Indian reservation

Indian reservation, land set aside by the U.S. government for use by Native Americans. The first Indian reservation was established for a Delaware Indian tribe in the New Jersey colony in 1758. During the early and middle 19th century, as white settlers claimed more Indian land in the eastern U.S., the government established Indian reservations west of the Mississippi River. In 1823 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an agency of the Department of the Interior, was formed to oversee affairs on these reservations. Since 1970, when President Nixon called for a new era of Indian self-determination, the tribes have had increased authority over all aspects of their welfare. There are now approximately 285 federal and state Indian reservations, covering 50 million acres in about 30 states.

See also: Native Americans.