Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Forgotten Tribes

I found a really comprehensive book on unrecognized tribes by Mark Edwin Miller called Forgotten Tribes. I recommend that everyone in the group read at least a portion of the book*. It covers a variety of issues from federal acknowledgment policies and the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) as well as specific cases of tribes trying to bypass the acknowledgment process. On page 55, the book talks about Senator John McCain "chastising" the BIA for its inherent acknowledgment problems. I wonder if Barack Obama has a plan to deal with this issue - if you know, post a comment!

Here's the book:


*You can read an extended preview of the book on google

Submitted by James Applegate

250 Unrecognized Tribes in the US

Here's good introductory article that discusses the Little Shell Band - a group of 250 unrecognized tribes in the US. However the article is from 1997 so its a little outdated. We can see what tribes were facing a decade ago in terms of petitioning congress for recognition. As you'll read it's an extremely expensive endeavor ($50,000 to $150,000) regardless of the result. So check out the article and hopefully we can identify some changes that have occurred over the past ten years.

Article: 250 Tribes Wait for US Recognition

Submitted by James Applegate

Also added by James Applegate - News gadget, YouTube gadget, National Geographic gadget, photo in header