Lesson 3: Introduction to the B.I.A. and its role in the Relationship between the U.S. Government and Native American Populations

This lesson plan has the purpose of exposing students to an institution that was created by the United States Government in the mid-nineteenth century. It will look at who the main actors were in the creation of this institution, what the institution’s goals were, and what its overall effect was for the following years of its existence. While providing a basic overview of the B.I.A, this lesson plan will go further in depth. Students will build upon prior lessons and analyze primary source documents that reveal the B.I.A’s intention of coercing the Native American population into eradicating aspects of their culture.