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 m ...
. 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, 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.