Resources - General

Native American Law Research Guide (Georgetown Law Library)

U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs

oldest bureau of the United States Department of the Interior
established in 1824, currently providing services (directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts) to approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives
567 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) manages 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates held in trust by the United States for American Indian, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides education services to approximately 42,000 Indian students.

A federally recognized tribe is an American Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity recognized as having a government-to-government relationship with the United States - with the implied responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations - and is eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Federally recognized tribes possess certain inherent rights of self-government (i.e., tribal sovereignty) and are entitled to receive certain federal benefits, services, and protections

Most of the federally recognized tribes received recognition through treaties, acts of Congress, presidential executive orders, or other federal administrative actions, or federal court decisions

In 1978, the Interior Department issued regulations governing the Federal Acknowledgment Process to handle requests for federal recognition from Indian groups whose character and history varied widely in a uniform manner

These regulations – 25 C.F.R. Part 83 – were revised in 1994

In 1994, Congress enacted Public Law 103-454, the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act (108 Stat. 4791, 4792), which formally established how an Indian group may become federally recognized

By an Act of Congress
By the administrative procedures under 25 C.F.R. Part 83
By a decision of a United States court

The Secretary of the Interior was required to publish a list of the federal recognized tribes annually in the Federal Register

A tribe whose relationship with the United States has been expressly terminated by Congress may not use the Federal Acknowledgment Process (only Congress can restore federal recognition to such a tribe)