First, European settlers tried to exterminate all American Indians. Shortly after, the United States government banished Indians to remote reservations, endeavored to abolish their documentation, culture, and livelihood and established often unfair treaties and settlements.

And in more modern times, we set up a system where Indian tribes must prove to the same United States government that made these often disreputable treaties that they are truly descendants of this country’s original inhabitants and can show the documentation to prove it.

I do not think this is what the American Indian had in mind well over one hundred years ago when they began agreeing to lay down arms and turn over to the Federal government their land–including sacred burial grounds, places of worship, sources of livelihood.

As it stands, that is the system in place and the fact of the matter is that Federal recognition carries with it a sovereign status that is essential to a tribe’s long-term survival including control by Indians over their lands and decisions affecting the lifestyle of their members.

Further, Federally recognized tribes enjoy a unique government-to-government status with the United States government and are eligible to receive services and funding to better health care, housing, education, law enforcement and transportation.

Yet, the descendants of those who agreed to lay down their arms and come to terms with the United States government are now faced with a federal recognition process that does not work in a fair or timely fashion and has become far too complicated and costly.

Since the Bureau of Indian Affairs was charged with the recognition process in 1978, only 16 applications have been approved. And they were approved after a tribe has often had to wait up to twenty years for a decision.

I am by no means suggesting that every single application is bona fide, and that every single application has merit. At the same time, it does appear that the process is sorely in need of becoming more efficient.