Bureau of Indian Affairs

History

Before the establishment of the BIA, the United States had made efforts to provide services to Native Americans. In 1775, the Continental Congress created three departments of Indian affairs—Northern, Central, and Southern— that were under the supervision of Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry. These departments were responsible for negotiating treaties between the Native Americans and U.S. colonists to ensure that the Native Americans remained neutral during the American Revolutionary War. In 1798, the three departments merged into the War Department, which continued to maintain Native American relations. Earlier, in 1790, the U.S. Congress passed the first of several Trade Acts and Intercourse Acts to deal with Native American relations. The Trade Act regulated commerce between the Native Americans and White settlers and prohibited the purchasing of Native American lands other than by federal treaties. It also set guidelines prescribing punishment for crimes against Native Americans. The Intercourse Acts restricted non-Native Americans from traveling onto Native American lands and established trading posts, which were referred to as “factories.” These acts provided the basis for the War Department to protect Native Americans from exploitation.

In 1824, the secretary of war, John C. Calhoun, officially created the BIA, which was under the supervision of the War Department, to oversee relations between Native Americans and the U.S. government. The agency was to oversee existing treaties, negotiate new treaties, and appropriate funds to facilitate Native American assimilation into White culture. As more Native American tribes came under control of the U.S. government, the agency barred Native American languages and religious customs.

Because of Native American dissatisfaction with the War Department's handling of Native American affairs, the BIA was transferred to the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 1849, where it remains today. The agency assigned Native American agents to oversee operations on the reservations. Many of these agents were Christian missionaries who tried to impose Christianity on the Native Americans. However, several Indian agents were involved in illegal activities, such as selling supplies that were intended for Native Americans to the general population. The Indian agents also unlawfully allowed corporations to cut timber and mine for minerals on reservations for profit. Native Americans were unable to air grievances regarding Indian agent activities, enabling the exploitation of their culture to continue.

In order to address this mismanagement, Congress commissioned the Peace Commission in 1867. The agency soon appointed honest and effective Indian agents. The commission also recommended that the BIA be removed from the DOI, but this recommendation was never implemented. By the late 1800s, the agency's presence on the reservation increased heavily. Indian agents bore the responsibility of managing schools, supplies, and contracts and serving as law enforcement authority. In essence, the Indian agent became the tribal government. While these were noted successes of the BIA, the agency was ineffective in preventing the Indian wars of the late 1800s and in protecting the rights of Native Americans.

...