Management Scope
The assistant secretary of Indian affairs is supported by the principal deputy assistant secretary for Indian affairs and the deputy assistant secretary for policy and economic development. The assistant secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Bureau of Indian Education; the Office of External Affairs; the Office of Federal Acknowledgment; the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development; the Office of Indian Gaming; and the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action. In total, the assistant secretary oversees 18 offices in Washington, D.C., as well as 12 regional offices, more than 7,000 employees and a budget in excess of $2.5 billion.3
Primary Responsibilities
- Assists and supports the secretary of the interior in fulfilling the United States’ trust responsibility to the federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages and individual Indian trust beneficiaries, as well as in maintaining the federal-tribal, government-to-government relationship4
- Supervises the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education
- Directly supervises federal acknowledgement of tribes; tribal self-determination and self-governance; Indian gaming; tribal economic development; and all administrative, financial and information resource management activities
- Coordinates liaison efforts between the department and other federal agencies that provide services or funding to the federally recognized tribes and eligible American Indians and Alaska Natives5
- Works with Congress and frequently testifies before congressional committees about administration priorities and legislation
Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]