When the Department of the Interior was created,10 the Indian Bureau was transferred to the new department, and the Indians passed from the control of the military department of the government to the civil, though for many years thereafter Army officers were, to a large extent, detailed as Indian Agents in direct charge of the local Indian agencies, and military posts were maintained at strategic points throughout the West.

"One hundred years ago the government had dealings only with the tribes that lived east of the Mississippi river. Up to 1824 it had entered into treaties with only a few tribes. Five years before the Bureau of Indian Affairs was organized in the War Department, Florida had been ceded to the United States by Spain, and the Indians of that state had come under the jurisdiction of our government." 1

"When the Interior Department took over the management of the affairs of the Indians in 1849, the Indian country of the United States of America had expanded to the Pacific Coast because, in 1846, Mexico, by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ceded the far western and southwestern part of the country, bringing under our jurisdiction the tribes of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado. In the same year our title to what was known as the 'Oregon Territory' was established, adding to our Indian responsibilities the tribes of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The 'forty-niners' had also started their rush across the continent to the gold fields of California, and the Western red men had gone on the warpath all over the plains. The attention of the government was centered almost entirely upon the protection of the gold hunters and of the settlers who were passing continually to the West." 1

"Little had been done up to this time by the government along lines of education, welfare, or civilization, except to contribute comparatively paltry sums to the mission schools supported and maintained by churches." 1

In 1876, Congress appropriated $20,000 for the support of "industrial schools and other educational purposes of Indian tribes." "This appears to have been the beginning of a genuine effort by the government to educate the children of Indians under its jurisdiction, for after that year the government entered upon an almost feverish activity in the establishment of strictly government Indian schools; first day schools, then boarding and industrial training schools. In 1879 Capt. (later Gen.) R. H. Pratt opened the Carlisle Indian School at Carlisle, Pa., the first non-reservation Indian school. This was the real beginning of a comprehensive program on the part of the United States to give its Indian children as good an education as its white children receive." 1

One of the first duties imposed on those in charge of Indian Affairs was that of negotiating with them for the sale of portions of their lands. With the treaty of agreement for the sale of a tract of land, there was, in practically every case, not only a description of the land ceded, but a statement of the land still claimed. and reserved by the particular tribe or tribes involved, leading to a fixing of the status and extent of the claims of the various tribes. An examination of the

Bulletin 25 (1924), Office of Indian Affairs.

10 Act March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395).

various treaties entered into between the United States and the Indian tribes, and the acts of Congress, will show a wide scope of engagements by the government by way of compensation for the lands ceded by the Indians, among which were the establishment of sawyers, millers, blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers, stockmen, physicians, teachers, etc., to assist the Indians and instruct them; the erection of sawmills, gristmills, shops, schools, houses, etc.; the payment annually of certain sums of money; the distribution of food, clothing, implements, stock; the protection of their lives, health, property; the supervision of trade and industry; the survey and allotment of their reservations; the irrigation or drainage of large tracts; the lumbering and sale of great timber interests; supervision of vast tribal and individual Indian interests in coal, oil, etc., and the proceeds therefrom; the sale of surplus lands; and involving practically every relationship existing in modern civilized life.11

3. Activities

The duties of the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be summarized as follows: (a) The Office is administered by a Commissioner of Indian Affairs, an Assistant Commissioner, and a Chief Clerk. The work of the Washington Office is divided into divisions, as indicated in the organization charts. In the field, there are approximately 120 separate jurisdictions of Indian Agencies, or Indian Schools, or combined Schools and Agencies, in addition to surveying and allotting crews, irrigation and reclamation projects, etc., and traveling inspectors, supervisors, physicians, nurses, etc.

(b) The Inspection Division directs, supervises, and checks the reports of the field force in the investigation of the work of, and complaints against, and other features of, the various field units.

(c) The Education Division is responsible for the general education and civilization of the Indians; the conduct of Indian boarding and day schools; the contracting for state or private education of Indians; the promotion of Indian farming, stock-raising, and other industries; the maintenance of law and order; appointment and control of the field personnel, to a large extent; the planning, construction, and repair of buildings for school and agency purposes; the suppression of the liquor traffic among Indians; the handling of individual Indian trust funds, etc.

(d) The Land Division has charge of the surveying of Indian land, the allotment of land to individual Indians for their own use, the removal of the trust or restrictions from lands of competent Indians; the sale or lease of Indian lands; supervision of oil and gas leasing; of contracts pertaining to Indian lands; and the keeping of land records relative to Indian lands.

(e) The Finance Division has charge of the ledger accounts of the many appropriations and tribal funds, keeping a bookkeeping record of all financial transactions involving them, and involving accounts with field disbursing officers, and claimants; prepares analyses of expenditures for report to Congress, and statements of accounts of Indian tribal funds, etc.

11 See Kappler's Laws and Treaties, Indian Affairs, vols. I-III, and R. S. §§ 462-469, 2039-2157.

(f) The Purchase Division is in charge of the purchase of supplies for the Indian Service; the preparation of authorizations for the expenditure of funds by the field units; the preparation and review of contracts and bonds; the transportation of Indian supplies, etc.

(g) The Probate Division handles the determination of the heirs of deceased Indian allottees and the question of approving wills of trust Indians. Evidence is taken in the field by Examiners of Inheritance, and the results are reviewed in this division and submitted for final determination by the Secretary of the Interior. The Chief of this Division is also Chief Law Officer of the Bureau and passes on matters and correspondence of the Office involving legal questions.

(h) The Health Division has supervision of physicians, nurses, dentists, etc., employed to preserve and promote the health interests of the Indians; the administration of the Indian Service hospitals, sanatoria, etc., and the one Indian insane asylum.

(i) The Forestry Division has charge of the conservation of Indian forests, including their protection from fire, the marketing of merchantable timber, and the handling of the resources of the Indians.

(j) The Irrigation Division has charge of the construction and maintenance of the irrigation projects authorized by Congress on Indian reservations.

(k) The Mails and Files Division has charge of the receipt, record, and distribution of incoming mail and the filing and care of correspondence and other records of the Office.

(1) The Stenographic Division furnishes stenographic help to the correspondence clerks of the other divisions as requested.

4. Organization

The major organization of the Bureau is shown by Chart 23.

The Irrigation Branch is elaborated in Chart 24; the Forestry Branch by Chart 25; and Inspection by Chart 26.

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