The federal government has strict criteria for recognizing a group as an Indian tribe, criteria that no group in Georgia has met or is likely to meet. The main impediment is the requirement that the group maintain an unbroken continuity in location, social affairs, and government, which is nearly impossible for the tribes that once occupied Georgia but were forcibly removed to Oklahoma in the 1830s. In 1993 the state of Georgia granted tribal status to three Indian groups in Georgia but did not establish any criteria for this recognition or prescribe any special benefits for the tribes. Subsequent legislative attempts to recognize other groups as legitimate tribes were defeated, largely by the efforts of Indians from federally recognized tribes who believe only the federal government (Bureau of Indian Affairs) has the right to recognize tribes. The federal census leaves the issue of who is an Indian up to each individual, as each family records its ethnicity and tribal affiliation as they perceive it.

Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns