Oklahoma Federally Recognized Tribes

There are roughly 562 federally recognized tribes in the United States, with a total membership of about 1.7 million. In addition, there are several hundred groups seeking recognition, a process that often takes decades to complete. Thirty-eight federally recognized indian tribes have headquarters in the state of Oklahoma.

Federal recognition is important for tribes because it formally establishes a government-to-government relationship. Status as a sovereign entity carries with it significant privileges, including exemptions from state and local jurisdiction. These exemptions generally apply to lands that the federal government has taken into trust for a tribe or its members. Additionally, federally recognized tribes are eligible to participate in federal assistance programs. Through these programs, tribal governments may receive funds that they can then use to provide community services, such as health clinics.

Historically, tribes have been granted recognition through treaties, by the Congress, or through administrative decisions within the executive branch. In 1978, the Bureau of Indian Affairs established a regulatory process for recognizing tribes. The current process for federal recognition, found in 25 C.F.R. 83, is a rigorous process requiring the petitioning tribe to satisfy seven mandatory criteria, including historical and continuous American Indian identity in a distinct community. Each of the criteria demands exceptional anthropological, historical, and genealogical research and presentation of evidence. The vast majority of petitioners do not meet these strict standards, and far more petitions have been denied than accepted. In fact, only about 8 percent of the total number of recognized tribes have been individually recognized since 1960.