The+Evolution+of+the+Bureau+of+Indian+Affairs

Dana Kruzic American Indian 210 April 14, 2011   **The Evolution of the Bureau of Indian Affairs**  ﻿ **//Early Incarnation//**  The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has undergone dramatic changes since its earliest inception in the colonial times of Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry. The first version of what would become the BIA was established by the Continental Congress with the help of politicians such as Franklin and Henry who were two of the departments first commissioners. The bureaucracy was split into three departments each with their respective jurisdiction over the regional areas of the US at that time; the North, South, and Central respectively. The structure remained that way until the dramatic changes of 1789 brought the department into a completely different era of Native/Colonial interaction.  Beginning in 1789 and up until 1824 the Bureau was under the supervision of the Secretary of War. This marked the beginning of a shift in the official stance of the US govt. towards a decidedly less peaceful coexistence with the Natives that lived in valuable, resource rich, and relatively uninhabited environments. The nation was rapidly expanding and people were becoming crowded in the coastal areas and looked westward towards expansion, the shift beginning in 1789 and then significantly ramping up around 1824 reflects this change in attitude.
 * //Shift To A More Modern BIA//**

On March 11th, 1824 John C. Calhoun, who was the acting Secretary of War at the time, created what could be referred to as the first incarnation of the modern BIA without even approval from Congress within the United States Department of War. During the administration of President Andrew Jackson the United States began actively pursuing a policy of pushing the Native inhabitants, especially those in the Southeast and those of the 5 civilized tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) west of the Mississippi River. At this time the Bureau was responsible for such tasks as educational systems, food shipments, assimilation programs, and health programs. However the agency was also involved in such acts as the forced removal of the Seminole tribe which involved prolonged military force on the side of the US Government, in fact the extensive military campaign against the Seminole lasted until 1842. It was also during this period that what would become known as the Trail of Tears was enacted as policy by the Bureau.  Federal Indian policy and the Bureaus role remained largely static until a major shift in policy in 1887. The passage of the Dawes Act or the General Allotment Act of 1887 marked another significant turning point in the organization and governmental/native policy in general. The main point of the bill was to divide tribal lands up into individual allotments for each native. The policy was enacted to help assimilate the native tribes and instill a more capitalist entrepreneurial perspective on them in order to make them more adaptable in a modern wage earning society.  It was also within this period that the organization made the transitional change from the War Department to the Department of the Interior in 1849, due to expansionist polices and a changing political landscape.  The current version of the BIA has attempted to streamline their organization and be more responsive to Native American needs, however there are still clashes between the BIA and opponents who feel the organization is harming their culture. A recent example includes the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupying the headquarters of the BIA in DC for 72 hours demanding policy changes and better treatment for their people. //**The BIA Today**//   According to the official website of the BIA the last three decades have seen a dramatic shift in Governmental policy directed towards Native Americans. According to the organization the has been a dramatic emphasis placed on ensuring a policy of self-governance and self-determination, a stark reversal of past policy for the Bureau especially considering the policies of the 1800’s.  Currently the BIA serves over 565 recognized federal tribes composed of over 1.9 million people. According to the BIA the goal of their current Indian Affairs programs are to; improve tribal governmental infrastructure, community infrastructure, education, job training, and employment opportunities to ensure long term sustainability for the tribes. The BIA is responsible for working through the federal, state, and local levels to ensure the delivery of services either from the tribe directly or through BIA contracts itself. <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> Overall the current agency much like the past ones has a focus on providing educational, job, and health improvements for the Native population within the United States. The major changes of the organization itself has rested not on what their core services themselves are but the philosophy or policy rational that guides the overall delivery and implementation of those resources.
 * //References: Annotated Bibliography//**

Henson, CL. // From War to Self Determination A History of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. // // American Studies Today Online. //15 December 2009. Web. 12 April 2011. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/ This article discusses the early history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as the transition it has undergone since its original inception during the Revolutionary War to its main goals now. It specifically breaks down the transitions into three stages; the 19th century, 20th century, and situation today. // Bureau of Indian Affairs. Family Search. //30 December 2010. Web. 12 April 2011. https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Bureau_of_Indian_Affairs This web article provided useful information concerning the early colonial period and how the colonies in North America handled the early issues of Native Americans within their border. In addition it describes how the various Governments such as France and Britain chose to handle colonial relations among the two sides. It also contains useful information regarding the federal period and Indian-US governmental relations in post-revolutionary America. // Why was the Bureau of Indian Affairs Included in the Department of the Interior. Yahoo. // Web. 12 April 2011. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080629120252AAsK3UU The article is a question with a response by a Yahoo user regarding the question; why was the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior? It does an interesting job of explaining how during the Continental Congress the Bureau was split into three different departments the North, Central, and Southern areas of the United States. It also offers insights into the early transitional processes that the department underwent through various changes in governmental structure from 1775 until now. // Status of Native Americans. GoodCitizen.org. //Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.goodcitizen.org/wwla%20book/actions/VisitIndianReservation/ VisitIndianReservationBody.htm This is a very simple web page that describes some failures on the part of the United States Government to fairly and effectively cooperate with Native Americans. Its specific use in regards to this paper is the details provided by it with regards to Benjamin Franklin’s role in the early Committee on Indian Affairs, which was established in 1775. // 1800-1900. Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama Deer Clan West. //Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.echotadeerclanwest.com/pages/DCW%20official%20business/History 1800s.htm A very interesting look at history from a Native American point of view, in this case a look at the US Governments policies and how it affected the Cherokee people directly. Specific highlights include an explanation of what was occurring culturally to the people in the Cherokee tribe in the <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"> 1820’s while the Bureau was being created. // 1800’s American Indian Color Prints. History Gallery. //Web//. //12 April 2011. http://historygallery.com/prints/indians/indians.htm An excerpt from the art web site HistoryGallery.com. It is interesting because it has detailed lithographs that were produced by the first head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Thomas Mckenney. The lithographs were originally published somewhere around 1836, with the help of his coworker James Hall. // The Reservation Boarding School System in the United States 1870-1928. //Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.twofrog.com/rezsch.html. Another article written from the perspective of an Indian concerning policies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The focal point is on the destructive policy of assimilation and how it, from her perspective, perpetually degraded her society generation after generation. The focal point of her writing is focused on the Reservation Boarding School System. // 75.4 General Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 1801-1952. The National Archives. // Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/075.html#75.3 A section from the National Archives Register of the United States Government. The writing provides detailed records from the 1800’s period which make it easier to understand contextually what exactly life for Native Americans really was like that time, as long as their interaction with the Bureau. // Washington and the Northwest War, Part One. The Island of Doctor Eric. //Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.dreric.org/library/northwest.shtml The writer gives a pretty detailed account of the early history of colonial and Indian interaction. The detailed history goes into such aspects of George Washington’s past including his military career, and early life in order to make sense of the social, economic, cultural, and political factors that led to certain policies towards the Indians. // Indian Affairs, Bureau of. Infoplease. //Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0825102.html This encyclopedia entry does a good job of giving a broad overview of the subject at hand. It contains information that helps to sort out what exactly complex bureaucracy like the Bureau of Indian Affairs does, and how it evolved into its current model. It also contains all the major political law that affects the activities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. // The Urban Relocation Program. Indian Country Diaries. //September 2006. Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/relocate.html A very interesting take on the Urban Relocation Program enacted by the Federal government in the second half of the 20th century. It traces historically the divide between rural and urban Indians and how the demographic and geographic changes have resulted in poor sometimes destructive polices on the part of the US Govt., and Bureau of Indian Affairs. // Indians and the BIA. The Department of Everything Else. //17 May 2001. Web. 12 April 2011. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/utley-mackintosh/interior11.ht m  An examination of the switch from a communal perspective and the Struggles of having to move to an individual entrepreneurial capitalist perspective. The impact of American Law on their traditional customs is examined as well as detailed specific legislation covering a wide range of American Indian issues throughout the 19th and 20th century. It also has valuable information regarding New Deal Policy and Indian relations during the Depression. Toensing, Gail. // Don’t Know Much About History: Stossel Says American Indians Receive // // the Most Help. Native American Strength. //29 March 2011//. // Web. 13 April 2011. http://www.nativestrength.com/?p=3325 A news story that exposes racism in the mainstream media against Native Americans. In this case the story focuses on “racially tinged” comments By Fox News journalist John Stossel regarding the level of funding and help that Native Americans within in the United States receive. It is also relatively recent, so it does a good job of demonstrating how much misinformation and lack of historical knowledge and frame of reference still exists today, even within journalism. Bandow, Doug. // Native American Success Stories. The Freeman Ideas on Liberty. //April 1998. Web. 13 April 2011. http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/native-american-success-stories/ An article written by a journalist who examines the core issues that sit under the surface of the Bureau of Indian Affairs existence. Among the issues discussed include self determination rights that exist within the Native American Indian group as a whole, and also the successes and failures of Native Americans dealing within the Bureau system and outside of it. // Early 1900’s. Official Portal for North Dakota State Government. //Web. 13 April 2011. http://www.ndstudies.org/resources/IndianStudies/turtlemountain/historical _1900s.html A look at the Chippewa from the North Dakota’s official state government website. The article is mostly concerned with the early 1900’s and the specific administrative tasks that the Bureau was charged with working out amongst the various bands of tribes within North America. Henigh, Lawrence. // Negative Stereotyping: Structural Contributions in a BIA Community // // Society for Applied Anthropology. //Fall 1975. Web. 13 April 2011. <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> http://sfaa.metapress.com/app/home <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> A short abstract detailing a study that’s main goal was to attempt to <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> find out exactly why bureaucracies like the Bureau of Indian Affairs <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> are found to be unresponsive to the peoples they serve. Interesting <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> insights are described such as the fact that it isn’t necessarily the <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> people running the government structure, but rather the inherent <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> bureaucratic aspect of a governmental office that results in failures <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> On the part of the organization to effectively meet the need of those <span style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 430.35pt; text-align: justify;"> They serve. Smith Chaat, Paul. // Overview. //Web. 13 April 2011. http://www.paulchaatsmith.com/hurricane.html American Indian Author Paul Chaat Smith gives an overview of his book // Like A Hurricane. // It effectively outlines the growing protests of AIM and other Native American Groups to refocus attention on the dire situation Natives were in at the time. It also interestingly details the evolution of thought that led to a radically different political and social landscape for Native Americans and the government to this day. // The FBI Files on the American Indian Movement and Wounded Knee. University // // Publications of America. //1986. Web. 13 April 2011. http://academic.lexisnexis.com/documents/upa_cis/2141_FBIAmIndMovWoKnee .pdf A Microfilm project that compiles the FBI files of the AIM movement and The Wounded Knee Incident where hundreds of Indians occupied Wounded Knee and then were subsequently arrested after violence on both sides. It provides an interesting account of why groups like AIM were so radical, while at the same time providing huge amounts of information regarding the US governments views on the matter, in our case specifically, the BIA; along with their failures and shortcomings as an organization. Ojibwa. // Indians 101: The Bureau of Indian Affairs. Daily Kos. //24 March 2011. Web. 14 April 2011. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/24/959759/-Indians-101:- The-Bureau-of-Indian-Affairs- This article is written to highlight a brief history of certain aspects of the BIA that many Natives living within the United States are upset about. It has some quality statistics on who the BIA serve and the number of tribe members as well as some various listed administrative functions of  the BIA. // What We Do. The US Department of the Interior. //Web. 14 April 2011. http://www.bia.gov/WhatWeDo/index.htm This page is a description from the official website for the BIA located within the US Department of the Interior. It is basically a broad overview on what exactly the BIA do in their own words. Of particular interest is the list at the bottom of the page which names and provides links to every department under the jurisdiction of the BIA. Dyer, Joel. // Billions Missing from US Indian Trust Fund. Albion Monitor. //13 April 1996. Web. 14 April 2011. http://www.albionmonitor.com/free/biatrustfund.html An article written by Joel Dryer discussing the long term mismanagement of Indian trust funds by the Department of the Interior and the BIA. It focuses particularly on a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the 300,000 Indians who could have been affected by the bureaucratic mismanagement and incompetency.