Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs Established: March 11, 1824 Assistant Secretary: Interim: Jim Cason Budget: $2.4 billion (2004) Employees: 9,688 (2004)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the Department of the Interior charged with the administration and management of 55.7 million acres (87,000 sq. miles or 225,000 km²) of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives. In addition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides education services to approximately 48,000 Indians.

History

Although the bureau, which was called the Office of Indian Affairs, was formed in 1824, similar agencies had existed in the U.S. government as far back as 1775, when a trio of Indian agencies were created by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry were among the early commissioners, who were charged with negotiating treaties with Native Americans and obtaining the neutrality during the American Revolutionary War. In 1789, the United States Congress placed Native American relations within the newly-formed War Department. By 1806, the Congress had created a Superintendent of Indian Trade within the War Department who was charged with maintaining the factory trading network of the fur trade. The post was held by Thomas L. McKenney from 1816 until the abolition of the factory system in 1822. In 1832 Congress established the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs. In the Civil War Ely Samuel Parker was the first commissioner of Indian affairs.

The abolition of the factory system left a vacuum within the U.S. government regarding Native American relations. The current Bureau of Indian Affairs was formed on March 11, 1824, by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, who created the agency without authorization from the United States Congress. McKenney was appointed the first head of the office, which went by several names at first. McKenney preferred to call it the "Indian Office", whereas the current name was preferred by Calhoun. Like its predecessors, the bureau was originally a division of the Department of War. In 1849 it was transferred to the Department of the Interior. The bureau was renamed to Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1947 (from the original Office of Indian Affairs).

See also

• Cobell v. Kempthorne
• Ada deer

NPS - National Park Service FWS - U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceBIA - Bureau of Indian Affairs BLM - Bureau of Land ManagementMMS - Minerals Management ServiceOSM - Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and EnforcementUSGS - U.S. Geological SurveyBR - Bureau of ReclamationOIA - Office of Insular Affairs

Extension Service of the USDAFSA - Farm Service Agency FAS - Foreign Agricultural Service RMA - Risk Management Agency FSIS - Food Safety Inspection Service FS - Forest Service NRCS - Natural Resources Conservation Service RBS - Rural Business-Cooperative Service OCD - Office of Community Development RHS - Rural Housing Service RUS - Rural Utilities Service FNS - Food and Nutrition Service CNPP - Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion AMS - Agricultural Marketing Service APHIS - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service GIPSA - Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration ARS - Agricultural Research Service CSREES - Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service ERS - Economic Research Service NASS - National Agricultural Statistics Service ASCS - Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service 

NWS - National Weather Service NOS - National Ocean Service NGS - National Geodetic Survey NESDIS - National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service NMFS - National Marine Fisheries Service OAR - Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

EERE - Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergyEIA - Energy Information AdministrationFERC - Federal Energy Regulatory CommissionBER - Biological and Environmental ResearchEM - Office of Environmental Management

External links

• BIA home page
• A History of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Background information about the Cobell Litigation
• 500 Nations Web Site - Petitions for Federal Recognition

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