Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA)
Revisions to Regulations on Federal Acknowledgment of Indian Tribes (25 CFR 83 or "Part 83")
Basic Administrative and Regulatory Documents:
- Brief Overview of OFA (.pdf)
- Abbreviated Form of 25 CFR Part 83 Criteria (.pdf)
- 25 CFR Part 83 Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe (.pdf)
- 25 CFR Part 83 Process Chart (.pdf)
- Number of Petitioners by State as of November 12, 2013 (.pdf)
- Number of Letter of Intent Received as of November 12, 2013 (.pdf)
- List of Petitioners by State as of November 12, 2013 (.pdf)
- Status Summary of Acknowledgment Cases as of November 12, 2013 (.pdf)
- Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (List of Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, 79 FR 4748) as published on January 29, 2014 (.pdf).
- Sample Formats for Petitioner Submissions....
Supplemental Administrative and Regulatory Documents: These are additional documents that may be of assistance in preparing petitions and in better understanding the Federal acknowledgment process. These documents include the previous version of the acknowledgment regulations ("the old regulations"); several guidance directives from the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs; general timelines for the 25 CFR 83 acknowledgment process (.pdf); technical assistance (TA) guidelines; the 2005 GAO report; guidelines for preparing petitions; sample formats of petitioner submissions; and other documents.
Guidelines, Precedent Manual, and Sample Petition Narrative: The documents include general guidelines intended for the petitioning group, as well as more specialized guidelines for researchers. Also included is a precedent manual that may better help petitioners understand how the Department has interpreted the regulations. A sample petition narrative provides an example of a narrative written by a member of a petitioning group, who volunteered for the project, along with the help of other group members.
Recent Cases: This is a listing of the Department's latest decisions. The listing contains not only the decision documents, but also the press releases and Federal Register notices for each decision.
Acknowledgment Decision Compilation (ADC):The ADC contains copies of previous acknowledgment decisions and associated documents.
Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) Documents: The IBIA is an appeals court within the Department of the Interior to which, under 25 CFR 83, petitioners or interested parties may appeal decisions by the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs.