This collection of correspondence, agency reports, field notes, and photographs was compiled by Evander M. Sweet, Jr., Inspector of Indian Services for the BIA from 1915 to 1921. Much of the material consists of Sweet's inspection and investigative reports prepared for Indian reservations and agencies in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Evander M. Sweet, Jr., a Southern Methodist preacher, began his ministry in Oklahoma during that region's first years of statehood (1907-1914). He represented Protestant churches there in a successful drive to place an amendment in the State Constitution restricting the use of alcoholic beverages among Native Americans. From 1915-1921 he was an Inspector with the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. During these years, Federal appropriations for Indian needs were dramatically decreased in an effort to force Native Americans from reservations into the mainstream of American life. By 1920 the deterioration of the quality of Indian life was so apparent that the need for reforms was evident. Sweet's investigation reports cover a wide range of Indian complaints and provide a valuable picture of Indian-White relations under the Dawes Act. Sweet was terminated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1921 and became an agent for Pacific Mutual Life, eventually moving to Stockton (Calif.) where he remained active in Methodist affairs.

Collection is open for research.