[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 25, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 25CFR83.6]

[Page 261]
 
                            TITLE 25--INDIANS
 
     CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 83--PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING THAT AN AMERICAN INDIAN GROUP EXISTS AS AN INDIAN TRIBE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 83.6  General provisions for the documented petition.

    (a) The documented petition may be in any readable form that 
contains detailed, specific evidence in support of a request to the 
Secretary to acknowledge tribal existence.
    (b) The documented petition must include a certification, signed and 
dated by members of the group's governing body, stating that it is the 
group's official documented petition.
    (c) A petitioner must satisfy all of the criteria in paragraphs (a) 
through (g) of Sec. 83.7 in order for tribal existence to be 
acknowledged. Therefore, the documented petition must include thorough 
explanations and supporting documentation in response to all of the 
criteria. The definitions in Sec. 83.1 are an integral part of the 
regulations, and the criteria should be read carefully together with 
these definitions.
    (d) A petitioner may be denied acknowledgment if the evidence 
available demonstrates that it does not meet one or more criteria. A 
petitioner may also be denied if there is insufficient evidence that it 
meets one or more of the criteria. A criterion shall be considered met 
if the available evidence establishes a reasonable likelihood of the 
validity of the facts relating to that criterion. Conclusive proof of 
the facts relating to a criterion shall not be required in order for the 
criterion to be considered met.
    (e) Evaluation of petitions shall take into account historical 
situations and time periods for which evidence is demonstrably limited 
or not available. The limitations inherent in demonstrating the 
historical existence of community and political influence or authority 
shall also be taken into account. Existence of community and political 
influence or authority shall be demonstrated on a substantially 
continuous basis, but this demonstration does not require meeting these 
criteria at every point in time. Fluctuations in tribal activity during 
various years shall not in themselves be a cause for denial of 
acknowledgment under these criteria.
    (f) The criteria in Sec. 83.7 (a) through (g) shall be interpreted 
as applying to tribes or groups that have historically combined and 
functioned as a single autonomous political entity.
    (g) The specific forms of evidence stated in the criteria in 
Sec. 83.7 (a) through (c) and Sec. 83.7(e) are not mandatory 
requirements. The criteria may be met alternatively by any suitable 
evidence that demonstrates that the petitioner meets the requirements of 
the criterion statement and related definitions.