List of federally recognized tribes

As of July 2015, 567 Native American tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States. [1] [2]

Description

In the United States, the Indian tribe is a fundamental unit, and the constitution grants Congress the right to interact with tribes. More specifically, the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Sandoval, 231 U.S. 28 (1913), warned, "it is not... that Congress may bring a community or body of people within range of this power by arbitrarily calling them an Indian tribe, but only that in respect of distinctly Indian communities the questions whether, to what extent, and for what time they shall be recognized and dealt with as dependent tribes" (at 46).[3] Federal tribal recognition grants to tribes the right to certain benefits, and is largely controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

While trying to determine which groups were eligible for federal recognition in the 1970s, government officials became acutely aware of the need for consistent procedures. To illustrate, several federally unrecognized tribes encountered obstacles in bringing land claims; United States v. Washington (1974) was a court case that affirmed the fishing treaty rights of Washington tribes; and other tribes demanded that the U.S. government recognize aboriginal titles. All the above culminated in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, which legitimized tribal entities by partially restoring Native American self-determination.

Following the decisions made by the Indian Claims Commission, the BIA in 1978 published final rules with procedures that groups had to meet to secure federal tribal acknowledgment. There are seven criteria. Four have proven troublesome for most groups to prove: long-standing historical community, outside identification as Indians, political authority, and descent from an historical tribe. Tribes seeking recognition must submit detailed petitions to the BIA's Office of Federal Acknowledgment. Consequently, the Federal Acknowledgment Process can take years, even decades; delays of 12–14 years are not uncommon. The Shinnecock Indian Nation formally petitioned for recognition in 1978 and was recognized 32 years later, in 2010. At a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing, witnesses testified that the process was "broken, long, expensive, burdensome, intrusive, unfair, arbitrary and capricious, less than transparent, unpredictable, and subject to undue political influence and manipulation."[4][5]

In January 2015 the United States' Federal Register issued an official list of 566 tribes that are Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.[6] The number of tribes increased to 567 in July 2015 with the federal recognition of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia.[7] The website USA.gov, the federal government's official web portal, also maintains a constantly updated list of tribal governments. Ancillary information present in former versions of this list but no longer contained in the current listing have been included here in italics print.

Alphabetical list of federally recognized tribes

A

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B

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C

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D

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E

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F

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G

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H

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I

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J

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K

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L

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M

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N

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O

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P

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Q

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R

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S

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T

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U

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W

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Y

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Z

See also

United States
Canada

Federal Register

The Federal Register is used by the BIA to publish the list of "Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Tribes in the contiguous 48 states and those in Alaska are listed separately.

Current version

Former versions

References

  1. ↑ Federal Register, Volume 80, Number 9 dated January 14, 2015
  2. ↑ Federal Acknowledgment of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe
  3. ↑ Sheffield (1998) p56
  4. ↑ Federal Recognition: Can the BIA's Acknowledgment Process Be Fixed?, Indian Country Today (August 8, 2012).
  5. ↑ Fixing the Federal Acknowledgment Process (S. Hrg. 111-470), Hearing Before the Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate (Nov. 4, 2009).
  6. ↑ Federal Register, Volume 80, Number 9 dated January 14, 2015
  7. ↑ Federal Acknowledgment of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe
  8. ↑ Federal Recognition of LRBOI
  9. ↑ Federal Recognition of LTBBOI
  10. ↑ Heim, Joe (2 July 2015). "A renowned Virginia Indian tribe finally wins federal recognition". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

Further reading

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