Abstract

More than two percent of the total land area of the United States is still occupied by the original inhabitants. The resources of these Indian lands—water, timber, subsurface minerals, ranching and farming acreage, and some of the Nation's most spectacular scenery—need to be managed and utilized in ways that will provide maximum economic benefits to their owners; at present, the resources in many areas are virtually untapped. As a result, of the more than 550,000 Indians, about 400,000 struggle to live on reservations set aside for the 200 or more Indian tribes and band§ in the 'lower forty-eight," and dozens of Indian, Eskimo and Aleut groups in the State of Alaska. The Secretary of the Interior is trustee over most of these lands, an arrangement framed into law following the nineteenth century wars on Western tribes.

Over the years a patchwork of services for "trust-land" Indians has been developed and administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. To varying degrees, depending largely upon public opinion, and the policy of a given administration, these services have gradually expanded beyond that of simple land management to activities in education, health, welfare, and economic development.

This special trust relationship is most firmly rooted in the Bureau's resources development programs. Vast differences in reservation resources and rates of economic development have required the BIA to offer a variety of economic and technical assistance services. To understand the reasons for the disparities in economic advancement, it is necessary to understand the nature and complexity of the problems confronted. The situation among Indians in Arizona typifies the resources development problems and demonstrates the need for a flexible approach.

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