In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government.
Bust of Benjamin Hawkins
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to Native Americans and Alaska Natives, and administering and managing over 55,700,000 acres (225,000 km2) of reservations held in trust by the U.S. federal government for indigenous tribes. It renders services to roughly 2 million indigenous Americans across 574 federally recognized tribes. The BIA is governed by a director and overseen by the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, who answers to the Secretary of the Interior.
Main Interior Building, the department headquarters
Ely S. Parker was the first Native American to be appointed as Commissioner of Indian affairs (1869–1871).
Cato Sells, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1913.
1940 Indians at Work magazine, published by the Office of Indian Affairs, predecessor agency to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.