Synopses & Reviews
Bureau of Indian AffairS≪/i> tells the fascinating and important story of an agency that currently oversees U.S. policies affecting over 584 recognized tribes, over 326 federally reserved lands, and over 5 million Native American residents.
Written by one of our foremost Native American scholars, this insider's view of the BIA looks at the policies and the personalities that shaped its history, and by extension, nearly two centuries of government-tribal relations. Coverage includes the agency's forerunners and founding, the years of relocation and outright war, the movement to encourage Indian urbanization and assimilation, and the civil rights era surge of Indian activism. A concluding chapter looks at the modern BIA and its role in everything from land allotments and Indian boarding schools to tribal self-government, mineral rights, and the rise of the Indian gaming industry.
Synopsis
From 19th-century trade agreements and treatments to 21st-century reparations, this volume tells the story of the federal agency that shapes and enforces U.S. policy toward Native Americans.
Synopsis
• Offers the first comprehensive history of the bureau responsible for government policy affecting millions of Native Americans
• Goes beyond policies and legislation to explore the real lives of citizens and policymakers involved in U.S.-Indian relations
• Reveals the inner workings of the modern BIA, including the role of Native Americans in key positions within the agency
Synopsis
• 20 original documents, including the Delaware Treaty of 1778, the Indian Removal Act (1830), and the act of 1871 that halted Indian treaty making
• Biographies of key figures, including longtime bureau commissioners John Collier and Dillon Myer