The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA),
is a United States
federal agency within the
Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
. It is responsible for implementing
federal laws
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many pow ...
and policies related to
American Indians and
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a ...
, and administering and managing over of land
held in trust
''Held In Trust'' is a lost 1920 American silent romance film directed by John Ince and produced and distributed by Metro Pictures. The film stars May Allison.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, struck by her resemblance to Adelaide Ruther ...
by the
U.S. federal government for
Indian Tribes. It renders services to roughly 2 million indigenous Americans across 574 federally recognized tribes.
The BIA is governed by a director and overseen by the assistant secretary for Indian affairs, who answers to the
secretary of the interior.
The BIA works with
tribal governments
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
to help administer law enforcement and justice; promote development in agriculture, infrastructure, and the economy; enhance tribal governance; manage natural resources; and generally advance the quality of life in tribal communities.
Educational services are provided by
Bureau of Indian Education
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant S ...
—the only other agency under the assistant secretary for Indian affairs—while health care is the responsibility of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
through its
Indian Health Service.
The BIA is one of the oldest federal agencies in the U.S., with roots tracing back to the Committee on Indian Affairs established by Congress in 1775.
First headed by
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...
, the committee oversaw trade and treaty relations with various indigenous peoples, until the establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs by
Secretary of War John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
in 1824. The BIA gained statutory authority in 1832, and in 1849 was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior. Until the formal adoption of its current name in 1947, the BIA was variably known as the Indian office, the Indian bureau, the Indian department, and the Indian Service.
The BIA's mission and mandate historically reflected the U.S. government's prevailing policy of
forced assimilation of native peoples and their land; beginning with the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, the BIA has increasingly emphasized
tribal self-determination and peer-to-peer relationships between tribal governments and federal government.
Between 1824 and 1977, the BIA was led by a total of 42 commissioners, of whom six were of indigenous descent. Since the creation of the position of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in 1977, all thirteen occupants up to the present day have been Indigenous, including Bay Mills Indian Community's Bryan Newland, appointed and confirmed to the position in 2021.
As of 2020, the majority of BIA employees are American Indian or Alaska Native, the most at any time in the agency's history.
Organization
Headquartered in the
Main Interior Building in
Washington, D.C., the BIA is headed by a bureau director who reports to the assistant secretary for Indian affairs. The current assistant secretary is
Bryan Newland
Bryan Todd Newland is an American attorney and tribal leader serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs.
Early life and education
Newland was born and raised in the Bay Mills Indian Community, located in Chippewa C ...
.
The BIA oversees 574
federally recognized tribes through four offices:
* Office of Indian Services: operates the BIA’s general assistance, disaster relief, Indian child welfare, tribal government, Indian self-determination, and
Indian Reservation Roads Program.
* Office of Justice Services (OJS): directly operates or funds law enforcement, tribal courts, and detention facilities on federal Indian lands. OJS funded 208 law enforcement agencies, consisting of 43 BIA-operated
police agencies, and 165 tribally operated agencies under contract, or compact with the OJS. The office has seven areas of activity: Criminal Investigations and Police Services, Detention/Corrections, Inspection/Internal Affairs, Tribal Law Enforcement and Special Initiatives, the Indian Police Academy, Tribal Justice Support, and Program Management. The OJS also provides oversight and technical assistance to tribal law enforcement programs when and where requested. It operates four divisions: Corrections, Drug Enforcement, the
Indian Police Academy, and Law Enforcement.
* Office of Trust Services: works with tribes and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives in the management of their trust lands, assets, and resources.
* The Office of Field Operations: oversees 12 regional offices; Alaska, Great Plains, Northwest, Southern Plains, Eastern, Navajo, Pacific, Southwest, Eastern Oklahoma, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, and Western; and 83 agencies, which carry out the mission of the bureau at the tribal level.
History
Early US agencies and legislation: Intercourse Acts
Agencies related to Native Americans originated in 1775, when the
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...
created a trio of Indian-related agencies.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...
and
Patrick Henry were appointed among the early commissioners to negotiate treaties with Native Americans to obtain their
neutrality
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction ...
during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...
.
Office of Indian Trade (1806–1822)
In 1789, the
U.S. Congress placed Native American relations within the newly formed War Department. By 1806 the Congress had created a Superintendent of Indian Trade, or "Office of Indian Trade" within the War Department, who was charged with maintaining the
factory trading network of the
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
. The post was held by
Thomas L. McKenney
Thomas Loraine McKenney (21 March 1785 – 19 February 1859) was a United States official who served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1824–1830.
McKenny was born on March 21, 1785, in Hopewell, Maryland. He was the oldest of fi ...
from 1816 until the abolition of the factory system in 1822.
The government licensed traders to have some control in Indian territories and gain a share of the lucrative trade.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (1824–present)
The abolition of the
factory system left a vacuum within the U.S. government regarding Native American relations. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was formed on March 11, 1824, by
Secretary of War John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
, who created the agency as a division within his department, without authorization from the
United States Congress. He appointed McKenney as the first head of the office, which went by several names. McKenney preferred to call it the "Indian Office", whereas the current name was preferred by Calhoun.
The Removal Era (1830–1850)
The BIA's goal to protect domestic and dependent nations, was reaffirmed by the 1831 court case
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia. The Supreme Court originally refused to hear the case, because the Cherokee nation was not an independent state and could not litigate in the federal court.
It was not until the court case
Worcester v. Georgia
''Worcester v. Georgia'', 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832), was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court Vacated judgment, vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal ...
, when Chief Justice John Marshall allowed Native American tribes to be recognized as "domestic dependent nations." These court cases set precedent for future treaties, as more Native tribes were recognized as domestic and dependent nations.
This period was encompassed by westward expansion and the removal of Native Nations. In 1833 Georgians fought for the removal of the Cherokee Nation from the state of Georgia. Despite the rulings of Worcester v. Georgia, President Jackson and John C. Calhoun created a plan for removal. The removal of the Cherokee Nation occurred in 1838 and was accompanied by the Treaty of 1846. When reparations from the treaty were unfulfilled, the Senate Committee on the Indian Affairs made the final settlement in 1850. This settlement, "supported the position of the Cherokee that the cost of maintaining the tribesman during their removal and the years upkeep after their arrival West should be paid by the federal government, and the expense of the removal agents should be paid as well."
In 1832 Congress established the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs. In 1849 Indian Affairs was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. In 1869,
Ely Samuel Parker
Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), born ''Hasanoanda'' ( Tonawanda Seneca), later known as ''Donehogawa'', was a U.S. Army officer, engineer, and tribal diplomat. He was bilingual, speaking both Seneca and English, and became friend ...
was the first Native American to be appointed as commissioner of Indian affairs.
Assimilation (1890–1930)
One of the most controversial policies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs was the late 19th to early 20th century decision to educate native children in separate
boarding schools, such as the
Carlisle Indian Industrial School. With an emphasis on assimilation that prohibited them from using their indigenous languages, practices, and cultures, these schools educated to European-American culture. Another example of assimilation and Euro-American control was the Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal police force. This was designed by its agents to decrease the power of American Indian leaders.
Reform and reorganization (mid to late 20th century)
The bureau was renamed from Office of Indian Affairs to Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1947.
With the rise of American Indian
activism
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...
in the 1960s and 1970s and increasing demands for enforcement of treaty rights and sovereignty, the 1970s were a particularly turbulent period of BIA history. The rise of activist groups such as the
American Indian Movement (AIM) worried the U.S. government; the FBI responded both overtly and covertly (by creating
COINTELPRO and other programs) to suppress possible uprisings among native peoples.
As a branch of the U.S. government with personnel on
Indian reservations, BIA police were involved in political actions such as:
The occupation of BIA headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 1972: On November 3, 1972, a group of around 500
American Indians with the AIM took over the BIA building, the culmination of their
Trail of Broken Treaties walk. They intended to bring attention to American Indian issues, including their demands for renewed negotiation of treaties, enforcement of treaty rights and improvement in living standards. They occupied the Department of Interior headquarters from November 3 to 9, 1972.
:Feeling the government was ignoring them, the protesters vandalized the building. After a week, the protesters left, having caused $700,000 in damages. Many records were lost, destroyed or stolen, including irreplaceable treaties, deeds, and water rights records, which some Indian officials said could set the tribes back 50 to 100 years.
* The
Wounded Knee Incident of 1973, where activists at the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation occupied land for more than two months.
* The 1975
Pine Ridge shootout (for which
Leonard Peltier was convicted of killing two
FBI agents).
The BIA was implicated in supporting controversial tribal presidents, notably
Dick Wilson, who was charged with being authoritarian; using tribal funds for a private
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
force, the
Guardians of the Oglala Nation
The Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs) was a private paramilitary group established in 1972 by the elected tribal chairman, Dick Wilson under authority of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. It operated on the Oglala Sioux Pine Ridge Indian Res ...
(or "GOON squad"), which he employed against opponents; intimidation of voters in the 1974 election; misappropriation of funds, and other misdeeds. Many native peoples continue to oppose policies of the BIA. In particular, problems in enforcing treaties, handling records and trust land incomes were disputed.
21st century
In 2002 the United States Congress and Bureau of Indian Affairs met to discuss the bill S.1392, which established procedures for the Bureau of Indians Affairs of the Department of Interior, with respect to the tribal recognition. Bill S. 1393 was also discussed, as it ensured full and fair participation in decision making processes at the Bureau of Indian Affairs via grants. Both bills addressed what services, limitations, obligations, and responsibilities a federally recognized tribe possessed. The bills excluded any splinter groups, political factions, and any groups formed after December 31, 2002.
In 2013 the Bureau was greatly affected by
sequestration funding cuts of $800 million, which particularly affected the already-underfunded
Indian Health Service.
Legal issues
Employee overtime
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been sued four times in
class action overtime lawsuits brought by the
Federation of Indian Service Employees
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
, a
union which represents the federal civilian employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, the assistant secretary of Indian affairs and the Office of the Special Trustee for Indian Affairs. The grievances allege widespread violations of the
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppres ...
and claim tens of millions of dollars in damages.
Trust assets
''
Cobell vs. Salazar
''Cobell v. Salazar'' (previously ''Cobell v. Kempthorne'' and ''Cobell v. Norton'' and ''Cobell v. Babbitt'') is a class-action lawsuit brought by Elouise Cobell (Blackfeet) and other Native American representatives in 1996 against two departmen ...
,'' a major class action case related to trust lands, was settled in December 2009. The suit was filed against the U.S. Department of Interior, of which the BIA is a part. A major responsibility has been the management of the Indian trust accounts. This was a class-action lawsuit regarding the federal government's management and accounting of more than 300,000 individual American Indian and Alaska Native trust accounts. A settlement fund totaling $3.4 billion is to be distributed to class members. This is to compensate for claims that prior U.S. officials had mismanaged the administration of Indian trust assets. In addition, the settlement establishes a $2 billion fund enabling federally recognized tribes to voluntarily buy back and consolidate fractionated land interests.
Mission
The bureau is currently trying to evolve from a supervisory to an advisory role. However, this has been a difficult task as the BIA is known by many Indians as playing a police role in which the U.S. government historically dictated to tribes and their members what they could and could not do in accordance with treaties signed by both.
Commissioners and assistant secretaries
Commissioners and assistant secretaries of Indian Affairs include:
Heads of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
* 1822–1824
William Clark
* 1824–1830
Thomas L. McKenney
Thomas Loraine McKenney (21 March 1785 – 19 February 1859) was a United States official who served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1824–1830.
McKenny was born on March 21, 1785, in Hopewell, Maryland. He was the oldest of fi ...
* 1830–1831
Samuel S. Hamilton
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...
* 2002–2004
Terry Virden
* 2004–2005
Brian Pogue
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...
* 2005–2007
Patrick Rasdale
* 2007–2010
Jerold L. Gidner
Jerold is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Jerold Hoffberger (1919–1999), American businessman
*Jerold Ottley, music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1974 to 1999
*Jerold Promes (born 1984), Dutch footballer who c ...
* 2010–2016
Michael S. Black
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
* 2016–2017
Weldon Loudermilk Weldon may refer to:
Places
In Canada:
* Weldon, Saskatchewan
In England:
* Weldon, Northamptonshire
* Weldon, Northumberland
In the United States:
* Weldon, Arkansas
* Weldon, California
* Weldon, Illinois
* Weldon, Iowa
* Weldon, North C ...
* 2017–2018
Bryan C. Rice
Bryan may refer to:
Places United States
* Bryan, Arkansas
* Bryan, Kentucky
* Bryan, Ohio
* Bryan, Texas
* Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town in Sweetwater County in the U.S. state of Wyoming
* Bryan Township (disambiguation)
Facilities and structur ...
* 2018–present
Darryl LaCounte
Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell.
Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel.
Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darelle ...
Commissioners of Indian Affairs
* 1832–1836
Elbert Herring
Elbert is a name that derived from the Germanic ''Alibert'' and may refer to:
People Given name
* Elbert Andrews (1901–1979), American baseball player
* Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff (1838–1913), American merchant and mayor
* Egbert B. Brown (1 ...
* 1836–1838
Carey A. Harris
* 1838–1845
Thomas Hartley Crawford
* 1845–1849
William Medill
William Medill (February 1802September 2, 1865) was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 22nd governor of Ohio from 1853 to 1856.
Biography
Born in White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, William was the son of Irish ...
* 1849–1850
Orlando Brown
* 1850–1853
Luke Lea
* 1853–1857
George Washington Manypenny
George Washington Manypenny (1808 – July 15, 1892) was the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the United States from 1853 to 1857.
Early life
George Washington Manypenny was born in 1808 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He moved to Ohio around 1830 ...
* 1857–1858
James W. Denver
James William "Jim" Denver (October 23, 1817 – August 9, 1892) was an American politician, soldier and lawyer. He served in the California state government, as an officer in the United States Army in two wars, and as a Democratic member of th ...
* 1858
Charles E. Mix
Charles Eli Mix (February 4, 1810 – January 15, 1878) was an American civil servant. He served as chief clerk of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1850 to 1869. For a brief period in 1858, Mix was commissioner of Indian Affairs. During his tim ...
* 1858–1859
James W. Denver
James William "Jim" Denver (October 23, 1817 – August 9, 1892) was an American politician, soldier and lawyer. He served in the California state government, as an officer in the United States Army in two wars, and as a Democratic member of th ...
* 1859–1861
Alfred B. Greenwood
* 1861–1865
William P. Dole
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
* 1865–1866
Dennis N. Cooley
Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius.
The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is sometime ...
* 1866–1867
Lewis V. Bogy
Lewis Vital Bogy (April 9, 1813September 20, 1877) was a United States senator from Missouri. Born in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, Ste. Geneviève, he attended the public schools, was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment, studied law in ...
* 1867–1869
Nathaniel G. Taylor
Nathaniel Green Taylor (December 29, 1819 – April 1, 1887) was an American lawyer, farmer, and politician from Tennessee. He was U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1854 to 1855, and again from 1866 to 1867, and Commissioner of Indian ...
* 1869–1871
Ely S. Parker
Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), born ''Hasanoanda'' ( Tonawanda Seneca), later known as ''Donehogawa'', was a U.S. Army officer, engineer, and tribal diplomat. He was bilingual, speaking both Seneca and English, and became friend ...
* 1871–1872
Francis A. Walker
* 1873–1875
Edward Parmelee Smith
* 1875–1877
John Q. Smith
John Quincy Smith (November 5, 1824 – December 30, 1901) was an American farmer, politician and legislator from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives for one term from 1873 to 1875, as well as commissioner of Indian A ...
* 1877–1880
Ezra A. Hayt
Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας ...
* 1880–1881
Rowland E. Trowbridge
Rowland Ebenezer Trowbridge (June 18, 1821 – April 20, 1881) was a farmer and politician from Michigan. A United States congressman from Michigan's 4th congressional district from 1861 to 1863 and again from 1865 to 1869, he worked on agricultur ...
* 1881–1885
Hiram Price
* 1885–1888
John D. C. Atkins
John DeWitt Clinton Atkins (June 4, 1825 – June 2, 1908) was an American slave owner, politician and a member of both the United States House of Representatives and Confederate Congress from Tennessee.
Biography
Johnathan Atkins was born at ...
* 1888–1889
John H. Oberly
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
* 1889–1893
Thomas Jefferson Morgan
* 1893–1897
Daniel M. Browning
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
* 1897–1904
William Arthur Jones
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...
* 1904–1909
Francis E. Leupp
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
*Rural Mu ...
* 1909–1913
Robert G. Valentine
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
* 1913–1921
Cato Sells
Cato Sells (October 6, 1859 – December, 30 1948) was a commissioner at the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1913 to 1921.
Life and career
He was born in Vinton, Iowa on October 6, 1859. He lost his father when he was young. He entered Corne ...
* 1921–1929
Charles H. Burke
* 1929–1933
Charles J. Rhoads
* 1933–1945
John Collier John Collier may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*John Collier (caricaturist) (1708–1786), English caricaturist and satirical poet
*John Payne Collier (1789–1883), English Shakespearian critic and forger
*John Collier (painter) (1850–1934), ...
* 1945–1948
William A. Brophy
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
* 1948–1949
William R. Zimmerman (acting)
* 1949–1950
John R. Nichols
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
* 1950–1953
Dillon S. Myer
* 1953–1961
Glenn L. Emmons
Glenn Leonidas Emmons (1895-1980) was an American banker and politician who served as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, succeeding Dillon S. Myer. in addition, he was a candid ...
* 1961
John O. Crow (acting)
* 1961–1966
Philleo Nash
* 1966–1969
Robert L. Bennett
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
* 1969–1972
Louis R. Bruce* 1973–1976
Morris Thompson
Morris "Morrie" Thompson (September 11, 1939 – January 31, 2000) was an Alaska Native leader, United States, American businessman and political appointee working on matters related to Alaska Natives. Thompson was best known as the official in ...
* 1976–1977
Dr. Benjamin Reifel
Assistant Secretaries of the Interior for Indian Affairs
* 1977–1978
Forrest Gerard
Forrest may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Forrest, Australian Capital Territory
*Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township
*Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia
*Electoral distric ...
* 1979–1981
William E. Hallett
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
* 1981–1984
Kenneth L. Smith
Kenneth L. Smith is a former civil engineer for the National Park Service, freelance writer, photographer, author, historian, naturalist, and environmentalist. Working with the Ozark Society, he was a key activist for the formation of the Buffal ...
* 1985–1989
Ross Swimmer
* 1989–1993
Eddie Frank Brown
* 1993–1997
Ada E. Deer
Ada Deer (born 1935) is a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and a Native American advocate, scholar and civil servant. As an activist she opposed the federal termination of tribes from the 1950s following the bills led by Arthu ...
* 1997–2001
Kevin Gover
Kevin Gover (born February 16, 1955) is currently the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture at the Smithsonian. He had served from 2007 until January 2021 as the director of the National Museum of the American Indian. A citizen of the Pawnee N ...
* 2001
James H. McDivitt
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
(acting)
* 2001–2003
Neal A. McCaleb
Neal A. "Chief" McCaleb (born 1935) is an American civil engineer and Republican politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Chickasaw Nation, McCaleb served in several positions in the Oklahoma state government and then as the Assistant Secret ...
* 2003–2004
Aurene M. Martin (acting)
* 2004–2005
Dave Anderson
* 2005–2007
Jim Cason
James Allnut Cason Jr. (July 25, 1927 – November 24, 2013) was a professional American football Halfback (American football), halfback who played eight seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) ...
(acting)
* 2007–2008
Carl J. Artman
* 2008–2009
George T. Skibine
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
(acting)
* 2009–2012
Larry Echo Hawk
Larry J. Echo Hawk (born August 2, 1948) is an American attorney, legal scholar, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Echo Hawk served under U.S. President Barack Obama as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior for I ...
* 2012
Donald "Del" Laverdure (acting)
* 2012–2015
Kevin K. Washburn
* 2016–2017
Lawrence S. Roberts
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
(acting)
* 2017
Michael S. Black
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
(acting)
* 2017–2018 John Tahsuda (acting)
* 2018–2021
Tara Sweeney
* 2021–present
Bryan Newland
Bryan Todd Newland is an American attorney and tribal leader serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs.
Early life and education
Newland was born and raised in the Bay Mills Indian Community, located in Chippewa C ...
Assistant to the Secretary for Indian Affairs
* February 7, 1973 – December 4, 1973
Marvin L. Franklin Marvin may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Geography
;In the United States
* Marvyn, Alabama, also spelled Marvin, an unincorporated community
* Marvin, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Marvin, North Carolina, a village
* Marvin, South Dakota, a town
* R ...
See also
*
Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations
*
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
*
Administration for Native Americans
The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) is a program office within the United States Department of Health and Human Services established in 1974 through the Native American Programs Act (NAPA).
Background
The mission of ANA is to promote ...
*
American Indian Movement
*
British Indian Department
*
Bureau of Indian Affairs Police
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Police, Office of Justice Services (BIA or BIA-OJS), also known as BIA Police, is the law enforcement arm of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. The BIA's official mission is to "uphold the constitutional so ...
*
Confederate States Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Confederate States Bureau of Indian Affairs was a subdivision of the Confederate States War Department established in 1861 to handle the duties the War Department was charged with regarding the Confederacy's relations with the various Indian N ...
*
Indian agent
*
Indian Claims Commission
*
Indian Department
*
Indian reservations
*
National Indian Gaming Commission
*
Outline of United States federal Indian law and policy
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to United States federal Indian law and policy:
Federal Indian policy – establishes the relationship between the United States Government and the Indian Tribes within its ...
*
United States federal recognition of Native Hawaiians
References
Sources
* Belko, William S. "'John C. Calhoun and the Creation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs: An Essay on Political Rivalry, Ideology, and Policymaking in the Early Republic," ''South Carolina Historical Magazine'' 2004 105(3): 170–97.
* Cahill, Cathleen D. ''Federal Fathers and Mothers: A Social History of the United States Indian Service, 1869–1933'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2011) 368 pp
online review*
Deloria, Jr., Vine, and
David E. Wilkins, ''Tribes, Treaties, & Constitutional Tribulations'' (Austin, 1999)
*Jackson, Helen H. ''A Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the U. S. Government's Dealings with Some of the Indian Tribes'' (1881
online edition*Leupp, F. E. ''The Indian and His Problem'' (1910
online edition*Meriam, Lewis, et al., ''The Problem of Indian Administration, Studies in Administration,'' 17 (Baltimore, 1928)
* Pevar, Stephen L. ''The Rights of Indians and Tribes'' (Carbondale, 2002)
*Prucha, Francis P. ''Atlas of American Indian Affairs'' (Lincoln, 1990)
*Prucha, Francis P. ''The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians'' (Abridged Edition 1986)
excerpt and text search* Schmeckebier, L. F. ''Office of Indian Affairs: History, Activities, and Organization,'' Service Monograh 48 (Baltimore 1927)
*Sutton, I. "Indian Country and the Law: Land Tenure, Tribal Sovereignty, and the States," ch. 36 in ''Law in the Western United States,'' ed. G. M. Bakken (Norman, 2000)
Primary sources
*Francis P. Prucha, ed. ''Documents of United States Indian Policy'' (3rd ed. 2000
excerpt and text search
Further reading
*
External links
*
Bureau of Indian Affairsin the
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
A History of the Bureau of Indian Affairs*
ttps://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/49428 Bureau of Indian Affairs-collection of letters at Texas Tech Universitybr>
Broken Promises: Evaluating the Native American Health Care Systemby the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, September 2004
at
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...
Bureau of Indian Affairs correspondence, MSS SC 785at
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
The L. Tom Perry Special Collections is the special collections department of Brigham Young University (BYU)'s Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1957 with 1,000 books and 50 manuscript collections, as of 2016 the Library's special ...
,
Harold B. Lee Library,
Brigham Young University
{{Authority control
Indigenous affairs ministries
Organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Government agencies established in 1824
United States public land law