Map of states with US federally recognized tribes marked in yellow. States with no federally recognized tribes marked in gray.Map of federally recognizedIndian reservations in the contiguous United States (as of 2022)
In theUnited States, the Native American tribe is a fundamental unit of sovereign tribal government. As theDepartment of the Interior explains, "federally recognized tribes are recognized as possessing certain inherent rights of self-government (i.e., tribal sovereignty)...."[4] The constitution grants to theU.S. Congress the right to interact with tribes. More specifically, theSupreme Court of the United States inUnited States v. Sandoval[5] 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).[6] Federaltribal recognition grants to tribes the right to certain benefits, and is largely administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
Following the decisions made by theIndian Claims Commission in the 1950s, 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 a historical tribe. Tribes seeking recognition must submit detailedpetitions to the BIA's Office of Federal Acknowledgment.
To be formally recognized as an Indian tribe, the US Congress can legislate recognition or a tribe can meet the seven criteria outlined by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment. These seven criteria are summarized as:
83.7(a): "Indian entity identification: The petitioner demonstrates that it has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900."[7]
83.7(b): "Community: The petitioner demonstrates that it comprises a distinct community and existed as a community from 1900 until the present."[7]
83.7(c): "Political influence or authority: The petitioner demonstrates that it has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from 1900 until the present."[7]
83.7(d): "Governing document: The petitioner provides a copy of the group's present governing document including its membership criteria. In the absence of a written document, the petitioner must provide a statement describing in full its membership criteria and current governing procedures."[7]
83.7(e): "Descent: The petitioner demonstrates that its membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes which combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity."[7]
83.7(f): "Unique membership: The petitioner demonstrates that the membership of the petitioning group is composed principally of persons who are not members of any acknowledged North American Indian tribe."[7]
83.7(g): "Congressional termination: The Department demonstrates that neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship."[7]
The federal acknowledgment process can take years, even decades; delays of 12 to 14 years have occurred. TheShinnecock Indian Nation formally petitioned for recognition in 1978 and was recognized 32 years later in 2010. At aSenate 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."[8][9]
The number of tribes increased to 567 in May 2016 with the inclusion of thePamunkey tribe in Virginia who received their federal recognition in July 2015.[2] The number of tribes increased to 573 with the addition of six tribes in Virginia under theThomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017, signed in January 2018 after the annual list had been published.[1] In July 2018 the United States'Federal Register issued an official list of 573 tribes that areIndian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.[1] TheLittle Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana became the 574th tribe to gain federal recognition on December 20, 2019. The websiteUSA.gov, the federal government's official web portal, also maintains an updated list oftribal governments. Ancillary information present informer versions of this list but no longer contained in the current listing has been included here in italic print.
TheFederal 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 andthose in Alaska are listed separately.
Federal Register, Volume 87, FR 4636, dated January 12, 2023 (87FR4636) – 574 entities
Federal Register, Volume 85, Number 20 dated January 30, 2020 (85FR5462) – 574 entities
Federal Register, Volume 84, Number 22 dated February 1, 2019 (84FR1200) – 573 entities
Federal Register, Volume 83, Number 141 dated July 23, 2018 (83FR34863) – 573 entities
Federal Register, Volume 83, Number 20 dated January 30, 2018 (83FR4235) – 567 entities
Federal Register, Volume 82, Number 10 dated January 17, 2017 (82FR4915) – 567 entities
Federal Register, Volume 81, Number 86 dated May 4, 2016 (81FR26826) – 567 entities
Federal Register, Volume 81, Number 19 dated January 29, 2016 (81FR5019) – 566 entities
Federal Register, Volume 80, Number 9 dated January 14, 2015 (80FR1942) – 566 entities
Federal Register, Volume 78, Number 87 dated May 6, 2013 (78FR26384) – 566 entities
Federal Register, Volume 77, Number 155 dated August 10, 2012 (77FR47868) – 566 entities
Federal Register, Volume 75, Number 190 dated October 1, 2010 (75FR60810), with a supplemental listing published in Federal Register, Volume 75, Number 207 dated October 27, 2010 (75FR66124) – 565+1 entities
Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 153 dated August 11, 2009 (74FR40218) – 564 entities
Federal Register, Volume 73, Number 66 dated April 4, 2008 (73FR18553) – 562 entities
Federal Register, Volume 72, Number 55 dated March 22, 2007 (72FR13648) – 561 entities
Federal Register, Volume 70, Number 226 dated November 25, 2005 (70FR71194) – 561 entities
Federal Register, Volume 68, Number 234 dated December 5, 2003 (68FR68180) – 562 entities
Federal Register, Volume 67, Number 134 dated July 12, 2002 (67FR46328) – 562 entities
Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 49 dated March 13, 2000 (65FR13298) – 556 entities
Federal Register, Volume 63, Number 250 dated December 30, 1998 (63FR71941) – 555 entities
Federal Register, Volume 62, Number 205 dated October 23, 1997 (62FR55270) – 555 entities
Federal Register, Volume 61, Number 220 dated November 13, 1996 (61FR58211) – 555 entities
Federal Register, Volume 60, Number 32 dated February 16, 1995 (60FR9250) – 552 entities
^The hyphen in Timbisha is actually ungrammatical and based on a clerical error. The tribe itself always uses Timbisha, without the hyphen. "Timbisha" is a compound oftüm 'rock' +pisa 'red paint', so the hyphen in the middle ofpisa is impossible
Miller, Mark Edwin. Forgotten Tribes: Unrecognized Indians and the Federal Acknowledgment Process. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004; Bison Books, 2006.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from85 FR 5462 - Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.United States government.