American Indians Today - An overview - Part 1

Before we get too in-depth with the history and the laws and how they evolved, let's take a step back and look at a snapshot of NDNs today. It's not an easy task, because the indians are a hugely dynamic and varied group. There are landed and landless tribes, large and small tribes, eastern and western tribes, federally recognized and non-federally recognized, terminated tribes, rez and urban NDNs, traditional and assimilated peoples, and special situations with each different group of people and their legal relationship with the US. But there are certain things we can say.

1) NDN tribes and reservations
Tribalism is still a major force in indian culture and law, and NDNs often see themselves as members of their tribe first and as Indians second, according to my textbook. Most indian land is tribally owned, since the treaties were negotiated with the tribes, not the members. Congress views these tribes NOT as a racial minority but as a political entity, and because of this, the courts have justified special laws for NDNs in many situations and areas.

There are 562 federally recognized tribes, and 230 of those are village groups in Alaska. Altogether, there are 322 federally recognized NDN rezes. And the land holdings are really varied. The Navajo nation has more than 15 million acres in 3 states... an area that is actually bigger than any of the nine smallest states in the US. On the other hand, the smallest rez is less than 100 acres - (just over one square mile?) and a few small rezes have NO population at all!

The 5 largest tribes, by land holding, are the Navajo, the Tohono O'odham, the Pine Ridge, the Cheyenne River, and the San Carlos.

Not all indian tribes are federally recognized - in the 1950's, congress terminated more than 100 tribes, and has only reinstated a few since then. There are a bunch of tribes with no official ties (aka special recognition) by the feds, and they are seen as"non-federally recognized" - meaning they can't participate in BIA programs. They're essentially "invisible" tribes.

Right now, about 200 tribes are waiting for the BIA to federally recognize them, but the process is SLOOOOOW. Of the 250 groups who have petitioned since 1978 for federal recognition, 16 had been approved as of February 2004. 19 tribes were shot down, and nine were still waiting on FINAL BIA action. The rest were still trying to jump through the hoops and prepare all the documentation and evidence the BIA was asking for. Because it's taking so long, several tribes are suing the feds, trying to get them to speed up the process.