Indian agent

The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of the position of Indian agent in the Nonintercourse Act of 1793, a revision of the original 1790 law. This required land sales by or from Indians to be federally licensed and permitted. The legislation also authorized the President to "appoint such persons, from time to time, as temporary agents to reside among the Indians," and guide them into acculturation of American society by changing their agricultural practices and domestic activities. Eventually, the U.S. government ceased using the word "temporary" in the Indian agent's job title. ==Changing role of Indian Agents, 1800–1840s==

From the close of the 18th century to nearly 1869, Congress maintained the position that it was legally responsible for the protection of Indians from non-Indians, and in establishing this responsibility it "continue[d] to deal with Indian tribes by utilizing agents to negotiate treaties under the jurisdiction of the Department of War." As a practical matter, especially in early days, Indian agents also "served as spies, on the lookout for tribal interaction with representatives of foreign governments." and to report them [violations] to superintendents" ==Mid-late 19th century==

By 1850, many citizens had been calling for reform of the agents in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Their wish had been granted when in 1869 the bureau created the civilian-controlled Board of Indian Commissioners. The board "never more deeply felt, that Indian agents should be appointed solely for merit and fitness for their work... and should be retained in the service when they prove themselves to be efficient and helpful by their character and moral influence." Despite its deeply felt convictions that its Indian agents were appointed and removed on merit, the civilian Board of Commissioners was frequently deemed corrupt, portrayed derogatorily in print and propaganda, and inadvertently assumed the scapegoat for the perceived inefficiency of Indian-White affairs: the Indian agent. By the late 19th century, the job title of Indian agent began to change slightly in the wake of the recent attempts to 'civilize' Indians, assimilating them into American culture. Despite the public scorn for the agents, the Indian Office stated that the "chief duty of an agent is to induce his Indian to labor in civilized pursuits. To attain this end every possible influence should be brought to bear, and in proportion as it is attained... an agent is successful or unsuccessful." Part of the Christian message of reform, carried out by the Indian agents, demonstrated the pervasive thought of Indian land ownership of the late 19th century: civilization can only be possible when Indians cease communal living in favor of private ownership. Many citizens still held the activities of Indian agents in poor esteem, calling the agents themselves "unprincipled opportunists" and people of low quality. ==End of position==

When Theodore Roosevelt reached the presidency at the turn of the 20th century (1901–1909), the Indian agents that remained on the government payroll were all replaced by school superintendents. ==Notable Indian agents==

Individuals who have served as Indian agents include the following: • Charles Adams, Indian agent for the Ute Mountain Agency, 1870–1874 • Robert Alden, Indian Agent for the Fort Berthold Agency in the Dakota Territory, 1877–1877. Known as Rev. Robert Alden in Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. • Herman Bendell, Last Indian Agent for the Arizona Territory, 1871-1873 • Kit Carson, Indian agent to the Ute Indians and the Jicarilla Apaches, 1850s • Leander Clark, Indian agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866 • John Clum, Indian agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory • John Coffee, U.S. commissioner to negotiate what became the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek • Cave Johnson Couts, American military officer, rancher, and judge • Douglas H. Cooper, agent for the Choctaw Nation in 1853 and Chickasaw Nation in 1856; resigned to serve as a military officer in the Confederate Army in 1860. • John Crowell, Alabama's first member of the House of Representatives, then agent to the Creek people • Brinton Darlington, Indian agent at Darlington Agency to the Cheyenne and Arapaho, 1869–1872 • George Davenport, Indian agent for the Sac and Fox in Illinois and Iowa, after the War of 1812 through the Black Hawk War of 1832 • Silas Dismoor, agent to the Choctaw • Thomas Hinds, commissioned in 1820 with Andrew Jackson to negotiate what became the Treaty of Doak's Stand • Gad Humphreys, agent to the Seminole • Andrew Jackson (along with David Meriwether and Jesse Franklin), appointed in 1816 by Secretary of War William Crawford to be Indian commissioner to the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Cherokee • Luther Kelly (Yellowstone Kelly), Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation; Arizona Territory under President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904–1909 • Valentine McGillycuddy, Indian agent of Red Cloud Agency • John McKee, agent to the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw • James McLaughlin active 1876–1923, Devils Lake Agency (1876–1881), Standing Rock Sioux Agency (1881–?) • Nathan Meeker, Indian agent for the White River Utes for a brief time, 1878–1879, until killed in the Meeker Massacre • Return J. Meigs Sr., agent to the Cherokee in Tennessee from 1801 to 1823 • Isaac Shelby, commissioner with Andrew Jackson for the Treaty of Tuscaloosa of 1818 • James Wilkinson, agent to the Choctaw • Major David John Mosher Wood, Indian agent for the Ponca, Pawnee, Otoe, and Oakland Agency, in the Indian Territory, 1889–1893. Brother of Col. Samuel Newitt Wood. • O. M. Wozencraft, Indian agent in California, 1850–1852 • George Bingenheimer, agent at Standing Rock, 1898–1903 == See also ==

• "Indian Agents: Rulers of the Reserves" By John L. Steckley, 2016 Peter Lang Publishing • "Indian Agent: Peter Ellis Bean in Mexican Texas" By Jack Jackson, 2005 Texas A&M University Press • "The Silver Man: The Life and Times of Indian Agent John Kinzie" By Peter Shrake, 2016 Wisconsin Historical Society • "The Official Correspondence of James S. Calhoun: While Indian Agent at Santa Fé and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New Mexico" by James S. Calhoun, 1915 U.S. Government Printing Office • "Christopher Gist: Colonial Frontiersman, Explorer, and Indian Agent" by Kenneth P. Bailey, 1976 Archon Books ==External links==