Recognition or Acknowledgement as an Indian Tribe
Federal Recognition
Federal recognition as an Indian tribe is acknowledgement by the United States government that an Indian community meets seven required criteria. Meeting the criteria is an intensive and laborious task and typically takes many years to complete. The Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees began its efforts toward recognition in 1995. Listed below is a summary of the seven mandatory criteria as listed in 25 CFR Part 83 a-g, Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe (see link below) as implemented by the Branch of Acknowledgement and Research, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
83.7a The petitioner has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900.
83.7b A predominant portion of the petitioning group comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times to the present.
83.7c The petitioner has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from historical times until the present.
83.7d A copy of the group's present governing documents including its membership criteria.
83.7e 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.
83.7f The membership of the petitioning group is composed primarily of persons who are not members of an acknowledged North American Indian tribe.
83.7g Neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the federal relationship.
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Procedures
for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe - 25
CFR Part 83
State Recognition
State recognition is obtained by passage of concurrent resolutions in the Louisiana Legislature. Resolutions must be submitted to both the House of Representatives and the Senate for passage. Presently there is no required criteria for state recognition. The resolutions simply state that the state of Louisiana recognizes an entity as an American Indian tribe, but does so without requiring any proof to verify the group's history or genealogy. Until the state of Louisiana changes its policy on how it recognizes and has recognized tribes in the past, recognition has no real meaning except in giving a group the "state recognized" status which is required for some federal programs . State recognition does not prove Indian identity nor does it prove a group's existence as an Indian tribe.
State recognition is not a requirement for federal recognition and acknowledgement.