they wanted to assimilate Native people. Assimilation efforts were a means to convert Native people to christianity and integrate them into American culture; they were executed by setting up mission schools, banning ceremonial practices (including dances), and imposing federal institutions in Native, such as Indian police forces and Courts of Indian Offenses. These interventions by the State continued controversies over land claims and treaty rights worsened as did administrative mismanagement; this oppressive treatment is a reflection of deeply embedded white supremacy. Between 1834 and 1934, policy and legal precedent continued to codify assimilationist policy. One of the most threatening was the Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act, which minimized tribal land and resources in addition to destroying the traditional collective management practices that previously governed Native tribes.