Indian tribes are unique legal entities in the United States and are distinct political communities with extensive powers of self-government. Tribal sovereignty predates the U.S. government. Treaties, federal statutes and executive agreements over the past 200 years have established a special trust relationship between tribes and the federal government. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (B.I.A.) has been designated by the Secretary of the Interior as the primary agency to protect tribal interests and administer trust responsibilities.
Inclusion on this site does NOT mean an endorsement has been made for recognition of any particular tribe. All entities claiming to be US indian tribes that we are aware of have been included for completeness. Where known, we have indicated official tribal status with our Key Chart. In many cases we have not verified the validity of the claim of tribal status, and leave it to your own common sense or further research to validate tribal claims.
Alternate names in parenthesis are either older names that were once used to identify that tribe, or they are misspellings.
US TRIBES FROM A to Z
Click on a letter of the alphabet to go to US Tribes starting with that letter. Where known, the official name is used. Linked tribal names go to their profile page which will contain more links to sections of our site where you can find articles about that tribe and related tribes. [Back to Top)
Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana (Assinaboine and Gros Ventre) (Montana)(F)
Fort Bidwell Indian Community of the Fort Bidwell Reservation of California (Gidutikad Band of the Northern Paiute)(F)
Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians of the Fort Independence Reservation (California) (F) -- See Paiute
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation [Akimel O’odham (Pima) and the Pee-Posh (Maricopa)](Arizona) (F) -- See Pima and Maricopa
Hannahville Indian Community (Michigan) (F)
(previously listed as the Hannahville Indian Community of Wisconsin, and Potawatomie Indians of Michigan) -- See Potawatomie
Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation (Lower Kalispel Tribe)(Washington State) (F)
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Michigan) (F) (previously listed as the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of L'Anse and Ontonagon Bands of Chippewa Indians of the L'Anse Reservation, Michigan) -- See Chippewa
Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota (F) (previously listed as the Lower Sioux Indian Community of Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Lower Sioux Reservation in Minnesota) -- See Sioux
Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation (S'Klallam Tribe) (Washington State) (F) (IRA)
Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota (F) (previously listed as the Prairie Indian Community of
Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux Indians of the Prairie Island Reservation, Minnesota) -- See Sioux
Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California (Klamath, Karuk, and Shasta Indians)(F)
Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria (Tachi Yokut Indians) (California) (F)
United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California (Miwok and Maidu Indians)(F)
Indian Colony:
An Indian Colony is a Native American settlement associated with an urban area. Although some of them became official Indian reservations, they differ from most reservations in that they are located where Native Americans could find jobs in the white economy and originally formed without federal encouragement or sanction.
Indian colonies are especially common in Nevada. As the Great Basin ecosystem is very fragile, native lifeways became untenable soon after white settlement due to livestock over-grazing, water diversions and the felling of Pinyon pine groves. At that time there were few official reservations in the area, and those were terribly run even by contemporary standards. Many Native Americans chose instead to seek jobs in white ranches, farms and cities. The areas in which they settled became known as Indian Camps or Colonies.
In some cases they owned the land they settled on, in other cases they settled on public land. Starting in the early twentieth century, the federal government began establishing Indian trust territories for the colonies on public land.Following the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, many of the Indian colonies gained federal recognition as tribes.
Bridgeport Indian Colony (California) -- See Paiute
Burns Paiute Tribe (Burns Indian Colony) (Oregon) -- See Paiute
Ely Shoshone Tribe (Ely Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Shoshone
Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe (Fallon Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Paiute and Shoshone
Las Vegas Paiute Tribe (Las Vegas Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Paiute
Lovelock Paiute Tribe (Lovelock Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Paiute
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony (Nevada)(F) -- See Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians, Battle Mountain Band (Battle Mountain Indian Colony) (Nevada) --See Shoshone
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians, Elko Band (Elko Indian Colony) (Nevada) --See Shoshone
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians, Wells Band (Wells Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Shoshone
Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Carson Community Council (Carson City Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Washoe
Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Dresslerville Council (Dresslerville Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Washoe
Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Stewart Community Council (Stewart Indian Colony) (Nevada) -- See Washoe
Three more Indian tribes recognized in SC
Three more American Indian groups have been officially recognized as tribes in South Carolina. The tribes are the Pee Dee Indian Tribe of South Carolina, the Beaver Creek Indians and the Santee Indian Organization.
Two Nez Perce warriors returned for burial
Two Nez Perce warriors were buried in northcentral Idaho on Friday and Saturday, more than a century after they died in the 1877 Battle of the Big Hole.
Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Community
The Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Community is located in the south-central section of Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Menominee Country, 20 miles west of Escanaba, MI and 95 miles northeast of Green Bay, WI.
