American Indians and Alaska Natives are citizens of the United States and of the states in which they reside. They are also citizens of the tribes to which they belong according to the criteria established by each tribe. American Indians and Alaska Natives have the same right to vote as all United States citizens. American Indians and Alaska Natives vote in state and local elections, as well as in tribal elections. No single federal or tribal criterion establishes a person's identity as an Indian.
Government agencies use differing criteria to determine eligibility for programs and services.
Tribes also have varying eligibility criteria for membership. The protections and services provided by the United States for tribal members flow not from an individual's status as an American Indian in an ethnological sense, but because the person is a member of a tribe recognized by the United States, and with which the United States has a special trust relationship. This special trust relationship entails certain legally enforceable obligations and responsibilities. These are important concepts in federal Indian policy, and are also the objectives of major federal legislation. In policy, the concepts are similar to the block grant system, by which state and local governments are accorded the opportunity to administer federal programs directly.