Indian Affairs (IA) is the oldest bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. Established in 1824, IA currently provides services (directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts) to approximately 1.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. There are 562 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives in the United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for the administration and management of 66 million acres of land held in trust by the United States for American Indian, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives. Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides education services to approximately 44,000 Indian students. BIA and BIE’s missions are:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) mission is to:
"… enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives."
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) mission is to:
"… provide quality education opportunities from early childhood through life in accordance with the tribes’ needs to cultural and economic well being in keeping with the wide diversity of Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages as distinct cultural and governmental entities. The Bureau considers the whole person (spiritual, mental, physical and cultural aspects.)"
The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) – Indian Affairs and their employees have worked diligently with DOI to resolve the information technology issues. Everyone at IA is pleased to be back on the Internet and we look forward to the opportunity of improving our service to American Indian Tribes, Alaskan Natives, and individual Indian trust beneficiaries.
Court Order Permitting Internet ReconnectionIndian Affairs is now on the path to full reconnection to the Internet. In a major development with regard to the Cobell v. Norton litigation, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 14, 2008, granted defendants’ motion to vacate the December 17, 2001, Consent Order Regarding Information Technology Security and has given its permission for the information technology systems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA), the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), and the Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) to be reconnected to the Internet. A copy of the Court Order is attached.
The Department, and Indian Affairs has worked long and diligently to resolve the IT security issues that have concerned the Court with respect to the Department’s systems housing Individual Indian Trust Data (IITD). Indian Affairs is pleased that the Court has granted this opportunity to improve our level of service to the tribes and individual Indian trust beneficiaries and to demonstrate our commitment to the protection and preservation of the IITD.
Download: Full Memo (.pdf) - Internet Reconnect Order (.pdf)
Site developed by the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
At-a-glance BIA facts and statistics.
The Office of the Chief Information Officer recently developed a new website for the Bureau of Indian Education. Click the image below to access the new BIE website.
Some of the links on this page require a plug-in to view them. Links to the plug-ins are available below.
