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Mandatory
criteria for Federal
acknowledgment of an
Indian Nation
[The seven criteria are
labeled with the letters
a,b,c,d,e,f,g]
--------------------
(a) The petitioner has
been identified as an
American Indian entity
on a substantially
continuous basis since
1900. Evidence that the
group's character as an
Indian entity has from
time to time been denied
shall not be considered
to be conclusive
evidence that this
criterion has not been
met. Evidence to be
relied upon in
determining a group's
Indian identity may
include one or a
combination of the
following, as well as
other evidence of
identification by other
than the petitioner
itself or its members.
(1) Identification as an
Indian entity by Federal
authorities.
(2) Relationships with
State governments based
on identification of the
group as Indian.
(3) Dealings with a
county, parish, or other
local government in a
relationship based on
the group's Indian
identity.
(4) Identification as an
Indian entity by
anthropologists,
historians, and/or other
scholars.
(5) Identification as an
Indian entity in
newspapers and books.
(6) Identification as an
Indian entity in
relationships with
Indian tribes or with
national, regional, or
state Indian
organizations.
----------------------------------
(b) A predominant
portion of the
petitioning group
comprises a distinct
community and has
existed as a community
from historical times
until the present.
(1) This criterion may
be demonstrated by some
combination of the
following evidence
and/or other evidence
that the petitioner
meets the definition of
community set forth in
§ 83.1:
(i) Significant rates of
marriage within the
group, and/or, as may be
culturally required,
patterned out-marriages
with other Indian
populations.
(ii) Significant social
relationships connecting
individual members.
(iii) Significant rates
of informal social
interaction which exist
broadly among the
members of a group.
(iv) A significant
degree of shared or
cooperative labor or
other economic activity
among the membership.
(v) Evidence of strong
patterns of
discrimination or other
social distinctions by
non-members.
(vi) Shared sacred or
secular ritual activity
encompassing most of the
group.
(vii) Cultural patterns
shared among a
significant portion of
the group that are
different from those of
the non-Indian
populations with whom it
interacts. These
patterns must function
as more than a symbolic
identification of the
group as Indian. They
may include, but are not
limited to, language,
kinship organization, or
religious beliefs and
practices.
(viii) The persistence
of a named, collective
Indian identity
continuously over a
period of more than 50
years, notwithstanding
changes in name.
(ix) A demonstration of
historical political
influence under the
criterion in § 83.7(c)
shall be evidence for
demonstrating historical
community.
(2) A petitioner shall
be considered to have
provided sufficient
evidence of community at
a given point in time if
evidence is provided to
demonstrate any one of
the following:
(i) More than 50 percent
of the members reside in
a geographical area
exclusively or almost
exclusively composed of
members of the group,
and the balance of the
group maintains
consistent interaction
with some members of the
community;
(ii) At least 50 percent
of the marriages in the
group are between
members of the group;
(iii) At least 50
percent of the group
members maintain
distinct cultural
patterns such as, but
not limited to,
language, kinship
organization, or
religious beliefs and
practices;
(iv) There are distinct
community social
institutions
encompassing most of the
members, such as kinship
organizations, formal or
informal economic
cooperation, or
religious organizations;
or
(v) The group has met
the criterion in §
83.7(c) using evidence
described in
§83.7(c)(2).
-------------------------------------
(c) The petitioner has
maintained political
influence or authority
over its members as an
autonomous entity from
historical times until
the present.
(1) This criterion may
be demonstrated by some
combination of the
evidence listed below
and/or by other evidence
that the petitioner
meets the definition of
political influence or
authority in § 83.1.
(i) The group is able to
mobilize significant
numbers of members and
significant resources
from its members for
group purposes.
(ii) Most of the
membership considers
issues acted upon or
actions taken by group
leaders or governing
bodies to be of
importance.
(iii) There is
widespread knowledge,
communication and
involvement in political
processes by most of the
group's members.
(iv) The group meets the
criterion in
§ 83;.7(b) at
more than a minimal
level.
(v) There are internal
conflicts which show
controversy over valued
group goals, properties,
policies, processes
and/or decisions.
(2) A petitioning group
shall be considered to
have provided sufficient
evidence to demonstrate
the exercise of
political influence or
authority at a given
point in time by
demonstrating that group
leaders and/or other
mechanisms exist or
existed which:
(i) Allocate group
resources such as land,
residence rights and the
like on a consistent
basis.
(ii) Settle disputes
between members or
subgroups by mediation
or other means on a
regular basis;
(iii) Exert strong
influence on the
behavior of individual
members, such as the
establishment or
maintenance of norms and
the enforcement of
sanctions to direct or
control behavior;
(iv) Organize or
influence economic
subsistence activities
among the members,
including shared or
cooperative labor.
(3) A group that has met
the requirements in
paragraph 83.7(b)(2) at
a given point in time
shall be considered to
have provided sufficient
evidence to meet this
criterion at that point
in time.
------------------------------------
(d) 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.
-----------------------------------
(e) The petitioner's
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.
(1) Evidence acceptable
to the Secretary which
can be used for this
purpose includes but is
not limited to:
(i) Rolls prepared by
the Secretary on a
descendancy basis for
purposes of distributing
claims money, providing
allotments, or other
purposes;
(ii) State, Federal, or
other official records
or evidence identifying
present members or
ancestors of present
members as being
descendants of a
historical tribe or
tribes that combined and
functioned as a single
autonomous political
entity.
(iii) Church, school,
and other similar
enrollment records
identifying present
members or ancestors of
present members as being
descendants of a
historical tribe or
tribes that combined and
functioned as a single
autonomous political
entity.
(iv) Affidavits of
recognition by tribal
elders, leaders, or the
tribal governing body
identifying present
members or ancestors of
present members as being
descendants of a
historical tribe or
tribes that combined and
functioned as a single
autonomous political
entity.
(v) Other records or
evidence identifying
present members or
ancestors of present
members as being
descendants of a
historical tribe or
tribes that combined and
functioned as a single
autonomous political
entity.
(2) The petitioner must
provide an official
membership list,
separately certified by
the group's governing
body, of all known
current members of the
group. This list must
include each member's
full name (including
maiden name), date of
birth, and current
residential address. The
petitioner must also
provide a copy of each
available former list of
members based on the
group's own defined
criteria, as well as a
statement describing the
circumstances
surrounding the
preparation of the
current list and,
insofar as possible, the
circumstances
surrounding the
preparation of former
lists.
------------------------------------
(f) The membership of
the petitioning group is
composed principally of
persons who are not
members of any
acknowledged North
American Indian tribe.
However, under certain
conditions a petitioning
group may be
acknowledged even if its
membership is composed
principally of persons
whose names have
appeared on rolls of, or
who have been otherwise
associated with, an
acknowledged Indian
tribe. The conditions
are that the group must
establish that it has
functioned throughout
history until the
present as a separate
and autonomous Indian
tribal entity, that its
members do not maintain
a bilateral political
relationship with the
acknowledged tribe, and
that its members have
provided written
confirmation of their
membership in the
petitioning group.
----------------------------------
(g) Neither the
petitioner nor its
members are the subject
of congressional
legislation that has
expressly terminated or
forbidden the Federal
relationship.
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