The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been established since 1824 to manage and maintain huge tracts of land for the American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was originally known as the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA) and is an agency within the US Department of the Interior of the federal government of the US. First established in 1824, it’s actually the oldest bureau of the US Department of the Interior.
American Indian Tribes
‘Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians’, well, how many Indians do you want, because there are currently estimated to be around 1.9 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives, (not sure how many of them are Chiefs though). Of these, there are 564 different American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives which are recognized in the United States, and the BIA manages the fire management of 55 million surface acres, and a massive 57 million subsurface acres of minerals and estate, in a trust for them. There is also a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) which provides education for over 40,000 Indian students.
Recent Changes
The last thirty years or so has seen significant changes in the role of the BIA, as there is now much more emphasis on self-determination and self-government amongst the Indians, but the tribes still look to the BIA for many services. Many programs implemented by the BIA have allowed tribes to improve their global government and community infrastructure, job training, education, employment opportunities, education, and helped to establish sustainable long term developments to improve the quality of life for all their members.
Legacy of the American Indians
For some Europeans, they considered that the idea of freedom and the democratic ideals pursued in America were borne from the American Indians. Jean Jacques Rousseau, the political theorist, wrote “it was only in America” that Europeans from the years 1500 to 1776 had knowledge of societies which were “truly free”.
“Natural freedom is the only object of the policy of the [Native Americans]; with this freedom do nature and climate rule alone amongst them … [Native Americans] maintain their freedom and find abundant nourishment . . . [and are] people who live without laws, without police, without religion.” – Jean Jacques Rousseau
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The US and the BIA are responsible for helping to maintain these ideals, through a unique political and legal relationship with the Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.
