The Bureau of Indian Affairs was created in 1824 to help the federal government negotiate trade and treaties and ultimately assimilate Native Americans into the dominant white culture. Its modern mission is to promote tribal self-determination by working with the nation’s 566 federally recognized Indian tribes, providing support for education, courts, law enforcement and social services. The BIA assists 28 tribal-run community colleges and universities and operates 183 schools for around 48,000 students. Today, most of the roughly 8,000 employees at BIA are also tribal members. In 2016, its budget was $2.9 million.
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