State and Federal Agencies Serving Native Americans

MASSACHUSETTS – STATE AGENCIES

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs (MCIA) [see footnote] https://www.mass.gov/service-details/indian-affairs

  • MCIA Commissioner for Western Massachusetts: Rhonda K. Anderson, email: inua7@msn.com

Massachusetts Historical Commission [see footnote] https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcidx.htm

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) - Archaeology [see footnote] https://www.mass.gov/service-details/archaeology

UNITED STATES – FEDERAL AGENCIES

Bureau of Indian Affairs https://www.bia.gov/

Indian Arts and Crafts Board https://www.doi.gov/iacb

Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 https://www.nicwa.org/about-icwa/

Indian Health Service https://www.ihs.gov/

National Conference of State Legislatures – List of Federal and State Recognized Tribes https://www.ncsl.org/research/state-tribal-institute/list-of-federal-and-state-recognized-tribes.aspx

Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act of 1990 https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm

US Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs: Office of Federal Acknowledgement https://www .bia.gov/as-ia/ofa

FOOTNOTE

We would like to note that we oppose the continuing use of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts state seal that is visible on this webpage. This image, in its current form, combines three historically distinct parts - a figure intended to represent a Native leader from the 1630s, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded; a Revolutionary War military sabre from 1780; and a Latin phrase coined by an English politician in 1659, "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem," meaning "By the sword, he seeks peace under quiet liberty." In its current form (adopted as the state seal in 1885), this combination of text and images, with the sword held above a Native person's head, is visually threatening, implying and seemingly extolling colonial violence against Native Americans. Upon seeing such an image, some Indigenous people feel that they are not welcomed by the state. Please take action to support the elimination of this seal.