Federal Indian Poleicy

Federal Indian Policy

One of the first government policies on the Native Americans was the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790, which said that no Indian lands could be sold unless the government authorized the sale. A second Act was passed n 1793, which allowed government agents to live with and watch over individual tribes. One author notes, "Under this authorization appeared the permanent Indian agents, assigned to particular tribes or areas, who became indispensable in the management of Indian affairs" (Prucha 1984, 161). Another Act in 1802 dealt with issues such as whiskey sales and other items on the reservations, among other items, and Congress was formally nominating Indian agents during this time. Another author note, "Other Trade and Intercourse Acts provided federal compensation to injured Indians, but made no attempt to regulate conduct of Indians among themselves in Indian country" (Editors 2009).

In 1824, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was established to help deal with Indian affairs. During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, more Indian tribes were moved from their lands to barren and unprotected areas out west, which Jefferson said "protected" them from the white settlers and allowed them to maintain their lifestyles, even though most of the reservations did not even resemble their traditional tribal lands. Often, treaties were signed, and then as more people moved into the area, they were ignored.