The fragmentation of large nineteenth-century reservations resulted in the creation of American Indian allotment geographies in the United States. Federal Indian policy, namely the General Allotment Act of 1887, allowed the US government to break up large reservations, allot land to individual Indians, and sell the surplus to non-Indian settlers. More than ninety million acres of land transferred from Indian to non-Indian ownership during the past 130 years. Reduction of land-allotment areas concerned tribal governments, Indian landowners, and the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in 1934 encouraged the preservation of Indian culture, the development of tribal government, educational opportunities, and the protection of Indian land. However, many American Indians sold their allotments, and land bases continued to decrease following the passage of the IRA. The purpose of this study is to investigate the allotment problem at a local scale, using historical land maps and BIA documents to determine why Indian-owned land bases continued to decline after 1934. The author's tribal affiliation with the Kiowas of southwestern Oklahoma led to the selection of their land base as a subject of inquiry and a geographical focal point. This research contributed to a broader collection of literature regarding the dispossession of Indian land in the United States. (Contains 5 figures, 2 tables, and 77 notes.)