25 Cfr 83

§ 82.10

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

(2) Lack of proper qualifications of a
signer.
No challenge will be considered which
is not accompanied by supporting evidence in writing. In the event that an
individual’s name appears on a petition
more than once, all but one of the
names shall be stricken.
§ 82.10

Action on the petition.

(a) Within 30 days after the official
filing date, the local Bureau official
shall forward to the Area Director, or
when the Area Director is the local Bureau official, directly to the Commissioner, the original of the petition and
its accompanying signatures, together
with
recommendations
concerning
challenges and conclusions concerning:
(1) The validity of the signatures;
(2) The adequacy of the number of
signatures; and
(3) The propriety of the petitioning
procedure.
(b) The Area Director or the Commissioner, as the case may be, shall within
45 days after the official filing date decide upon each challenge and the sufficiency of the petition and announce
whether the petition shall be acted
upon. If a decision is reached that the
petitioning action is for any reason insufficient, the spokesman for the petitioners and the governing body of the
tribe will be so informed and given the
reasons for the decision. If a petitioning action warrants action by the
Secretary
or
Commissioner,
the
spokesman for the petitioners and the
governing body of the tribe concerned
will be so informed. The decision in
such matters shall be final. The procedures for implementing any action initiated by the acceptance of a petition
will be determined in accordance with
pertinent directives and regulations.
§ 82.11

Duration of petition.

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Any petition submitted under this
part, shall be considered only for the
purpose stated therein. Once a petition
has been acted upon, it shall not be
used again.

PART 83—PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING THAT AN AMERICAN INDIAN GROUP EXISTS AS AN INDIAN TRIBE
Sec.
83.1 Definitions.
83.2 Purpose.
83.3 Scope.
83.4 Filing a letter of intent.
83.5 Duties of the Department.
83.6 General provisions for the documented
petition.
83.7 Mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment.
83.8 Previous Federal acknowledgment
83.9 Notice of receipt of a petition.
83.10 Processing of the documented petition.
83.11 Independent review, reconsideration
and final action.
83.12 Implementation of decisions.
83.13 Information collection.
AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301; 25 U.S.C. 2 and 9;
43 U.S.C. 1457; and 209 Departmental Manual
8.
SOURCE: 59 FR 9293, Feb. 25, 1994, unless
otherwise noted.

§ 83.1 Definitions.
As used in this part:
Area Office means a Bureau of Indian
Affairs Area Office.
Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, or that
officer’s authorized representative.
Autonomous means the exercise of political influence or authority independent of the control of any other Indian governing entity. Autonomous
must be understood in the context of
the history, geography, culture and social organization of the petitioning
group.
Board means the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.
Bureau means the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
Community means any group of people
which can demonstrate that consistent
interactions and significant social relationships exist within its membership
and that its members are differentiated
from and identified as distinct from
nonmembers. Community must be understood in the context of the history,
geography, culture and social organization of the group.
Continental United States means the
contiguous 48 states and Alaska.

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Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 83.1

Continuously or continuous means extending from first sustained contact
with
non-Indians
throughout
the
group’s history to the present substantially without interruption.
Department means the Department of
the Interior.
Documented petition means the detailed arguments made by a petitioner
to substantiate its claim to continuous
existence as an Indian tribe, together
with the factual exposition and all documentary evidence necessary to demonstrate that these arguments address
the mandatory criteria in § 83.7(a)
through (g).
Historically, historical or history means
dating from first sustained contact
with non-Indians.
Indian group or group means any Indian or Alaska Native aggregation
within the continental United States
that the Secretary of the Interior does
not acknowledge to be an Indian tribe.
Indian tribe, also referred to herein as
tribe, means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, pueblo, village, or
community within the continental
United States that the Secretary of the
Interior presently acknowledges to
exist as an Indian tribe.
Indigenous means native to the continental United States in that at least
part of the petitioner’s territory at the
time of sustained contact extended
into what is now the continental
United States.
Informed party means any person or
organization, other than an interested
party, who requests an opportunity to
submit comments or evidence or to be
kept informed of general actions regarding a specific petitioner.
Interested party means any person, organization or other entity who can establish a legal, factual or property interest in an acknowledgment determination and who requests an opportunity to submit comments or evidence
or to be kept informed of general actions regarding a specific petitioner.
‘‘Interested party’’ includes the governor and attorney general of the state
in which a petitioner is located, and
may include, but is not limited to,
local governmental units, and any recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized
Indian groups that might be affected
by an acknowledgment determination.

Letter of intent means an undocumented letter or resolution by which
an Indian group requests Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe and
expresses its intent to submit a documented petition.
Member of an Indian group means an
individual who is recognized by an Indian group as meeting its membership
criteria and who consents to being listed as a member of that group.
Member of an Indian tribe means an
individual who meets the membership
requirements of the tribe as set forth
in its governing document or, absent
such a document, has been recognized
as a member collectively by those persons comprising the tribal governing
body, and has consistently maintained
tribal relations with the tribe or is listed on the tribal rolls of that tribe as a
member, if such rolls are kept.
Petitioner means any entity that has
submitted a letter of intent to the Secretary
requesting
acknowledgment
that it is an Indian tribe.
Political influence or authority means
a tribal council, leadership, internal
process or other mechanism which the
group has used as a means of influencing or controlling the behavior of
its members in significant respects,
and/or making decisions for the group
which substantially affect its members,
and/or representing the group in dealing with outsiders in matters of consequence. This process is to be understood in the context of the history, culture and social organization of the
group.
Previous
Federal
acknowledgment
means action by the Federal government clearly premised on identification of a tribal political entity and indicating clearly the recognition of a relationship between that entity and the
United States.
Secretary means the Secretary of the
Interior or that officer’s authorized
representative.
Sustained contact means the period of
earliest sustained non-Indian settlement and/or governmental presence in
the local area in which the historical
tribe or tribes from which the petitioner descends was located historically.

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§ 83.2

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

Tribal relations means participation
by an individual in a political and social relationship with an Indian tribe.
Tribal roll, for purposes of these regulations, means a list exclusively of
those individuals who have been determined by the tribe to meet the tribe’s
membership requirements as set forth
in its governing document. In the absence of such a document, a tribal roll
means a list of those recognized as
members by the tribe’s governing body.
In either case, those individuals on a
tribal roll must have affirmatively
demonstrated consent to being listed
as members.
§ 83.2

Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to establish a departmental procedure and policy for acknowledging that certain
American Indian groups exist as tribes.
Acknowledgment of tribal existence by
the Department is a prerequisite to the
protection, services, and benefits of the
Federal government available to Indian tribes by virtue of their status as
tribes. Acknowledgment shall also
mean that the tribe is entitled to the
immunities and privileges available to
other federally acknowledged Indian
tribes by virtue of their governmentto-government relationship with the
United States as well as the responsibilities, powers, limitations and obligations of such tribes. Acknowledgment shall subject the Indian tribe to
the same authority of Congress and the
United States to which other federally
acknowledged tribes are subjected.

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§ 83.3

Scope.

(a) This part applies only to those
American Indian groups indigenous to
the continental United States which
are not currently acknowledged as Indian tribes by the Department. It is intended to apply to groups that can establish a substantially continuous tribal existence and which have functioned
as autonomous entities throughout history until the present.
(b) Indian tribes, organized bands,
pueblos, Alaska Native villages, or
communities which are already acknowledged as such and are receiving
services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs may not be reviewed under the

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

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Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 83.6

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.

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§ 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

the actual research on behalf of the petitioner.
(d) Any notice which by the terms of
these regulations must be published in
the FEDERAL REGISTER, shall also be
mailed to the petitioner, the governor
of the state where the group is located,
and to other interested parties.
(e) After an Indian group has filed a
letter of intent requesting Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe and
until that group has actually submitted a documented petition, the Assistant Secretary may contact the
group periodically and request clarification, in writing, of its intent to
continue with the petitioning process.
(f) All petitioners under active consideration shall be notified, by April 16,
1994, of the opportunity under § 83.3(g)
to choose whether to complete their
petitioning process under the provisions of these revised regulations or
the previous regulations as published,
on September 5, 1978, at 43 FR 39361.
(g) All other groups that have submitted documented petitions or letters
of intent shall be notified of and provided with a copy of these regulations
by July 25, 1994.
§ 83.6 General provisions for the documented petition.
(a) The documented petition may be
in any readable form that contains detailed, specific evidence in support of a
request to the Secretary to acknowledge tribal existence.
(b) The documented petition must include a certification, signed and dated
by members of the group’s governing
body, stating that it is the group’s official documented petition.
(c) A petitioner must satisfy all of
the criteria in paragraphs (a) through
(g) of § 83.7 in order for tribal existence
to be acknowledged. Therefore, the
documented petition must include
thorough explanations and supporting
documentation in response to all of the
criteria. The definitions in § 83.1 are an
integral part of the regulations, and
the criteria should be read carefully together with these definitions.
(d) A petitioner may be denied acknowledgment if the evidence available
demonstrates that it does not meet one
or more criteria. A petitioner may also

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§ 83.7

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

be denied if there is insufficient evidence that it meets one or more of the
criteria. A criterion shall be considered
met if the available evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of the
validity of the facts relating to that
criterion. Conclusive proof of the facts
relating to a criterion shall not be required in order for the criterion to be
considered met.
(e) Evaluation of petitions shall take
into account historical situations and
time periods for which evidence is demonstrably limited or not available.
The limitations inherent in demonstrating the historical existence of
community and political influence or
authority shall also be taken into account. Existence of community and political influence or authority shall be
demonstrated on a substantially continuous basis, but this demonstration
does not require meeting these criteria
at every point in time. Fluctuations in
tribal activity during various years
shall not in themselves be a cause for
denial of acknowledgment under these
criteria.
(f) The criteria in § 83.7 (a) through
(g) shall be interpreted as applying to
tribes or groups that have historically
combined and functioned as a single
autonomous political entity.
(g) The specific forms of evidence
stated in the criteria in § 83.7 (a)
through (c) and § 83.7(e) are not mandatory requirements. The criteria may be
met alternatively by any suitable evidence that demonstrates that the petitioner meets the requirements of the
criterion statement and related definitions.

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§ 83.7 Mandatory criteria for Federal
acknowledgment.
The mandatory criteria are:
(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.

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Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 83.7

(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

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§ 83.8

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

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 writ-

ten 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.
§ 83.8 Previous
ment.

Federal

acknowledg-

(a) Unambiguous previous Federal acknowledgment is acceptable evidence
of the tribal character of a petitioner
to the date of the last such previous acknowledgment. If a petitioner provides
substantial evidence of unambiguous
Federal acknowledgment, the petitioner will then only be required to
demonstrate that it meets the requirements of § 83.7 to the extent required by
this section.
(b) A determination of the adequacy
of the evidence of previous Federal action acknowledging tribal status shall
be made during the technical assistance review of the documented petition
conducted pursuant to § 83.10(b). If a petition is awaiting active consideration
at the time of adoption of these regulations, this review will be conducted
while the petition is under active consideration unless the petitioner requests in writing that this review be
made in advance.
(c) Evidence to demonstrate previous
Federal acknowledgment includes, but
is not limited to:
(1) Evidence that the group has had
treaty relations with the United
States.
(2) Evidence that the group has been
denominated a tribe by act of Congress
or Executive Order.
(3) Evidence that the group has been
treated by the Federal Government as
having collective rights in tribal lands
or funds.
(d) To be acknowledged, a petitioner
that can demonstrate previous Federal
acknowledgment must show that:
(1) The group meets the requirements
of the criterion in § 83.7(a), except that
such identification shall be demonstrated since the point of last Federal acknowledgment. The group must
further have been identified by such
sources as the same tribal entity that
was previously acknowledged or as a

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§ 83.10

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portion that has evolved from that entity.
(2) The group meets the requirements
of the criterion in § 83.7(b) to demonstrate that it comprises a distinct
community at present. However, it
need not provide evidence to demonstrate existence as a community historically.
(3) The group meets the requirements
of the criterion in § 83.7(c) to demonstrate that political influence or authority is exercised within the group at
present. Sufficient evidence to meet
the criterion in § 83.7(c) from the point
of last Federal acknowledgment to the
present may be provided by demonstration of substantially continuous historical identification, by authoritative,
knowledgeable external sources, of
leaders and/or a governing body who
exercise political influence or authority, together with demonstration of
one form of evidence listed in § 83.7(c).
(4) The group meets the requirements
of the criteria in paragraphs 83.7 (d)
through (g).
(5) If a petitioner which has demonstrated previous Federal acknowledgment cannot meet the requirements
in paragraphs (d) (1) and (3), the petitioner may demonstrate alternatively
that it meets the requirements of the
criteria in § 83.7 (a) through (c) from
last Federal acknowledgment until the
present.
§ 83.9 Notice of receipt of a petition.
(a) Within 30 days after receiving a
letter of intent, or a documented petition if a letter of intent has not previously been received and noticed, the
Assistant Secretary shall acknowledge
such receipt in writing and shall have
published within 60 days in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice of such receipt.
This notice must include the name, location, and mailing address of the petitioner and such other information as
will identify the entity submitting the
letter of intent or documented petition
and the date it was received. This notice shall also serve to announce the
opportunity for interested parties and
informed parties to submit factual or
legal arguments in support of or in opposition to the petitioner’s request for
acknowledgment and/or to request to
be kept informed of all general actions

affecting the petition. The notice shall
also indicate where a copy of the letter
of intent and the documented petition
may be examined.
(b) The Assistant Secretary shall notify, in writing, the governor and attorney general of the state in which a
petitioner is located. The Assistant
Secretary shall also notify any recognized tribe and any other petitioner
which appears to have a historical or
present relationship with the petitioner or which may otherwise be considered to have a potential interest in
the acknowledgment determination.
(c) The Assistant Secretary shall also
publish the notice of receipt of the letter of intent, or documented petition if
a letter of intent has not been previously received, in a major newspaper
or newspapers of general circulation in
the town or city nearest to the petitioner. The notice will include all of
the information in paragraph (a) of this
section.
§ 83.10 Processing of the documented
petition.
(a) Upon receipt of a documented petition, the Assistant Secretary shall
cause a review to be conducted to determine whether the petitioner is entitled to be acknowledged as an Indian
tribe. The review shall include consideration of the documented petition and
the factual statements contained
therein. The Assistant Secretary may
also initiate other research for any
purpose relative to analyzing the documented petition and obtaining additional information about the petitioner’s status. The Assistant Secretary may likewise consider any evidence which may be submitted by interested parties or informed parties.
(b) Prior to active consideration of
the documented petition, the Assistant
Secretary shall conduct a preliminary
review of the petition for purposes of
technical assistance.
(1) This technical assistance review
does not constitute the Assistant Secretary’s review to determine if the petitioner is entitled to be acknowledged
as an Indian tribe. It is a preliminary
review for the purpose of providing the
petitioner an opportunity to supplement or revise the documented petition
prior to active consideration. Insofar

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§ 83.10

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

as possible, technical assistance reviews under this paragraph will be conducted in the order of receipt of documented petitions. However, technical
assistance reviews will not have priority over active consideration of documented petitions.
(2) After the technical assistance review, the Assistant Secretary shall notify the petitioner by letter of any obvious deficiencies or significant omissions apparent in the documented petition and provide the petitioner with an
opportunity to withdraw the documented petition for further work or to
submit additional information and/or
clarification.
(3) If a petitioner’s documented petition claims previous Federal acknowledgment and/or includes evidence of
previous Federal acknowledgment, the
technical assistance review will also
include a review to determine whether
that evidence is sufficient to meet the
requirements of previous Federal acknowledgment as defined in § 83.1.
(c) Petitioners have the option of responding in part or in full to the technical assistance review letter or of requesting, in writing, that the Assistant
Secretary proceed with the active consideration of the documented petition
using the materials already submitted.
(1) If the petitioner requests that the
materials submitted in response to the
technical assistance review letter be
again reviewed for adequacy, the Assistant Secretary will provide the additional review. However, this additional
review will not be automatic and will
be conducted only at the request of the
petitioner.
(2) If the assertion of previous Federal acknowledgment under § 83.8 cannot be substantiated during the technical assistance review, the petitioner
must respond by providing additional
evidence. A petitioner claiming previous Federal acknowledgment who
fails to respond to a technical assistance review letter under this paragraph, or whose response fails to establish the claim, shall have its documented petition considered on the
same basis as documented petitions
submitted by groups not claiming previous Federal acknowledgment. Petitioners that fail to demonstrate previous Federal acknowledgment after a

review of materials submitted in response to the technical assistance review shall be so notified. Such petitioners may submit additional materials concerning previous acknowledgment during the course of active consideration.
(d) The order of consideration of documented petitions shall be determined
by the date of the Bureau’s notification
to the petitioner that it considers that
the documented petition is ready to be
placed on active consideration. The Assistant Secretary shall establish and
maintain a numbered register of documented petitions which have been determined ready for active consideration. The Assistant Secretary shall
also maintain a numbered register of
letters of intent or incomplete petitions based on the original date of filing with the Bureau. In the event that
two or more documented petitions are
determined ready for active consideration on the same date, the register of
letters of intent or incomplete petitions shall determine the order of consideration by the Assistant Secretary.
(e) Prior to active consideration, the
Assistant Secretary shall investigate
any petitioner whose documented petition and response to the technical assistance review letter indicates that
there is little or no evidence that establishes that the group can meet the
mandatory criteria in paragraph (e), (f)
or (g) of § 83.7.
(1) If this review finds that the evidence clearly establishes that the
group does not meet the mandatory
criteria in paragraph (e), (f) or (g) of
§ 83.7, a full consideration of the documented petition under all seven of the
mandatory criteria will not be undertaken pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
section. Rather, the Assistant Secretary shall instead decline to acknowledge that the petitioner is an Indian tribe and publish a proposed finding to that effect in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The periods for receipt of comments on the proposed finding from petitioners, interested parties and informed parties, for consideration of
comments received, and for publication
of a final determination regarding the
petitioner’s status shall follow the
timetables established in paragraphs
(h) through (l) of this section.

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Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 83.10

(2) If the review cannot clearly demonstrate that the group does not meet
one or more of the mandatory criteria
in paragraph (e), (f) or (g) of § 83.7, a
full evaluation of the documented petition under all seven of the mandatory
criteria shall be undertaken during active consideration of the documented
petition pursuant to paragraph (g) of
this section.
(f) The petitioner and interested parties shall be notified when the documented petition comes under active
consideration.
(1) They shall also be provided with
the name, office address, and telephone
number of the staff member with primary administrative responsibility for
the petition; the names of the researchers conducting the evaluation of the
petition; and the name of their supervisor.
(2) The petitioner shall be notified of
any substantive comment on its petition received prior to the beginning of
active consideration or during the
preparation of the proposed finding,
and shall be provided an opportunity to
respond to such comments.
(g) Once active consideration of the
documented petition has begun, the Assistant Secretary shall continue the review and publish proposed findings and
a final determination in the FEDERAL
REGISTER pursuant to these regulations, notwithstanding any requests by
the petitioner or interested parties to
cease consideration. The Assistant Secretary has the discretion, however, to
suspend active consideration of a documented petition, either conditionally
or for a stated period of time, upon a
showing to the petitioner that there
are technical problems with the documented petition or administrative
problems that temporarily preclude
continuing active consideration. The
Assistant Secretary shall also consider
requests by petitioners for suspension
of consideration and has the discretion
to grant such requests for good cause.
Upon resolution of the technical or administrative problems that are the
basis for the suspension, the documented petition will have priority on
the numbered register of documented
petitions insofar as possible. The Assistant Secretary shall notify the petitioner and interested parties when ac-

tive consideration of the documented
petition is resumed. The timetables in
succeeding paragraphs shall begin anew
upon the resumption of active consideration.
(h) Within one year after notifying
the petitioner that active consideration of the documented petition has
begun, the Assistant Secretary shall
publish proposed findings in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The Assistant Secretary has the discretion to extend
that period up to an additional 180
days. The petitioner and interested
parties shall be notified of the time extension. In addition to the proposed
findings, the Assistant Secretary shall
prepare a report summarizing the evidence, reasoning, and analyses that are
the basis for the proposed decision.
Copies of the report shall be provided
to the petitioner, interested parties,
and informed parties and made available to others upon written request.
(i) Upon publication of the proposed
findings, the petitioner or any individual or organization wishing to challenge or support the proposed findings
shall have 180 days to submit arguments and evidence to the Assistant
Secretary to rebut or support the proposed finding. The period for comment
on a proposed finding may be extended
for up to an additional 180 days at the
Assistant Secretary’s discretion upon a
finding of good cause. The petitioner
and interested parties shall be notified
of the time extension. Interested and
informed parties who submit arguments and evidence to the Assistant
Secretary must provide copies of their
submissions to the petitioner.
(j)(1) During the response period, the
Assistant Secretary shall provide technical advice concerning the factual
basis for the proposed finding, the reasoning used in preparing it, and suggestions regarding the preparation of materials in response to the proposed finding. The Assistant Secretary shall
make available to the petitioner in a
timely fashion any records used for the
proposed finding not already held by
the petitioner, to the extent allowable
by Federal law.
(2) In addition, the Assistant Secretary shall, if requested by the petitioner or any interested party, hold a

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§ 83.10

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

formal meeting for the purpose of inquiring into the reasoning, analyses,
and factual bases for the proposed finding. The proceedings of this meeting
shall be on the record. The meeting
record shall be available to any participating party and become part of the
record considered by the Assistant Secretary in reaching a final determination.
(k) The petitioner shall have a minimum of 60 days to respond to any submissions by interested and informed
parties during the response period.
This may be extended at the Assistant
Secretary’s discretion if warranted by
the extent and nature of the comments. The petitioner and interested
parties shall be notified by letter of
any extension. No further comments
from interested or informed parties
will be accepted after the end of the
regular response period.
(l) At the end of the period for comment on a proposed finding, the Assistant Secretary shall consult with the
petitioner and interested parties to determine an equitable timeframe for
consideration of written arguments
and evidence submitted during the response period. The petitioner and interested parties shall be notified of the
date such consideration begins.
(1) Unsolicited comments submitted
after the close of the response period
established in § 83.10(i) and § 83.10(k),
will not be considered in preparation of
a final determination. The Assistant
Secretary has the discretion during the
preparation of the proposed finding,
however, to request additional explanations and information from the petitioner or from commenting parties to
support or supplement their comments
on a proposed finding. The Assistant
Secretary may also conduct such additional research as is necessary to
evaluate and supplement the record. In
either case, the additional materials
will become part of the petition record.
(2) After consideration of the written
arguments and evidence rebutting or
supporting the proposed finding and
the petitioner’s response to the comments of interested parties and informed parties, the Assistant Secretary
shall make a final determination regarding the petitioner’s status. A summary of this determination shall be

published in the FEDERAL REGISTER
within 60 days from the date on which
the consideration of the written arguments and evidence rebutting or supporting the proposed finding begins.
(3) The Assistant Secretary has the
discretion to extend the period for the
preparation of a final determination if
warranted by the extent and nature of
evidence and arguments received during the response period. The petitioner
and interested parties shall be notified
of the time extension.
(4) The determination will become effective 90 days from publication unless
a request for reconsideration is filed
pursuant to § 83.11.
(m) The Assistant Secretary shall acknowledge the existence of the petitioner as an Indian tribe when it is determined that the group satisfies all of
the criteria in § 83.7. The Assistant Secretary shall decline to acknowledge
that a petitioner is an Indian tribe if it
fails to satisfy any one of the criteria
in § 83.7.
(n) If the Assistant Secretary declines to acknowledge that a petitioner
is an Indian tribe, the petitioner shall
be informed of alternatives, if any, to
acknowledgment under these procedures. These alternatives may include
other means through which the petitioning group may achieve the status
of an acknowledged Indian tribe or
through which any of its members may
become eligible for services and benefits from the Department as Indians, or
become members of an acknowledged
Indian tribe.
(o) The determination to decline to
acknowledge that the petitioner is an
Indian tribe shall be final for the Department.
(p) A petitioner that has petitioned
under this part or under the acknowledgment regulations previously effective and that has been denied Federal
acknowledgment may not re-petition
under this part. The term ‘‘petitioner’’
here includes previously denied petitioners that have reorganized or been
renamed or that are wholly or primarily portions of groups that have
previously been denied under these or
previous acknowledgment regulations.

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§ 83.11

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§ 83.11 Independent review, reconsideration and final action.
(a)(1) Upon publication of the Assistant Secretary’s determination in the
FEDERAL REGISTER, the petitioner or
any interested party may file a request
for reconsideration with the Interior
Board of Indian Appeals. Petitioners
which choose under § 83.3(g) to be considered under previously effective acknowledgment regulations may nonetheless request reconsideration under
this section.
(2) A petitioner’s or interested party’s request for reconsideration must
be received by the Board no later than
90 days after the date of publication of
the Assistant Secretary’s determination in the FEDERAL REGISTER. If no request for reconsideration has been received, the Assistant Secretary’s decision shall be final for the Department
90 days after publication of the final
determination in the FEDERAL REGISTER.
(b) The petitioner’s or interested party’s request for reconsideration shall
contain a detailed statement of the
grounds for the request, and shall include any new evidence to be considered.
(1) The detailed statement of grounds
for reconsideration filed by a petitioner or interested parties shall be
considered the appellant’s opening
brief provided for in 43 CFR 4.311(a).
(2) The party or parties requesting
the reconsideration shall mail copies of
the request to the petitioner and all
other interested parties.
(c)(1) The Board shall dismiss a request for reconsideration that is not
filed by the deadline specified in paragraph (a) of this section.
(2) If a petitioner’s or interested party’s request for reconsideration is filed
on time, the Board shall determine,
within 120 days after publication of the
Assistant Secretary’s final determination in the FEDERAL REGISTER, whether
the request alleges any of the grounds
in paragraph (d) of this section and
shall notify the petitioner and interested parties of this determination.
(d) The Board shall have the authority to review all requests for reconsideration that are timely and that allege
any of the following:

(1) That there is new evidence that
could affect the determination; or
(2) That a substantial portion of the
evidence relied upon in the Assistant
Secretary’s determination was unreliable or was of little probative value; or
(3) That petitioner’s or the Bureau’s
research appears inadequate or incomplete in some material respect; or
(4) That there are reasonable alternative interpretations, not previously
considered, of the evidence used for the
final determination, that would substantially affect the determination
that the petitioner meets or does not
meet one or more of the criteria in
§ 83.7 (a) through (g).
(e) The Board shall have administrative authority to review determinations of the Assistant Secretary made
pursuant to § 83.10(m) to the extent authorized by this section.
(1) The regulations at 43 CFR 4.310–
4.318 and 4.331–4.340 shall apply to proceedings before the Board except when
they are inconsistent with these regulations.
(2) The Board may establish such procedures as it deems appropriate to provide a full and fair evaluation of a request for reconsideration under this
section to the extent they are not inconsistent with these regulations.
(3) The Board, at its discretion, may
request experts not associated with the
Bureau, the petitioner, or interested
parties to provide comments, recommendations, or technical advice
concerning the determination, the administrative record, or materials filed
by the petitioner or interested parties.
The Board may also request, at its discretion, comments or technical assistance from the Assistant Secretary concerning the final determination or,
pursuant to paragraph (e)(8) of this section, the record used for the determination.
(4) Pursuant to 43 CFR 4.337(a), the
Board may require, at its discretion, a
hearing conducted by an administrative law judge of the Office of Hearings
and Appeals if the Board determines
that further inquiry is necessary to resolve a genuine issue of material fact
or to otherwise augment the record before it concerning the grounds for reconsideration.

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§ 83.11

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

(5) The detailed statement of grounds
for reconsideration filed by a petitioner or interested parties pursuant to
paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be
considered the appellant’s opening
brief provided for in 43 CFR 4.311(a).
(6) An appellant’s reply to an opposing party’s answer brief, provided for in
43 CFR 4.311(b), shall not apply to proceedings under this section, except
that a petitioner shall have the opportunity to reply to an answer brief filed
by any party that opposes a petitioner’s request for reconsideration.
(7) The opportunity for reconsideration of a Board decision provided for
in 43 CFR 4.315 shall not apply to proceedings under this section.
(8) For purposes of review by the
Board, the administrative record shall
consist of all appropriate documents in
the Branch of Acknowledgment and
Research relevant to the determination
involved in the request for reconsideration. The Assistant Secretary shall
designate and transmit to the Board
copies of critical documents central to
the portions of the determination
under a request for reconsideration.
The Branch of Acknowledgment and
Research shall retain custody of the remainder of the administrative record,
to which the Board shall have unrestricted access.
(9) The Board shall affirm the Assistant Secretary’s determination if the
Board finds that the petitioner or interested party has failed to establish,
by a preponderance of the evidence, at
least one of the grounds under paragraphs (d)(1)—(d)(4) of this section.
(10) The Board shall vacate the Assistant Secretary’s determination and
remand it to the Assistant Secretary
for further work and reconsideration if
the Board finds that the petitioner or
an interested party has established, by
a preponderance of the evidence, one or
more of the grounds under paragraphs
(d)(1)—(d)(4) of this section.
(f)(1) The Board, in addition to making its determination to affirm or remand, shall describe in its decision any
grounds for reconsideration other than
those in paragraphs (d)(1)—(d)(4) of this
section alleged by a petitioner’s or interested party’s request for reconsideration.

(2) If the Board affirms the Assistant
Secretary’s decision under § 83.11(e)(9)
but finds that the petitioner or interested parties have alleged other
grounds for reconsideration, the Board
shall send the requests for reconsideration to the Secretary. The Secretary
shall have the discretion to request
that the Assistant Secretary reconsider the final determination on those
grounds.
(3) The Secretary, in reviewing the
Assistant Secretary’s decision, may review any information available, whether formally part of the record or not.
Where the Secretary’s review relies
upon information that is not formally
part of the record, the Secretary shall
insert the information relied upon into
the record, together with an identification of its source and nature.
(4) Where the Board has sent the Secretary a request for reconsideration
under paragraph (f)(2), the petitioner
and interested parties shall have 30
days from receiving notice of the
Board’s decision to submit comments
to the Secretary. Where materials are
submitted to the Secretary opposing a
petitioner’s request for reconsideration, the interested party shall provide copies to the petitioner and the
petitioner shall have 15 days from their
receipt of the information to file a response with the Secretary.
(5) The Secretary shall make a determination whether to request a reconsideration of the Assistant Secretary’s
determination within 60 days of receipt
of all comments and shall notify all
parties of the decision.
(g)(1) The Assistant Secretary shall
issue a reconsidered determination
within 120 days of receipt of the
Board’s decision to remand a determination or the Secretary’s request for
reconsideration.
(2) The Assistant Secretary’s reconsideration shall address all grounds determined to be valid grounds for reconsideration in a remand by the Board,
other grounds described by the Board
pursuant to paragraph (f)(1), and all
grounds specified in any Secretarial request. The Assistant Secretary’s reconsideration may address any issues and
evidence consistent with the Board’s
decision or the Secretary’s request.

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§ 83.13

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(h)(1) If the Board finds that no petitioner’s or interested party’s request
for reconsideration is timely, the Assistant Secretary’s determination shall
become effective and final for the Department 120 days from the publication
of the final determination in the FEDERAL REGISTER.
(2) If the Secretary declines to request reconsideration under paragraph
(f)(2) of this section, the Assistant Secretary’s decision shall become effective
and final for the Department as of the
date of notification to all parties of the
Secretary’s decision.
(3) If a determination is reconsidered
by the Assistant Secretary because of
action by the Board remanding a decision or because the Secretary has requested reconsideration, the reconsidered determination shall be final and
effective upon publication of the notice
of this reconsidered determination in
the FEDERAL REGISTER.
§ 83.12 Implementation of decisions.
(a) Upon final determination that the
petitioner exists as an Indian tribe, it
shall be considered eligible for the
services and benefits from the Federal
government that are available to other
federally recognized tribes. The newly
acknowledged tribe shall be considered
a historic tribe and shall be entitled to
the privileges and immunities available to other federally recognized historic tribes by virtue of their government-to-government relationship with
the United States. It shall also have
the responsibilities and obligations of
such tribes. Newly acknowledged Indian tribes shall likewise be subject to
the same authority of Congress and the
United States as are other federally acknowledged tribes.
(b) Upon acknowledgment as an Indian tribe, the list of members submitted as part of the petitioners documented petition shall be the tribe’s
complete base roll for purposes of Federal funding and other administrative
purposes. For Bureau purposes, any additions made to the roll, other than individuals who are descendants of those
on the roll and who meet the tribe’s
membership criteria, shall be limited
to those meeting the requirements of
§ 83.7(e) and maintaining significant social and political ties with the tribe

(i.e., maintaining the same relationship with the tribe as those on the list
submitted with the group’s documented petition).
(c) While the newly acknowledged
tribe shall be considered eligible for
benefits and services available to federally recognized tribes because of their
status as Indian tribes, acknowledgment of tribal existence shall not create immediate access to existing programs. The tribe may participate in existing programs after it meets the specific program requirements, if any, and
upon appropriation of funds by Congress. Requests for appropriations shall
follow a determination of the needs of
the newly acknowledged tribe.
(d) Within six months after acknowledgment, the appropriate Area Office
shall consult with the newly acknowledged tribe and develop, in cooperation
with the tribe, a determination of
needs and a recommended budget.
These shall be forwarded to the Assistant Secretary. The recommended budget will then be considered along with
other recommendations by the Assistant Secretary in the usual budget request process.
§ 83.13

Information collection.

(a) The collections of information
contained in § 83.7 have been approved
by the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance number 1076–0104. The
information will be used to establish
historical existence as a tribe, verify
family relationships and the group’s
claim that its members are Indian and
descend from a historical tribe or
tribes which combined, that members
are not substantially enrolled in other
Indian tribes, and that they have not
individually or as a group been terminated or otherwise forbidden the Federal relationship. Response is required
to obtain a benefit in accordance with
25 U.S.C. 2.
(b) Public reporting burden for this
information is estimated to average
1,968 hours per petition, including the
time
for
reviewing
instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed,
and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments

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25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–09 Edition)

regarding this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to both the Information Collection Clearance Officer, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Mail Stop 336–
SIB, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington,
DC 20240; and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington,
DC 20503.

PART
84—ENCUMBRANCES
TRIBAL LAND—CONTRACT
PROVALS

OF
AP-

Sec.
84.001 What is the purpose of this part?
84.002 What terms must I know?
84.003 What types of contracts and agreements require Secretarial approval under
this part?
84.004 Are there types of contracts and
agreements that do not require Secretarial approval under this part?
84.005 Will the Secretary approve contracts
or agreements even where such approval
is not required under this part?
84.006 Under what circumstances will the
Secretary disapprove a contract or agreement that requires Secretarial approval
under this part?
84.007 What is the status of a contract or
agreement that requires Secretarial approval under this part but has not yet
been approved?
84.008 What is the effect of the Secretary’s
disapproval of a contract or agreement
that requires Secretarial approval under
this part?
AUTHORITY: 25 U.S.C. 81, Pub. L. 106–179.
SOURCE: 66 FR 38923, July 26, 2001, unless
otherwise noted.

§ 84.001 What is the purpose of this
part?
The purpose of this part is to implement the provisions of the Indian Tribal Economic Development and Contract Encouragement Act of 2000, Public Law 106–179, which amends section
2103 of the Revised Statutes, found at
25 U.S.C. 81.

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§ 84.002

What terms must I know?

The Act means the Indian Tribal Economic Development and Contract Encouragement Act of 2000, Public Law
106–179, which amends section 2103 of
the Revised Statutes, found at 25
U.S.C. 81.

Encumber means to attach a claim,
lien, charge, right of entry or liability
to real property (referred to generally
as encumbrances). Encumbrances covered by this part may include leasehold
mortgages, easements, and other contracts or agreements that by their
terms could give to a third party exclusive or nearly exclusive proprietary
control over tribal land.
Indian tribe, as defined by the Act,
means any Indian tribe, nation, or
other organized group or community,
including any Alaska Native Village or
regional or village corporation as defined in or established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act,
which is recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by
the Secretary to Indians because of
their status as Indians.
Secretary means the Secretary of the
Interior or his or her designated representative.
Tribal lands means those lands held
by the United States in trust for an Indian tribe or those lands owned by an
Indian tribe subject to federal restrictions against alienation, as referred to
Public Law 106–179 as ‘‘Indian lands.’’
§ 84.003 What types of contracts and
agreements require Secretarial approval under this part?
Unless otherwise provided in this
part, contracts and agreements entered
into by an Indian tribe that encumber
trial lands for a period of seven or more
years require Secretarial approval
under this part.
§ 84.004 Are there types of contracts
and agreements that do not require
Secretarial approval under this
part?
Yes, the following types of contracts
or agreements do not require Secretarial approval under this part:
(a) Contracts or agreements otherwise reviewed and approved by the Secretary under this title or other federal
law or regulation. See, for example, 25
CFR parts 152 (patents in fee, certificates or competency); 162 (non-mineral
leases, leasehold mortgages); 163 (timber contracts); 166 (grazing permits);
169 (rights-of-way); 200 (coal leases); 211
(mineral leases); 216 (surface mining
permits and leases); and 225 (mineral
development agreements);

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