Many tribes in the U.S. are anticipating the new rules that the federal government is proposing that would make it easier to recognize new tribes.
Currently there are 566 recognized tribes in the U.S. The process for joining their ranks is considered cumbersome, which is, depending on your perspective, a good thing or a tragedy for the Indians not allowed recognition.
However states such as Connecticut oppose making it easier to achieve recognition because it has three tribes waiting in the wings, which if they are recognized, could more than double the number of Indian casinos in the state.
Federal recognition is key to being granted sovereignty, which gives tribes a big advantage in dealing with state governments. They can, in essence ignore state land use laws and pursue casinos whether states want them to or not.
The current recognition process has been in place for 36 years. Under its provision tribes can spend decades pursuing recognition. The process is, almost by its very nature, time-consuming.
This spring Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn, who directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs, proposed new regulations. The main change is that tribes would not longer have to show a continuous connection to the beginning of the Republic, but only show their continuous existence since 1934. Recognition does not guarantee a reservation, but it’s a first step to obtaining land to put into trust for a reservation.
Since nearly half of the states have their own system for recognizing tribes, many of them are leery about a federal process that pushes them to the back.
Because Connecticut so opposes the new proposal, it suggested its own wording, some of which Washburn adopted, and which would give a veto to third parties if a tribe’s previous application has been rejected.
At this point the Department of the Interior, of which the BIA is a part, is reviewing Washburn’s new regulations. No date has been set on adoption.
