was the first Native American to be appointed as Commissioner of Indian affairs (1869–1871). , Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1913
Early US agencies and legislation: Intercourse Acts Agencies related to Native Americans originated in 1775, when the
Second Continental Congress created a trio of Indian-related agencies.
Benjamin Franklin and
Patrick Henry were appointed among the early commissioners to negotiate treaties with Native Americans to obtain their
neutrality during the
American Revolutionary War.
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
United States Government Fur Trade Factory System. The post was held by
Thomas L. McKenney 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, 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 bureau was initially organized by region, with commissions for Superintendents of Indian Affairs granted to prominent citizens in each region of the southern, midwestern and western United States. These superindenents were authorized to negotiate with tribes and oversaw
Indian agents in their assigned region. The bureau was eventually reorganized in 1878, with superintendencies removed. These were eventually replaced with regional offices, which continue today.
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, 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." Another force for 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. In 1965 the headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs was moved from the Interior Department's main building at 18th St. NW. and C St. NW., Washington, D.C., to a separate building a few blocks away at 1951 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. With the rise of American Indian
activism 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 force, the
Guardians of the Oglala Nation (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, Congress worked with the bureau to prepare bill S.1392, which established procedures for tribal recognition. A separate bill S. 1393 ensured full and fair participation in decision-making processes at the bureau 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==