OJS funded 208 law enforcement agencies, consisting of 43 BIA-operated police agencies, and 165 tribally operated agencies under contract, or compact with the OJS. Office of Justice Services (OJS): directly operates or funds law enforcement, tribal courts, and detention facilities on federal Indian lands.Office of Indian Services: operates the BIA’s general assistance, disaster relief, Indian child welfare, tribal government, Indian self-determination, and Indian Reservation Roads Program.The BIA oversees 574 federally recognized tribes through four offices: The current assistant secretary is Bryan Newland. Located in Washington, D.C., the BIA is headed by a bureau director who reports to the assistant secretary for Indian affairs. 5.3 Assistant secretaries of the interior for Indian affairs.5.1 Heads of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.5 Commissioners and assistant secretaries.2.6 Reform and reorganization (mid to late 20th century).2.3 Bureau of Indian Affairs (1824–present).2.1 Early US agencies and legislation: Intercourse Acts.As of 2020, the majority of BIA employees are American Indian or Alaska Native, the most at any time in the agency's history. Since the creation of the position of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in 1977, all thirteen occupants up to the present day have been Indigenous, including Bay Mills Indian Community's Bryan Newland, appointed and confirmed to the position in 2021. īetween 18, the BIA was led by a total of 42 commissioners, of whom six were of indigenous descent. government's prevailing policy of forced assimilation of native peoples and their land beginning with the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, the BIA has increasingly emphasized tribal self-determination and peer-to-peer relationships between tribal governments and federal government. The BIA's mission and mandate historically reflected the U.S. Until the formal adoption of its current name in 1947, the BIA was variably known as the Indian office, the Indian bureau, the Indian department, and the Indian Service. The BIA gained statutory authority in 1832, and in 1849 was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior. First headed by Benjamin Franklin, the committee oversaw trade and treaty relations with various indigenous peoples, until the establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs by Secretary of War John C. The BIA is one of the oldest federal agencies in the U.S., with roots tracing back to the Committee on Indian Affairs established by Congress in 1775.
Department of Health and Human Services through its Indian Health Service. Educational services are provided by Bureau of Indian Education-the only other agency under the assistant secretary for Indian affairs-while health care is the responsibility of the U.S. The BIA works with tribal governments to help administer law enforcement and justice promote development in agriculture, infrastructure, and the economy enhance tribal governance manage natural resources and generally advance the quality of life in tribal communities. The BIA is governed by a director and overseen by the assistant secretary for Indian affairs, who answers to the secretary of the interior. It renders services to roughly 2 million indigenous Americans across 574 federally recognized tribes. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Alaska Natives, and administering and managing over 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km 2) of land held in trust by the U.S. The Bureau of Indian Affairs ( BIA), also known as Indian Affairs ( IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior.