Native Agency: Indians in the Bureau of Indian Affairs

American Indians took over the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1970s and have been leveraging federal power to fight settler colonialism, battle white supremacy, and serve the interests of their people. They have been reformulating concepts such as tribal sovereignty, treaties, the trust responsibility, and Indian land to strengthen and bolster tribes, foster healing, fight injustices, and restore the Indian land base. This work provides an essential look at Indigenous resistance and sketches the visions of the future for Indians at the BIA and in Indian Country.

Format: Hardback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 03 January 2023
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was established within the U.S. Department of War with the primary objective of subjugating and eradicating American Indians. However, a remarkable transformation occurred in the 1970s when American Indians and Alaska Natives took over the administration and management of the agency. Choctaw anthropologist Valerie Lambert argues that rather than pursuing settler-colonial goals, the Indians within the BIA have harnessed federal power to combat settler colonialism, challenge white supremacy, and serve the interests of their communities.

While the BIA has faced its share of missteps and occasional blunders, which have occasionally strained the federal-Indian relationship and incensed the Indian people, Indians have been actively engaged in reshaping the BIA into a Native agency. They have reinterpreted fundamental concepts such as tribal sovereignty, treaties, the trust responsibility, and Indian land. Simultaneously, they have pursued initiatives to strengthen and support tribes, promote healing, address the numerous injustices faced by Indians, and restore the Indian land base.

This comprehensive work offers a valuable national-level perspective on a captivating and impactful form of Indigenous resistance. It provides a detailed account of the ongoing assaults on Native peoples and tribal sovereignty in the United States throughout the twenty-first century. It also outlines the visions of the future that Indians within the BIA and in Indian Country have been crafting for themselves. By examining the historical trajectory and current practices of the BIA, this work sheds light on the complex dynamics and ongoing struggles of American Indians in their quest for self-determination and cultural preservation.

Weight: 680g
Dimension: 216 x 140 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517914523