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When dealing with official entities such as the federal government and state governments,
being an "official" Indian tribe is important as it defines with whom government-government
relations are to occur. To this end, the US government has defined formal relationships
with over 550 Indian tribes, bands, and nations in the lower 48 states, along with 223
Alaskan Native villages.
Federal recognition defines the long-standing legal relationship between tribes and the
US government. Through the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
is the federal agency which
administers programs, monies, health service, and other reciprocal trust benefits for federally recognized tribes and for
members of those tribes. When Congress makes laws regarding Indian tribes,
they affect federally recognized tribes, including members. Similarly, decisions handed
down by the judiciary and the Supreme Court in the area of Indian Law affect federally recognized tribes and their
members.
Historically, federal recognition has long been a thorn in Indian-US relations, leaving many tribes
in effect, "nationless," without a way to establish formally a centralized government,
hold a land base, receive benefits, advocate politically, and develop economic and
social programs, all of which would help repair the damage lack of federal recognition
has on a community. Without their recent federal recognition, tribes such as the
Mashantucket
Pequot Tribal Nation and the
Mohegan Tribe, both of Connecticut,
would not enjoy the financial success they have today.
Additionally, the recognition of official tribal governments has often involved usurpation
of traditional methods of government and authority by the US government itself. Installation
of "puppet" tribal councils by the BIA and the meddling into the sovereign affairs of tribal
nations has resulted in the creation or deepening of divisions between segments of particular tribal populations, such
as the Hopi of Arizona, the Oglala Lakota (Pine Ridge)
of South Dakota, and the Nez Perce and Coeur D'Alene of Idaho.
Today, there are many tribes which are state recognized, but these tribes
lack the same legal standing on the federal level. Various tribal groups continue
to make efforts to receive federal recognition. Some of the most notable in their
fight for federal recognition include the
Mashpee / Wampanoag
of Massachusetts and the Lumbee
of North Carolina.
Defining a tribe as extinct, non-existent, or otherwise diminished has also been a deliberate
practice of the US government, most recently through a federal policy known as
termination.
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