Sunset Time Inside the Beltway: Episode 3

This is the third in a series that will address the failed agencies within the federal government.  The time has long passed where programs that were started by the political elite, with professed good intentions, must be re-examined.  As we all know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  We also know that to continue to throw more money at programs that are failing is just plain stupid behavior.  This behavior also demonstrates the gutlessness of our elected officials by their failure to correct these situations.  This also falls into the category of cruel and unusual punishment of productive American taxpayers. 

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U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Department of the Interior (DOI) was established as a cabinet-level agency on March 3, 1849.  DOI has 11 sub-agencies with vast impact across a wide variety of American interests.  The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is one of the major sub-agencies.  The Bureau of Indian Affairs predates the DOI when it was established in 1824 as part of the U.S. War Department. In reality, the Founding Fathers created the Committee on Indian Affairs in 1775 which was headed by Benjamin Franklin.  Prior to 1947, when the current name was formally adopted, BIA had numerous names.  BIA provides services for over 2 million indigenous Americans and roughly 55.7 million acres of indigenous land holdings.  BIA employs approximately 4,700 people, 90% of whom are American Indians, at a cost of 1.9 billion dollars.  History As I mentioned above, the U.S. Government has had a concern about Indian affairs predating the U.S. Constitution.  For the woke among you that might read this, the vast majority of American Indians refer to themselves as "Indians."  The national Indian newspaper is Indian Country Today.  The concept that Indians wish to be called "Native Americans" is a white liberal concept that only a tiny minority of Indians use for political purposes.  But I digress. A reality that must be acknowledged is the fact that throughout most of American history, American Indians have been victims of a government that did not honor its word and often,  harsh, unethical actions were committed by the agents representing the U.S. Government.  As in the history of the rest of the world, one people have confiscated the lands of another people, resulting in significant cultural changes for both.  In America it was done in a slightly different way, but all of the available land was taken by the U.S. Government from the Indians and then a small portion was re-allocated back to the various Indian tribes and reservations.  Sometimes even these original reservations were paired down even more at a later date.  These are historical facts, and history can't be changed whether in Asia, Africa, Europe, or the United States of America. By the 1960s,  a movement started to diminish the role of federal employees on the many Indian reservations allowing the individual tribes to have a bigger part of determining how government funds were used.  The Indian Self Determination Act (SDA) of 1974 formally codified how the process would work.  Each tribal government could assume whatever responsibility they wanted for the use of federal funds in operation of their reservation.  Since the implementation of SDA, tribes have chosen a variety of ways to meet their local needs. Some tribes have progressed to a point where they are very successfully operating a sophisticated business enterprises. Other tribes have not been as successful

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By the late 1990s, all but about 10% non-Indian employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs were replaced by members of the various Indians tribes from all over the United States.  The only non-Indians have certain technical skills and many are low level administrative positions in Washington, D.C.  In the modern world, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, as an agency, has achieved some level of Indian self-determination.

The Problem

The problem, in a nutshell, is that the relationship between the United States government and the Indian tribes has not changed significantly in over 200 years.  In reality, as in all too many government functions, full and unlimited Indian self-determination is impossible as long as the federal government is involved.  In BIA the truth is, as in all bureaucracies, perpetuating itself is the ongoing goal of the organization.  Self-interest of the few outweighs the interest of the many. The reality is that BIA and most of the Indian tribes in America are addicted to the federal funding provided by the hard working productive American taxpayer.  The truth is, for all intents and purposes, the Indian tribes in America are slaves to the federal system of funding and they have been slaves for over 200 years.

A Solution

There is at least one potential solution for achieving full and complete American Indian self-determination that I will discuss in Part 2 of Episode 3.  It will cut a wide swath through several federal departments, agencies, and special interest groups.  This solution would accomplish the goal of Indian independence from federal charity and sunset several non-BIA agencies that would no longer be needed, thus reduce the size of the federal government significantly. Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. -- George Washington

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