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In seeking answers to questions about American Indians, we must keep in mind
that there are more than 558 Indian Tribes and Alaska Native groups that speak
more than 250 languages. Each Tribe has its own culture, history and identity.
Since no two Tribes are exactly alike, what is good for one Tribe may not be
good for another. Consequently, there are no simple solutions to the many
challenges currently facing Indian Tribes. Today, American Indians work to
balance values between two different worlds: their Indian culture and the
current social system of the larger society.
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What is an Indian Tribe?
An Indian Tribe is a body of people bound together by blood ties who are
socially, politically, and religiously organized; who live together in a
defined territory, and who speak a common language or dialect. The
establishment of the reservation system created some new groupings when two or
three Tribes were placed on one reservation, or when members of one Tribe were
spread over two or three reservations.
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Who is an Indian?
No single Federal or tribal criterion establishes a person's identity as an
Indian. A tribe sets up its own membership criteria, although the U.S. Congress
can also establish tribal membership criteria. Government agencies also use
differing criteria to determine who is an Indian eligible to participate in
their programs. Becoming a member of a particular tribe requires meeting its
membership rules, including adoption. Except for adoption, the amount of blood
quantum needed varies, with some Tribes requiring only proof of descent from an
Indian ancestor, while others may require as much as one-half. To determine
what the criteria might be for agencies or Tribes, you must contact them
directly. In 1990 the Census figures showed there were 1,959,234 American
Indians and Alaska Natives living in the United States. (1,878,285 American
Indians, 57,152 Eskimos, and 23,797 Aleuts).
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What is a "Federally Recognized" Tribe?
There are 558 Federally recognized Tribes in the United States, including 223
village groups in Alaska. A "Federally Recognized" Tribe is a Tribe and/or
Tribal group that has a Federally acknowledged legal and political relationship
with the Federal government. This relationship is referred to as a
government-to-government relationship. The government-to-government
relationship is collectively defined in the United States Constitution,
treaties, agreements, statutes, and numerous court cases.
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What is a reservation?
An Indian reservation is land reserved for most Federally recognized Indian
Tribes and is land geographically recognized in treaties, agreements, and
numerous court cases. There are approximately 275 Indian land areas in the
United States administered as Indian Reservations. The largest is the Navajo
Reservation, which covers 16 million acres of land in Arizona, New Mexico, and
Utah. Many of the smaller reservations are less that 1,000 acres, with the
smallest less than 100 acres. On each reservation, the local governing
authority is the Tribal government. Approximately 56.2 million acres of land is
held by the United States government for various Indian Tribes and individuals.
On behalf of the United States, the Department of the Interior serves as the
trustee of such lands for Indian Tribes, and also delegates many
responsibilities to officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The states in
which reservations are located have limited powers over them, and only as
provided by Federal law. Some 140 reservations have entirely Tribally owned
land.
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What does Tribal Sovereignty mean to Indian Tribes?
When Indian Tribes first encountered Europeans, the Europeans dealt with the
Tribes as sovereign governments with whom treaties were made. When Tribal lands
were conveyed to the United States, the Tribes retained some inherent
sovereignty over their lands. While such sovereignty is limited today, it is
protected by Tribes against encroachments by other sovereign entities such as
states and the Federal government.
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Why did the Department of Energy develop its American Indian Policy?
The American Indian Policy was developed largely because of legal
responsibilities by the United States government toward Federally recognized
American Indian Tribal governments. This responsibility is defined in the
United States Constitution, treaties, agreements, statutes, executive
orders, administrative regulations, and numerous court decisions.
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What is the Department of Energy's (DOE)
American Indian Policy?
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What Tribes work directly with the DOE's Environmental
Management (EM) program?
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What does by a "Government-to-Government" relationship mean generally to the
Department of Energy?
Tribes are sovereign entities as recognized through the Constitution,
negotiated in treaties and defined in case law. All interaction with Federally
recognized Tribes must be conducted on a government-to-government basis beyond
standard public involvment and community outreach efforts through Tribal
elected leaders on issues and activities of Tribal interest.
The Department is required to respect Tribal sovereignty when undertaking
activities affecting American Indian rights and/or resources, as stated in the
U.S. Department of Energy American Indian Policy.
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What is the State and Tribal Governments Working Group (STGWG)?
State and Tribal
Government Working Group (STGWG).
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