ABSTRACT
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is at the center of Indian policy creation and execution. Individual Indians and tribes as clients interact with service programs all of the time, and this interaction affects both the Indian and the agency. The Indian client becomes aware of the necessary information required for a particularly desired action and of the limits of personnel time or funds available. The Ak-Chin Indian community in Arizona went directly to Congress in initiating the process that resulted in the Ak-Chin Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act in 1978. The American Indian Policy Review Commission Report places little emphasis on state services except to say that such services should be severely limited. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) illustrates the characteristics of large organizations: specialization, continuity, and incremental policymaking. The specialists are the primary reason for the influence of the BIA on Indian policy. The political appointee-civil service linkage in the BIA is important in respect to the quality of leadership.
