What is the difference between reservations rancherias and pueblos

Contemporary American Indians typically must be enrolled members of one of the federally recognized tribes to receive benefits from either the tribe or the federal government. To be considered enrolled members, they must in turn meet various criteria for tribal membership, which vary from tribe to tribe and are typically set forth in tribal constitutions approved by the U. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Once recognized as members, individuals are typically issued tribal enrollment or registration numbers and cards that identify their special status as members of a particular American Indian tribe.

Criteria used to establish whether a Native American group can become a federally recognized tribe are presented in Porter The process of enrollment in a Native American tribe has historical roots that extend back to the early nineteenth century. As the U. The practices of creating formal censuses and keeping lists of names of tribal members evolved to ensure an accurate and equitable distribution of benefits.

Over time, Native Americans themselves established more formal tribal governments, including constitutions, and began to regulate their membership more carefully, especially with regard to land allotments, royalties from the sale of resources, distributions of tribal funds, and voting.

In the twentieth century, the U. The federal government also passed the Indian Reorganization Act of , under which most current tribes are organized. These tribes typically have written constitutions that contain a membership provision Cohen, A variety of court cases have tested tribal membership requirements.

From the disputes, American Indian tribal governments have won the right to determine their own membership: "The courts have consistently recognized that in the absence of express legislation by Congress to the contrary, an Indian tribe has complete authority to determine all questions of its own membership" Cohen, However, each tribe has its own set of requirements—generally including a blood quantum—for membership enrollment of individuals.

Typically, blood quantum is established by tracing ancestry back through time to a relative or relatives on earlier tribal rolls or censuses that recorded the relative's. The Pueblo of Taos, for example, has no written constitution; rather, it has what it calls "a traditional form of government" Pueblo of Taos, personal communication.

As Cohen notes, the ability of an American Indian tribe to determine its own membership "is limited only by the various statutes of Congress defining the membership of certain tribes for purposes of allotment or for other purposes, and by the statutory authority given to the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate a final tribal roll for the purpose of dividing and distributing tribal funds. In such historical instances, the proportion was more often than not simply self-indicated.

Enrollment criteria have sometimes changed over time; often, the change has been to establish minimum blood quantum requirements. For instance, in , the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians established a one-sixteenth blood quantum requirement for those born thereafter Cohen, Sometimes the change has been to establish more stringent requirements: the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have tightened their membership requirements since and in established that only those born with a one-quarter or more blood quantum could be tribal members Trosper, Conversely, tribes may reduce their blood quantum requirements, sometimes even eliminating a specified minimum requirement.

Cohen states: "The general trend of the tribal enactments on membership is away from the older notion that rights of tribal membership run with Indian blood, no matter how dilute the stream. Instead it is recognized that membership in a tribe is a political relation rather than a racial attribute. Blood quantum requirements for membership in contemporary tribes vary widely from tribe to tribe U. Bureau of Indian Affairs, unpublished data. Some tribes, such as the Walker River Paiute, require at least a one-half Indian or tribal blood quantum; many, such as the Navajo, require a one-fourth blood quantum; some, generally in California and Oklahoma, require a one-eighth, one-sixteenth, or one-thirty-second blood quantum; and many have no minimum blood quantum requirement, but require only a documented tribal lineage see Thornton, a, b; Meyer and Thornton, A summary of this information is given in Table Bureau of Indian Affairs unpublished tribal constitutions and tribal enrollment data obtained by the author.

Around one-fourth of American Indians in the United States live on reservations or pueblos or rancherias or associated "tribal trust lands," according to the Census Bureau. The largest of these is the Navajo Reservation, home to , Native Americans and 5, non-Indians in Thornton, a.

As indicated in Table , over 85 percent of tribes requiring more than a one-quarter blood quantum for membership are reservation based, as compared with less than 64 percent of those having no minimum requirement. Tribes on reservations have seemingly been able to maintain exclusive membership by setting higher blood quanta, since the reservation location has generally served to isolate the tribe from non-Indians and intermarriage with them.

Tribes without a reservation basis have maintained an inclusive membership by setting lower blood quanta for membership, since their populations have interacted and intermarried more with non-Indian populations. As additionally indicated in Table , tribes with more restrictive blood quantum requirements tend to be somewhat smaller than those with less restrictive requirements, although the differences are not particularly striking.

Obviously, requiring a greater percentage of American Indian blood limits the potential size of the tribal population more than requiring a smaller percentage. In the early s, the total membership of federally recognized tribes was about , U. Therefore, many of the 1. In fact, only about two-thirds were. In the late s, the total membership of these tribes was somewhat over 1 million U. Bureau of Indian Affairs, unpublished data ; hence, only about 60 percent of the 1.

Most of the 50, enumerated in the census were tied closely to small, local communities, representing ancestral grounds rather than government reservations. For example, there were approximately Eskimo Inuit villages, each having or fewer people.

The largest U. Indian tribe, the Navajo Nation consists of more than , members, about , of whom live in New Mexico. The reservation includes approximately 27, square miles. Its boundaries extend from northwestern New Mexico into northeastern Arizona and southeastern Utah, a combined area larger than many U. Three smaller bands of Navajos are also located away from the main reservation boundaries at Alamo, To'hajiilee and Ramah.

Traditionally, San Juan O'ke in Tewa was the center of an Indian meeting ground, its people so powerful that only an O'ke native could declare war for the Pueblo Indians. It is one of the largest Tewa-speaking pueblos with a population of about 6, Today, the pueblo is the headquarters of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council and home to the Oke-Oweenge Crafts Cooperative, , which exhibits the art of the eight northern pueblos.

The main art focus of this Tewa village is redware pottery, weaving and painting. The fair features pottery, painting, beadwork, jewelry, weavings and more. Pojoaque was almost destroyed by war and disease, but in the s, survivors returned and fenced off their lands, evicting squatters. Today, about 2, people live on pueblo lands. Tribal enterprises include the Cities of Gold Casino, , www. The Poeh Cultural Center features Pueblo art and exhibits, hosts traditional Indian dances on weekends and preserves the traditional arts of the Tewa-speaking pueblos.

It also houses an information center and the largest Indian arts and crafts shop in northern New Mexico. The mountains glow with a deep red color at sunset, which the Spanish likened to sandia, the Spanish word for watermelon.

The pueblo was deserted in , when the residents fled to Hopi Pueblo during the Pueblo Revolt. The people of Sandia did not return until the mids; their old village is evident in ruins near the church. Keresan is the Pueblo of San Felipe's native language and the Keres language continues to be a living language, taught and spoken by San Felipe families and elders. The pueblo's today totals about 3, There are no services in the village except during ceremonials, when food and crafts booths spring up near San Felipe Church at the foot of Black Mesa.

Historians believe the original San Ildefonso people abandoned their original villages at Mesa Verde and Bandelier due to drastic changes in the environment. Today, the pueblo is a flourishing art community with about 1, residents. It was the home of the late Maria Martinez, who along with her husband, Julian, developed the world-renowned, black-on-black pottery with black matte designs.

The San Ildefonso Pueblo Museum, , also displays traditional crafts. With an average of 20, visitors each year, San Ildefonso is one of the most visited pueblos in the state. The Santa Ana Pueblo people, who have occupied their current site in central New Mexico since at least the late s, believe their ancestors originated from a subterranean world to the north. The first Spaniards to explore pueblo country arrived in the s. Santa Ana, then called Tamaya, submitted to Spanish rule in and was assigned the patron saint by which it has since become known.

After the Pueblo Revolt of , the returning Spanish, anxious to reconquer the pueblos, forced the Santa Anans to flee their village to the nearby Black Mesa and Jemez Mountains. Tamaya, the Old Santa Ana Pueblo, was established after the reconquest of the territory in the late s. Santa Clara Pueblo offers visitors a number of highly diverse attractions, from tours of the pre-historic cliff dwellings of Puye to sightseeing, fishing and camping in the nearby canyon.

Because Santa Clara Pueblo has such a large land base, with a wide variety of geographic features , it was possible to make good use of the natural resources for recreational purposes. There are few places in New Mexico that con compare with the majestic beauty of the landscape of the homelands of the Santa Clara people. The splendor of the scenery are justly famous in the Southwest. The Santa Clara Pueblo has emerged with a strong tribal government and a prosperous economy.

Santo Domingo Pueblo also known as Kewa Pueblo is located near the ancient Cerrillos turquoise mines and its people have an entrenched history of making fine jewelry and heishi out of the colorful stones. The Kewa people historically are great traders of their crafts, very much like their Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon ancestors. Taos Pueblo, also known as the place of the red willows, sits at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The village, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America, was designated a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Site in The adobe, multi-storied homes of Taos Pueblo have captivated painters and photographers since the s, when an artist colony formed in nearby Taos and virtually established Southwest art.

It helped inspire the Pueblo Revival style of architecture in contemporary New Mexico. Situated in the soft red-brown foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Tesuque Pueblo has stood on its present location since A. As such, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are many fine artists at Tesuque who create pottery, paintings and sculpture. Silverwork and traditional clothing are also made at the pueblo.

Although the Secretary of the Interior is authorized by law to protect, where necessary, the interests of minors and adult persons deemed incompetent to handle their affairs, this protection does not confer a guardian-ward relationship.

As early as , U. American citizenship was also conveyed by statutes, naturalization proceedings, and by service in the Armed Forces with an honorable discharge in World War I.

In , Congress extended American citizenship to all other American Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States. American Indians and Alaska Natives are citizens of the United States and of the individual states, counties, cities, and towns where they reside.

They can also become citizens of their tribes or villages as enrolled tribal members. American Indians and Alaska Natives have the right to vote just as all other U.

They can vote in presidential, congressional, state and local, and tribal elections, if eligible. And, just as the federal government and state and local governments have the sovereign right to establish voter eligibility criteria, so do tribal governments. American Indians and Alaska Natives have the same rights as other citizens to hold public office.

Over the years, American Indian and Alaska Native men and women have held elected and appointed offices at all levels of federal, state, and local government. Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Tribe of Kansas, served in both houses of Congress before holding the second highest elected office in the nation — that of Vice President of the United States under President Herbert Hoover. American Indians and Alaska Natives also serve in state legislatures, state judicial systems, county and city governments, and on local school boards.

The heavy price American Indians and Alaska Natives paid to retain certain rights of self-government was to relinquish much of their land and resources to the United States. Among those may be hunting and fishing rights and access to sacred sites.

On federal Indian reservations, however, only federal and tribal laws apply to members of the tribe, unless Congress provides otherwise. In federal law, the Assimilative Crimes Act makes any violation of state criminal law a federal offense on reservations. Most tribes now maintain tribal court systems and facilities to detain tribal members convicted of certain offenses within the boundaries of the reservation.

American Indians and Alaska Natives come from a multitude of different cultures with diverse languages, and for thousands of years used oral tradition to pass down familial and cultural information among generations of tribal members. Some tribes, even if widely scattered, belong to the same linguistic families. Common means of communicating between tribes allowed trade routes and political alliances to flourish. As contact between Indians and non-Indians grew, so did the necessity of learning of new languages.

Even into the 20th century, many American Indians and Alaska Natives were bi- or multilingual from learning to speak their own language and English, French, Russian, or Spanish, or even another tribal language. It has been reported that at the end of the 15th century over American Indian and Alaska Native languages were spoken. Today, fewer than tribal languages are still viable, with some having been translated into written form. English, however, has become the predominant language in the home, school, and workplace.

Those tribes who can still do so are working to preserve their languages and create new speakers from among their tribal populations. American Indians and Alaska Natives live and work anywhere in the United States and the world just as other citizens do. Many leave their reservations, communities or villages for the same reasons as do other Americans who move to urban centers: to seek education and employment.

Over one-half of the total U. American Indian and Alaska Native population now live away from their tribal lands. However, most return home to visit relatives; attend family gatherings and celebrations; participate in religious, cultural, or community activities; work for their tribal governments; operate businesses; vote in tribal elections or run for tribal office; retire; or to be buried. During the Civil War, American Indians served on both sides of the conflict. Among the most well-known are Brigadier General Ely S.

Grant who recorded the terms of Confederate General Robert E. Their patriotism moved Congress to pass the Indian Citizenship Act of Alaska Natives also served in the Alaska Territorial Guard. In the Vietnam War, 41, Indian service personnel served. In , prior to Operation Desert Storm, some 24, Indian men and women were in the military. Approximately 3, served in the Persian Gulf with three among those killed in action. There have been 13 assistant secretaries since the post was established in by a DOI secretarial order.

The United States Senate confirmed Ms. Sweeney on June 28, She assumed her official duties on July 30, Her final day of service was January 20, Reporting directly to the Assistant Secretary through are the following officers, agencies and offices:. The bureau implements federal laws and policies and administers programs established for American Indians and Alaska Natives under the trust responsibility and the government-to-government relationship. At the end of the eighteenth century, Congress transferred the responsibility for managing trade relations with the tribes to the Secretary of War by its act of August 20, 1 Stat.

It was later abolished by an act of May 6, 3 Stat. Secretary of War John C. Calhoun administratively established the BIA within the his department on March 11, Congress later legislatively established the bureau and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs post via the act of July 9, 4 Stat. In the years that followed, the Bureau was known variously as the Indian office, the Indian bureau, the Indian department, and the Indian service.

Parker, Seneca ; Robert L. Bennett, Oneida ; Louis R. Hallett, Red Lake Chippewa For almost years—beginning with treaty agreements negotiated by the United States and tribes in the late 18th and 19th centuries, through the General Allotment Act of , which opened tribal lands west of the Mississippi to non-Indian settlers, the Indian Citizenship Act of when American Indians and Alaska Natives were granted U. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is a rarity among federal agencies.

With roots reaching back to the earliest days of the republic, the BIA is almost as old as the United States itself. For most of its existence, the BIA has mirrored the public's ambivalence towards the nation's indigenous people. Source: Federal Register, State tribal recognition for the states below specifically refers to states that have created a formal process for recognition. Please note, some states, even if they have not established a formal process for recognition acknowledge the historical and cultural contribution of tribes, however they are not captured in this list.