Who is an Indian ?

•No single federal or tribal criterion establishes a person’s identity as an Indian.•To be eligible for Bureau of Indian Affairs (1 of 3 things)

1. Be a member of tribe recognized by federal gov’t2. Be one-half or more Indian blood of tribes from US3. Be of ¼ or more Indian ancestry

•Natives have been citizens since 1924, meaning they can vote and hold office.

What is a reservation?

•Land a tribe reserved for itself when it relinquished its other land area to the US•Largest = Navajo Reservation (16 million

acres) in Arizona, NM, and Utah

Laws•Natives are subject to local, state, and

federal laws•On reservations only federal and tribal

laws apply

Gaming Regulation

• Indian land is not under State law unless a federal law places it under state law

• 1988 – Indian Gaming Regulatory Act – allowed traditional Indian gaming• However – it requires a Tribal/State compact for other

forms of gaming

Treaties are no longer made with tribes

•Now the government uses Congressional acts, executive orders

•Indian Reorganization Act of 1934•1887 – end of allotment Act – take communal lands – divide into parcels and each person gets own parcel to own. Extra or left over land are considered surplus and are sold off to other people•Trust Land – Federal government would hold title and Indian couldn’t do

anything with it without permission of government•Only supposed to last 25 years•Indian landowner wouldn’t have to pay taxes•Government still sold away land against Act

Treaties are no longer made with tribes cont’d.

•Allotment is failure –•1934 – Indian New Deal

•Sets up sovereignty to govern own tribes•Trust lands extended indefinitely•Land in trust is not bound to state laws

•Shakopee – tribe bought land next to reservation – impact on Scott county – takes land off property revenue and brings stress to services and roadways

Tribal Government

•Tribal governments are organized democratically with an elected leadership referred to as the council•Leader of council and chairman work directly with Secretary of the Interior•Tribal governments define membership, regulate domestic relations, prescribe rules of inheritance, levy taxes, regulate property under tribal jurisdiction and administer justice

Native Americans

• Can include more than just Indians• The preferred term is American Indian

Population and numbers

• There are 2 million American Indians living in America today and 575 federally recognized tribes

• Suicide rate for 15-24 Indians is more than twice that of any other American or ethnic group

• Homicide is the second leading cause of death among Indians 14 and younger and the third leading cause of death for Indians 15-24

Structures

•Tribes are sovereign nations and have the right to form and maintain tribal governments•Sometimes have written constitutions with elected leaders•Each form of government operates through a set of laws and codes

•Powers of Indian Tribes include (Sovereignty):• Establish form of government• Determining membership• Power to police•Power to administer justice• Power to exclude people from the reservation• Power to charter business organizations

Laws and Enforcement

• Tribal government have the power to make and enforce laws

• Tribes have courts, police force, and security facilities• Can tax its members and others that use their land such as

private companies• Indians lands are not state’s land – instead the land is held

in trust by the federal government• States cannot tax the reservations or its people

Tribal-Federal Relationship

•US recognizes Indian tribes as separate nations•Congress has authorized the Secretary of Interior to oversee Indian trust lands•Bureau of Indian Affairs

•Interacts with tribal governments•Delivers services to the tribes with were negotiated with the tribes through treaties and agreements