What is a federally recognized Indian Tribe?
A federally recognized Indian Tribe is a group of Indians recognized by the United States as an Indian Tribe. Recognition is established as a result of historical and continued existence of a tribal government; by Executive Order or legislation; and through the federal recognition process recently established by Congress. The recognition establishes a tribe as an entity with the capacity to engage in government-to-government relations with the United States or individual states. These are not powers granted to the tribe by the United States but are powers inherent to Indian tribes as units of government that long preceded the existence of the United States.
