The Superintendency system was the United States Government's means of administration for relations with Native American tribes across wide swaths of the American west during part of the 19th century. It included the Northern Superintendency, Southern Superintendency, Central Superintendency, Washington Superintendency and others. The Superintendency system established schools, oversaw the distribution of supplies, and dealt with disputes and negotiations involving tribes.

History

The Superintendency system was instituted by the British Empire in the mid 1700s during its rivalry with France. Edmond Atkin was the first Southern Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The United States instituted its Superintendency system with the Ordinance for the Regulation of Indian Affairs passed by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

on August 7, 1786. It created a northern and southern superintendency divided by the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. The last superintendency was abolished by 1878.

References

{{Reflist Native American history