The is an agency of the
United States Federal Government within the
Department Of The Interior charged with the administration and management of 55.7 million acres (87,000 sq. miles or 225,000 km&
2) of land held in trust by the United States for
American Indians ,
Indian Tribes , and
Alaska Natives . In addition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides education services to approximately 48,000 Indian students.
Although the bureau, which was called the Office of Indian Affairs, was formed in
1824 , similar agencies had existed in the U.S. government as far back as
1775 , when a trio of Indian agencies were created by the
Second Continental Congress .
Benjamin Franklin and
Patrick Henry were among the early commissioners, who were charged with negotiating treaties with Native Americans and obtaining the
Neutrality during the
American Revolutionary War . In
1789 , the
United States Congress placed Native American relations within the newly-formed
War Department . By
1806 , the Congress had created a Superintendent of Indian Trade within the War Department who was charged with maintaining the
Factory trading network of the
Fur Trade . The post was held by
Thomas L. McKenney from
1816 until the abolition of the factory system in
1822 . In 1832 Congress established the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
The abolition of the factory system left a vacuum within the U.S. government regarding Native American relations. The current Bureau of Indian Affairs was formed on
March 11 ,
1824 by
Secretary Of War John C. Calhoun , who created the agency without authorization from the
United States Congress . McKenney was appointed the first head of the office, which went by several names at first. McKenney preferred to call it the "Indian Office", whereas the current name was preferred by Calhoun. Like its predecessors, the bureau was originally a division of the Department of War. In
1849 it was transferred to the
Department Of The Interior . The bureau was renamed to Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1947 (from the original Office of Indian Affairs).
