The problem is that many of the applicant groups are tattered remnants of Eastern and California tribes that were outlawed and hunted. In the late 1980s a sweet series of Indian triumphs had some bitter by-products. Some recognized tribes won the right to run high-stakes gambling, regardless of prohibitions in bordering states. But friction increased between recognized and unrecognized tribes. The lure of gambling money has also added a nasty edge to the already tangled problem of who belongs to a tribe.
Some Indian activists find the quanta a demeaning colonial artifact.
Others suggest that with Indians scattered off reservation, it is the only way to determine who is connected to a tribe. Past that point, you're simply of Indian descent. And then there is the Pequot model. Hence, a tribal population that looks like a Benetton ad. A reporter driving through the luxurious Connecticut reservation stops to ask directions of a bunch of boys riding new dirt bikes.