As used in this Part 53:

(a) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative.

(b) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Indian Affairs or his authorized representative.

(c) "Local Bureau Cfficial" means the Superintendent, Field Representative or other line officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs who has local administrative jurisdiction over the tribe concerned.

(d) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(e) "Tribe" means any recognized Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut tribe, organized band, pueblo, or community which is subject to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and which has adopted a constitution approved by the Commissioner or the Secretary.

(f) "Spokesman for the petitioner" means the authorized voter of a tribe initiating a petition or designated by the initiators of a petition to speak in their behalf.

(g) "Constitution" means the organizational framework of any organized tribe for the exercise of governmental powers.

§ 53.2 Purpose and scope.

The purpose of this part is to provide uniformity and order in the formulation and submission of petitions requesting the Secretary or the Com

missioner to call elections to amend tribal constitutions as such documents may provide.

§ 53.3 Applicability to tribal groups.

The regulations, policies, and procedures set forth in this part apply to any tribe which provides through its constitution for the Secretary or the Commissioner to call elections to amend tribal constitutions upon filing a petition signed by a stipulated percentage or number of tribal members who are eligible voters under the constitution of the tribe involved.

§ 53.4 Petition format.

Petitions may consist of as many pages as are necessary to accommodate the signatures of the petitioners. However, each sheet of a petition must set forth at least a summary of the objectives of the petitioners and must show the date upon which the petition was signed by each individual, as well as the current mailing address of each signer.

§ 53.5 Notarization of petition signatures.

Signatures to a petition must be authenticated in one of the following ways: (a) Through having each signer subscribe or acknowledge his signature before a notary public; (b) through having the collector of signatures appear before a notary and sign, in his presence on each sheet of the petition, a statement attesting that the signatures were affixed on the dates shown and by the individuals whose names appear thereon, and that to the best of his knowledge the signatories thereto are eligible voters. Only an eligible tribal voter shall be recognized as a valid collector of signatures to a petition.

§ 53.6 Filing of petitions.

All petitions submitted pursuant to this section must be filed with the local Bureau official responsible for administering the tribe's affairs. No petitions will be accepted until a spokesman for the petitioners declares that he wishes to make an official filing. Once a declaration of an official filing is made and the petition is given to the local Bureau official, that offi

cial shall immediately designate thereon the date of receipt and shall inform the spokesman for the petitioners that no additional signatures may be added and that no withdrawl of signatures will be subsequently permitted. The local Bureau official shall also acknowledge in writing his recipt of the petition, indicating the exact number of signatures which are attached. Upon this written acknowledgment of the petition, the local Bureau official shall publicly post at the local Bureau unit serving the tribe the matter proposed in the petition, which shall remain posted for a period of thirty (30) days.

§ 53.7 Challenges.

Once an official filing has been made, the local Bureau official shall have copies made of the petition and its signatures, and shall keep these copies at the agency or field office for fifteen (15) days, during which time they shall be available for examination by authorized voters of the tribe upon request. During this 15-day period challenges of signatures may be filed with the local Bureau official. Challenges will be considered on the following grounds: (a) Forgery of signatures; (b) lack of proper qualifications of a signer. No challenge will be considered which is not accompanied by supporting evidence in writing. In event an individual's name appears on a petition more than once, all but one of the names shall be stricken.

§ 53.8 Action on the petition.

Within thirty (30) days after the official filing date, the local Bureau official shall forward to the Commissioner through the Area Director, or directly to the Commissioner in the case of a tribe not under the administrative jurisdiction of an Area Director, the original of the petition and its accompanying signatures, together with his recommendations concerning challenges, and his conclusions concerning (a) the validity of the signatures; (b) the adequacy of the number of signatures; (c) the propriety of the petitioning procedure. The Commissioner shall within forty-five (45) days after the official filing date, decide each

challenge and the sufficiency of the petition and announce whether an election shall be called. In the event he decides that the petitioning action for any reason is insufficient for the calling of an election, he shall inform the spokesman for the petitioners and the governing body of the tribe of that fact and the basis of his decision; in the event he decides that the petitioning action does warrant the calling of an election, he shall so inform the spokesman for the petitioners and the governing body of the tribe concerned. His decision in such matters shall be final. The procedures for conducting the election, as well as the date for the election, will be determined in accordance with pertinent directives.

(a) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative.

(b) "Assistant Secretary" means the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, or his authorized representative.

(c) "Department" means the Department of the Interior.

(d) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(e) "Area Office" means the Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Office.

(f) "Indian tribe," also referred to herein as "tribe," means any Indian group within the continental United

States that the Secretary of Interior acknowledges to be an Indian tribe.

(g) "Indian group" or "group" means any Indian aggregation within the continental United States that the Secretary of the Interior does not acknowledge to be an Indian tribe.

(h) "Petitioner" means any entity which has submitted a petition to the Secretary requesting acknowledgement that it is an Indian tribe.

(i) “Autonomous” means having a separate tribal council, internal process, or other organizational mechanism which the tribe has used as its own means of making tribal decisions independent of the control of any other Indian governing entity. Autonomous must be understood in the context of the Indian culture and social organization of that tribe.

(j) "Member of an Indian group" means an individual who is recognized by an Indian group as meeting its membership criteria and who consents to being listed as a member of that group.

(k) "Member of an Indian tribe" means an individual who meets the membership requirements of the tribe as set forth in its governing document or is recognized collectively by those persons comprising the tribal governing body, and has continuously maintained tribal relations with the tribe or is listed on the tribal rolls of that tribe as a member, if such rolls are kept.

(1) "Historically", "historical" or "history" means dating back to the earliest documented contact between the aboriginal tribe from which the petitioners descended and citizens or officials of the United States, colonial or territorial governments, or if relevant, citizens and officials of foreign governments from which the United States acquired territory.

(m) “Continuously” means extending from generation to generation throughout the tribe's history essentially without interruption.

(n) "Indigenous" means native to the continental United States in that at least part of the tribe's aboriginal range extended into what is now the continental United States.

(o) "Community" or "specific area" means any people living within such a reasonable proximity as to allow group interaction and a maintenance of tribal relations.

(p) "Other party" means any person or organization, other than the petitioner who submits comments or evidence in support of or in opposition to a petition.

§ 54.2 Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to establish a departmental procedure and policy for acknowledging that certain American Indian tribes exist. Such acknowledgment of tribal existence by the Department is a prerequisite to the protection, services, and benefits from the Federal Government available to Indian tribes. Such acknowledgment shall also mean that the tribe is entitled to the immunities and privileges available to other federally acknowledged Indian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes as well as the responsibilities and obligations of such tribes. Acknowledgment shall subject the Indian tribe to the same authority of Congress and the United States to which other federally acknowledged tribes are subjected.

§ 54.3 Scope.

(a) This part is intended to cover only those American Indian groups indigenous to the continental United States which are ethnically and culturally identifiable, but which are not currently acknowledged as Indian tribes by the Department. It is intended to apply to groups which can establish a substantially continuous tribal existence and which have functioned as autonomous entities throughout history until the present.

(b) This part does not apply to Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos or communities which are already acknowledged as such and are receiving services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(c) This part is not intended to apply to associations, organizations, corporations or groups of any character, formed in recent times; provided that a group which meets the criteria in § 54.7(a)-(g) has recently incorporated

or otherwise formalized its existing autonomous process will have no bearing on the Assistant Secretary's final decision.

(d) Nor is this part intended to apply to splinter groups, political factions, communities or groups of any character which separate from the main body of a tribe currently acknowledged as being an Indian tribe by the Department, unless it can be clearly established that the group has functioned throughout history until the present as an autonomous Indian tribal entity.

(e) Further, this part does not apply to groups which are, or the members of which are, subject to congressional legislation terminating or forbidding the Federal relationship.

(a) The Department shall assume the responsibility to contact, within a twelve-month period following the enactment of these regulations, all Indian groups known to the Department in the continental United States whose existence has not been previously acknowledged by the Department. Included specifically shall be those listed in chapter 11 of the American Indian Policy Review Commission final report, volume one, May 17, 1977. The Department shall inform all such groups of the opportunity to petition for an acknowledgment of tribal existence by the Federal Government.

(b) The Secretary shall publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER within 90 days after effective date of these regulations, a list of all Indian tribes which are recognized and receiving services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Such list shall be updated and published annually in the FEDERAL REGIS

TER.

(c) Within 90 days after the effective date of the final regulations, the Secretary will have available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions, including general suggestions and guidelines on where and how to research for required information. The Department's example of petition format, while preferable, shall not preclude the use of any other format.

(d) The Department shall, upon request, provide suggestions and advice to researchers representing a petitioner for their research into the petitioner's historical background and Indian identity. The Department shall not be responsible for the actual research on behalf of the petitioner.

§ 54.7 Form and content of the petition.

The petition may be in any readable form which clearly indicates that it is a petition requesting the Secretary to acknowledge tribal existence. All the criteria in paragraphs (a)-(g) of this section are mandatory in order for tribal existence to be acknowledged and must be included in the petition.

(a) A statement of facts establishing that the petitioner has been identified from historical times until the present on a substantially continuous basis, as "American Indian," or "aboriginal." A petitioner shall not fail to satisfy any criteria herein merely because of fluctuations of tribal activity during various years. Evidence to be relied upon in determining the group's substantically continuous Indian identity shall include one or more of the following:

(1) Repeated identification by Federal authorities;

(2) Longstanding relationships with State governments based on identification of the group as Indian;

(3) Repeated dealings with a county, parish, or other local government in a relationship based on the group's Indian identity;

(6) Repeated identification as an Indian entity in newspapers and books;

(7) Repeated identification and dealings as an Indian entity with recognized Indian tribes or national Indian organizations.

(b) Evidence that a substantial portion of the petitioning group inhabits a specific area or lives in a community viewed as American Indian and distinct from other populations in the area, and that its members are descendants of an Indian tribe which historically inhabited a specific area.

(c) A statement of facts which establishes that the petitioner has maintained tribal political influence or other authority over its members as an autonomous entity throughout history until the present.

(d) A copy of the group's present governing document, or in the absence of a written document, a statement describing in full the membership criteria and the procedures through which the group currently governs its affairs and its members.

(e) A list of all known current members of the group and a copy of each available former list of members based on the tribe's own defined criteria. The membership must consist of individuals who have established, using evidence acceptable to the Secretary, descendancy from a tribe which existed historically or from historical tribes which combined and functioned as a single autonomous entity. Evidence acceptable to the Secretary of tribal membership for this purpose includes but is not limited to:

(1) Descendancy rolls prepared by the Secretary for the petitioner for purposes of distributing claims money, providing allotments, or other purposes;

(2) State, Federal, or other official records or evidence identifying present members or ancestors of present members as being an Indian descendant

and a member of the petitioning group;

(3) Church, school, and other similar enrollment records indicating the person as being a member of the petitioning entity;

(4) Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders, leaders, or the tribal governing body, as being an Indian descendant of the tribe and a member of the petitioning entity;

(5) Other records or evidence identifying the person as a member of the petitioning entity.

(f) The membership of the petitioning group is composed principally of persons who are not members of any other North American Indian tribe.

(g) The petitioner is not, nor are its members, the subject of congressional legislation which has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship.

§ 54.8 Notice of receipt of petition.

(a) Within 30 days after receiving a petition, the Assistant Secretary shall send an acknowledgment of receipt, in writing, to the petitioner, and shall have published in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice of such receipt including the name and location, and mailing address of the petitioner and other such information that will identify the entity submitting the petition and the date it was received. The notice shall also indicate where a copy of the petition may be examined.

(b) Groups with petitions on file with the Bureau on the effective date of these regulations shall be notified within 90 days from the effective date that their petition is on file. Notice of that fact, including the information required in paragraph (a) of this section, shall be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. All petitions on file on the effective date will be returned to the petitioner with guidelines as specified in § 54.6(c) in order to give the petitioner an opportunity to review, revise, or supplement the petition. The return of the petition will not affect the priority established by the initial filing.

(c) The Assistant Secretary shall also notify, in writing, the Governor