From its inception, the United States has been faced with the problem of how to treat with the American Indian nations and tribes. This problem is many-faceted: who should deal with Indian affairs; how should the Indian be treated--as citizens or as independent nations; how should the redman be parted from his lands, which were coveted by the white settlers; and whether the government should civilize, remove, or exterminate the Indians. In 1789, Congress delegated Indian affairs to the newly created Department of War where they remained until 1849, when they were transferred to the Department of the Interior. In the years following the transfer, the Department of War began agitating for the return of the Indian Bureau. Various religious bodies, humanitarian societies, Indian agents, and many of the Indians themselves joined forces with the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to oppose the transfer. Both factions accumulated thousands of pages of data, tables, testimony, and assorted documents to defend their positions. The controversy came to a head in 1879, then gradually died out over the next 20 years. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the transfer problem--its proponents and opponents, its implications, alternatives, and the views of some of the Indians themselves. (Author/FF)