Battle of Old Fort Wayne

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Map of states with US federally recognized tribes marked in yellow. States with no federally recognized tribes are marked in gray.

Federally recognized tribes are those Native American tribes recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government.[1] For Alaska Native tribes, see list of Alaska Native tribal entities. As of January 8, 2024, 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.[2][3] Of these, 227 are located in Alaska and 109 are located in California.

Description

In the United States, the Native American tribe is a fundamental unit of sovereign tribal government. As the Department of the Interior explains, "federally recognized tribes are recognized as possessing certain inherent rights of self-government (i.e., tribal sovereignty)...."[1] The constitution grants to the U.S. Congress the right to interact with tribes. More specifically, the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Sandoval (231 US. 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).[4] Federal tribal recognition grants to tribes the right to self-government, as well as certain benefits. The recognition process is largely controlled by the United States federal agency the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in consultation with federally recognized tribes.

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.[5] The number of tribes increased to 567 in July 2015 with the federal recognition of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia.[6] USA.gov, the federal government's official web portal, maintains a list of tribal governments which is constantly updated. Ancillary information present in former versions of this list but no longer contained in the current listing have been included here in italics print.

In 2018, six more Virginia-based tribes were added to the list, then in 2020 the Little Shell Chippewa were recognized bringing the total to 574.[7] Of these, 231 are located in Alaska.

Except for Hawaii, states that have no federally recognized tribes today forcibly removed tribes from their region in the 19th century,[8] mainly to the west and especially to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.[9]

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Multiple states:

Arkansas

No federally recognized tribes

California

Multiple states:

Colorado

Multiple states:

Connecticut

Delaware

No federally recognized tribes

Florida

Georgia

No federally recognized tribes

Hawaii

No federally recognized tribes

Idaho

Multiple states:

Illinois

No federally recognized tribes

Indiana

Multiple states:

Iowa

Kansas

Multiple states:

Kentucky

No federally recognized tribes

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

No federally recognized tribes

Massachusetts

Michigan

Multiple states:

Minnesota

Multiple states:

Mississippi

Multiple states:

Missouri

No federally recognized tribes

Montana

Multiple states:

Nebraska

Multiple states:

Nevada

Multiple states:

New Hampshire

No federally recognized tribes

New Jersey

No federally recognized tribes

New Mexico

Multiple states:

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Multiple states:

Ohio

No federally recognized tribes

Oklahoma

Oregon

Multiple states:

Pennsylvania

No federally recognized tribes

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Multiple states:

Tennessee

Multiple states:

Texas

Utah

Multiple states:

Vermont

No federally recognized tribes

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

No federally recognized tribes

Wisconsin

Flags of Wisconsin tribes in the state capitol

Multiple states:

Wyoming

See also

Native Americans in the United States

Indigenous peoples in Canada

References

  1. ^ a b "Why Tribes Exist Today in the United States". Frequently Asked Questions. Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  2. ^ Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. (January 8, 2024). "Notice Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. 89 (944): 944–48. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Federal Acknowledgment of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe Archived 2015-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Sheffield (1998) p. 56
  5. ^ Federal Register, Volume 80, Number 9 dated January 14, 2015
  6. ^ Federal Acknowledgment of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe Archived 2015-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Hilleary, Cecily (January 31, 2018). "US Recognizes 6 Virginia Native American Tribes". Voice of America. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "American Indian Removal". Native Knowledge 360°. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Shawnee Nation Case Study". Native Knowledge 360°. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. 87 (FR 2112): 2112–16. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  11. ^ McLaughlin, Kathleen (21 Dec 2019). "A big moment finally comes for the Little Shell: Federal recognition of their tribe". Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  12. ^ "State of the Tribe Fiscal Year 2021" (PDF). Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". 28 January 2022.
  14. ^ Federal Registrar, July 23, 2018: p. 34865