About Us

  
 

The Eastern Association on Indian Affairs was started in New York in 1922 to assist a group of Pueblo people who were fighting efforts to dismantle their pueblos. In the 1920's this organization merged with a like-minded entity, and again merged with a third entity in 1937. In 1946, the name was changed to the Association on American Indian Affairs. In 1957, the organization was granted non-profit, 501 (c)(3) status for federal tax purposes.

Over the years the Association has played a critical role in a host of landmark events that benefited Native people. We have played an integral part in drafting a number of important laws, including the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the Tribal Tax Status Act. We have established health programs, such an innovative field nursing program, that later were adopted and expanded upon by the Indian Health Service. We have established organizations like the Medicine Wheel Coalition for the Protection of Sacred Sites and negotiated landmark agreements to protect sacred lands such as the Bighorn Medicine Wheel and Medicine Mountain in Wyoming. We have awarded thousands of scholarships to Native American college and graduate students, beginning in 1948.

The mission of the AAIA, as approved by our Board of Directors, is to promote the welfare of American Indians and Alaska Natives by supporting efforts to:

  • sustain and perpetuate their cultures and languages;
  • protect their sovereignty, constitutional, legal and human rights, and natural resources; and
  • improve their health, education, and economic and community development.

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The Association on American Indian Affairs is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) publicly supported organization.

 
 

About Us: History · What We Do · Who We Are
Scholarships: Adolf Van Pelt · Allogan Slagle · Displaced Homemakers · Emergency Aid · Emilie Hesemeyer · Florence Young ·Sequoyah
Programs: Sacred Places · Repatriation · Language Preservation · Indian Child Welfare · Youth · Health · Federal Acknowledgment
Information: Contact Us · FAQ · Membership · Newsletter · Researching Ancestry · Publications/Media · Funding · Maps · Links

© 2003 Association on American Indian Affairs, All Rights Reserved.