Indian Affairs, Bureau of (BIA), is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior that works mainly to promote the welfare of the nation’s Indigenous (native) people—people also known as American Indians. The BIA also supports efforts of Alaskan natives to become self-sufficient and develop their natural resources. Alaskan natives include Inuit and Aleuts as well as other Indigenous Americans.
The BIA is mainly responsible for Indigenous people who live on or near reservations and other federal trust lands. On some reservations, the bureau funds and maintains the school system, provides law enforcement, manages natural resources, and provides welfare for people with a low income. On many reservations, tribal governments have taken over many or all of these responsibilities. Through the tribes, the BIA assists with education and job training programs. The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), a separate agency within the Department of the Interior, directs educational programming for thousands of Indigenous students. The Bureau of Indian Affairs serves as trustee for about 55 million acres (22 million hectares) of land and money held in trust by the U.S. government.
The BIA is headed by an assistant secretary of the interior, who is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The BIA is responsible for 574 federally recognized tribes, including 229 communities of Alaskan natives. It has headquarters in Washington, D.C., and is represented on reservations by superintendents or area directors.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was established in 1824 as part of the War Department. In 1849, the bureau became an agency of the Department of the Interior. At first, the BIA maintained strong control over the lives and property of Indigenous people on reservations. It often leased mineral, water, and other rights on the reservations to non-Indigenous people. The tribes had almost no voice in BIA policies.
The bureau’s activities grew when Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. This act attempted to establish a policy of self-government for Indigenous people. But many tribal communities mistrusted government programs after the failure of an earlier policy of breaking up tribal lands into individual property units. That policy had been established by the Dawes Act of 1887.
During the late 1900’s, Indigenous Americans increasingly demanded their rights, and the BIA moved to a policy called self-determination. Congress passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 to enable tribes and Alaskan native groups to make many important decisions affecting their communities. In the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s, many tribes and Alaskan natives assumed control of their own schools, law enforcement, courts, and other activities.
See also Indian reservation (History).
