Tribal Participation in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Budget System Should Be Improved

The degree to which the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) budget reflects tribal needs and priorities depends on the extent of effective tribal involvement. Tribal participation and effective tribal input in BIA fiscal year (FY) 1979 funding decisions varied from total involvement to no involvement at all. Therefore, the BIA FY 1979 budget represents some, but not all, tribal funding priorities.