Recognition Is a Legal Status, Not a Measure of Identity
Several Apache nations are federally recognized, but not every community with Apache ancestry or Apache heritage is. Some have petitioned for recognition, some have pursued it through Congress, and some have not sought it at all. This article explains how the process works in general and why certain communities, including Lipan Apache communities in Texas, are often part of the conversation.
It is important to be careful here. This site cannot judge any community’s claims, and “unrecognized” does not mean “not real.” It means the United States has not formally acknowledged a government-to-government relationship. Whether a group’s members are of Apache descent, and how the group relates to existing Apache nations, are questions the communities and the relevant tribes answer for themselves.
Why Some Apache-Descended Groups Lack Federal Recognition
History explains much of the gap. The Lipan Apache, whose homelands once included parts of present-day Texas and northern Mexico, were pushed by pressure from other Native nations, Spain and Mexico, and later by Texas and the United States. Over the nineteenth century, many Lipan people moved south into Mexico, some were incorporated into other Native communities, and some stayed in or near Texas. Many Lipan Apache descendants are today enrolled at the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico, which is federally recognized. The wider background of Lipan Apache history, including the move south and the later settlement at Mescalero, is covered elsewhere on this site.
Communities that remained in Texas did not receive a reservation of their own. Without a recognized land base or treaty relationship, they often lacked the paper trail that later recognition procedures expect. Other factors can include displacement, migration, intermarriage, and the way records were kept (or not kept) by outside governments. Today, some Lipan Apache descendants and organized communities in Texas identify as Lipan and have sought acknowledgment, while some individuals are citizens of other nations.
Other Apache-descended communities across the country may also lack recognition for reasons specific to their own histories. The details differ from group to group, and generalizations are risky.
How the Federal Process Generally Works
There are three broad routes to federal recognition.
Administrative acknowledgment. The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, maintains regulations (in Part 83 of Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations) for groups that are not yet recognized. A group submits a petition with historical and genealogical documentation. Interior staff review it and issue findings. The regulations have been revised more than once, including in 2015 and again more recently, so the details change over time.
Congressional action. Congress has the power to recognize a tribe by passing legislation. Some tribes have been restored or recognized this way, either because the administrative process was not available to them or because Congress chose to act directly.
Other federal action or court decisions. In limited circumstances, recognition has come through other executive actions or settlements. These cases are less common and depend heavily on the facts.
What the Administrative Criteria Look For
The criteria have been revised over the years, but they have generally asked a petitioning group to show things like:
- that it has been identified as an Indian entity over a long period
- that it forms a distinct community and has maintained political authority or influence over its members
- that it has a governing document and a membership list
- that its members descend from a historical tribe
- that its members are not mainly enrolled in another recognized tribe
- that Congress has not terminated the relationship
For many groups, documenting continuity across more than a century is the hardest part. Records may be scattered across archives in different countries, and in some cases missing altogether. Petitions are therefore often long, expensive and slow, and results are uncertain. A group’s petition can take many years to be decided, and a negative finding can sometimes be challenged or revised.
What Recognition Changes
Federal recognition generally brings eligibility for federal programs, the ability to have land taken into trust, and standing to deal with the United States as a sovereign government. Recognized tribes also have access to certain legal protections, such as those connected to the Indian Child Welfare Act, which sets standards for the placement of Native children in custody cases. A group without recognition cannot generally rely on these.
Lack of recognition can also complicate efforts to protect burial sites or request the return of ancestral remains and objects, since federal repatriation law is built around federally recognized tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Communities that are not recognized sometimes work through partner tribes, museums or universities instead.
Some states have their own systems for acknowledging tribes. State acknowledgment, where it exists, is a different thing from federal recognition and carries different rights. Readers should check what a particular acknowledgment actually means.
Recognition, Enrollment and Descent
Recognition is not the same as individual enrollment. Each federally recognized tribe sets its own membership rules, which may involve descent from people on a historical roll, a minimum degree of tribal ancestry, or other requirements. These rules are part of tribal sovereignty. Someone can have Apache ancestors without being eligible for enrollment in a given nation, and a community can maintain a strong Apache identity without a federal status. The questions of Apache tribal enrollment and of recognition overlap but are not the same question.
A Contested and Evolving Area
Debates about recognition can be painful. Recognized nations sometimes have concerns about claims they see as unfounded, and communities seeking recognition often feel that history has denied them a fair chance. This article does not take sides on any individual group. For current information about a specific community’s status, consult the Department of the Interior’s published list of federally recognized tribes and the official websites of the relevant nations.