regulation

§ 83.4

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–06 Edition)

procedures established by these regulations.
(c) Associations, organizations, corporations or groups of any character
that have been formed in recent times
may not be acknowledged under these
regulations. The fact that a group that
meets the criteria in § 83.7 (a) through
(g) has recently incorporated or otherwise formalized its existing autonomous political process will be viewed
as a change in form and have no bearing on the Assistant Secretary’s final
decision.
(d) Splinter groups, political factions, communities or groups of any
character that separate from the main
body of a currently acknowledged tribe
may not be acknowledged under these
regulations. However, groups that can
establish clearly that they have functioned throughout history until the
present as an autonomous tribal entity
may be acknowledged under this part,
even though they have been regarded
by some as part of or have been associated in some manner with an acknowledged North American Indian tribe.
(e) Further, groups which are, or the
members of which are, subject to congressional legislation terminating or
forbidding the Federal relationship
may not be acknowledged under this
part.
(f) Finally, groups that previously petitioned and were denied Federal acknowledgment under these regulations
or under previous regulations in part 83
of this title, may not be acknowledged
under these regulations. This includes
reorganized or reconstituted petitioners previously denied, or splinter
groups, spin-offs, or component groups
of any type that were once part of petitioners previously denied.
(g) Indian groups whose documented
petitions are under active consideration at the effective date of these revised regulations may choose to complete their petitioning process either
under these regulations or under the
previous acknowledgment regulations
in part 83 of this title. This choice
must be made by April 26, 1994. This option shall apply to any petition for
which a determination is not final and
effective. Such petitioners may request
a suspension of consideration under
§ 83.10(g) of not more than 180 days in

order to provide additional information
or argument.
§ 83.4

Filing a letter of intent.

(a) Any Indian group in the continental United States that believes it
should be acknowledged as an Indian
tribe and that it can satisfy the criteria in § 83.7 may submit a letter of intent.
(b) Letters of intent requesting acknowledgment that an Indian group exists as an Indian tribe shall be filed
with the Assistant Secretary—Indian
Affairs, Department of the Interior,
1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC
20240. Attention: Branch of Acknowledgment and Research, Mail Stop 2611–
MIB. A letter of intent may be filed in
advance of, or at the same time as, a
group’s documented petition.
(c) A letter of intent must be produced, dated and signed by the governing body of an Indian group and
submitted to the Assistant Secretary.
§ 83.5

Duties of the Department.

(a) The Department shall publish in
the FEDERAL REGISTER, no less frequently than every three years, a list
of all Indian tribes entitled to receive
services from the Bureau by virtue of
their status as Indian tribes. The list
may be published more frequently, if
the Assistant Secretary deems it necessary.
(b) The Assistant Secretary shall
make available revised and expanded
guidelines for the preparation of documented petitions by September 23, 1994.
These guidelines will include an explanation of the criteria and other provisions of the regulations, a discussion of
the types of evidence which may be
used to demonstrate particular criteria
or other provisions of the regulations,
and general suggestions and guidelines
on how and where to conduct research.
The guidelines may be supplemented or
updated as necessary. The Department’s example of a documented petition format, while preferable, shall not
preclude the use of any other format.
(c) The Department shall, upon request, provide petitioners with suggestions and advice regarding preparation
of the documented petition. The Department shall not be responsible for

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