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Indian Country

The United States has a unique legal and political relationship with Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities as provided by the Constitution of the United States, treaties, court decisions and Federal statutes. Within the government-to-government relationship, Indian Affairs provides services directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts to 567 Federally recognized tribes with a service population of about 1.9 million American Indian and Alaska Natives. While the role of Indian Affairs has changed significantly in the last three decades in response to a greater emphasis on Indian self-governance and self-determination, Tribes still look to Indian Affairs for a broad spectrum of services.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is the principle bureau within the Federal government responsible for the administration of programs for Federally recognized Indian tribes and for promoting Indian self-determination. In addition, the Bureau has a trust responsibility emanating from treaties and other agreements with Indian groups. A federally recognized Indian tribe means an Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community which appears on the list of recognized tribes published in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the Interior (25 U.S.C. § 479a-1(a)).

Federal consultation is required under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the National Historic Preservation Act with Indian tribes and Native Alaska villages and corporations. The Bureau of Indian Affairs publishes a listing of all Federally recognized Indian tribes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs also provides periodic information regarding Alaska Native regional corporations, and these data have been compiled in the Native American Consultation Database. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the Native Historic Preservation Act also require Federal consultation with Native Hawaiian organizations. Both statutes require consultation with Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O’ Hawai’i Nei and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Other Native Hawaiian organizations, identified by the State of Hawaii have have also been included the Native American Consultation Database.

The Indian Affairs offers an extensive scope of programs that covers the entire range of Federal, State and local government services. Programs administered by either Tribes or Indian Affairs through the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) include an education system consisting of 183 schools and dormitories educating approximately 42,000 elementary and secondary students and 28 tribal colleges, universities, and post-secondary schools.

Programs administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) include social services, natural resources management on trust lands representing 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates, economic development programs in some of the most isolated and economically depressed areas of the United States, law enforcement and detention services, administration of tribal courts, implementation of land and water claim settlements, housing improvement, disaster relief, replacement and repair of schools, repair and maintenance of roads and bridges, and the repair of structural deficiencies on high hazard dams, the BIA operates a series irrigation systems and provides electricity to rural parts of Arizona.

Through Indian Affairs programs, Tribes improve their tribal government infrastructure, community infrastructure, education, job training, and employment opportunities along with other components of long term sustainable development that work to improve the quality of life for their members.

In accordance with the long-standing Federal policy of supporting Indian self-determination as expressed in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended Public Law 93-638; Tribal Government Services promotes the sovereignty of federally recognized Tribes. Tribal Government Services carries out this policy by supporting and assisting Indian Tribes in the development and maintenance of strong and stable tribal governments capable of administering quality programs and developing economies of their respective communities.

Tribal Government funds are used to provide staff at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agency office, or hire staff under a tribal Indian self-determination contract to perform tribal government services at the tribal/agency level. Support provided includes research and preparation of Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) forms, review of tribal resolutions, liquor ordinances, proposed governing documents requiring action by the BIA line officials, preparation of membership rolls for special (Secretarial) elections or for per capita distributions, and administration of special elections per 25 C.F.R. 81. The staff also meets with tribal enrollment offices or committees on enrollment/disenrollment matters and appeals. In some cases, the Aid to Tribal Government (ATG) funds directly support the activities of the tribal contractor/tribal officials in carrying out contracted activities on behalf of the Bureau and the tribe.