North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 01 - ADMINISTRATION › Chapter 15 - INDIAN AFFAIRS › Section .0200 - LEGAL RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN INDIAN GROUPS › Section 15 .0212 - CRITERIA FOR RECOGNITION AS AN AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBE

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
In deciding whether to grant recognition to petitioner, the
				  Commission shall proceed as follows:
(1) The Petitioner shall demonstrate
				continuous American Indian identity on a historic basis in satisfying each of
				these criteria. Documents that shall be used to demonstrate the group's
				American Indian identity shall include, family bible accounts, baptismal
				records, and any other material that can substantiate the petitioning group's
				historic and continuous identification as an American Indian entity. For
				periods of time where this identification cannot be documented, the Petitioner
				shall submit a narrative to explain the lack of continuous American Indian
				identification.
(2) The criteria to
				be used in the decision whether to extend State recognition as an American
				Indian tribe are listed below in Subitems (a) through (h).
(a) Traditional North Carolina American
				Indian names, as they relate to the petitioning group. Surnames among the
				petitioning group that have been commonly identified as being American Indian
				since 1790 in the Petitioner's local geographic area shall be considered to be
				traditional North Carolina American Indian names;
(b) Kinship relationships with other
				recognized American Indian tribes. Relationships with other recognized American
				Indian tribes shall be based on the petitioner's identification as an American
				Indian group or community, and shall be evidenced by historic blood and
				marriage kinship ties and communal interaction of spiritual, educational, and
				social institutions; or other cultural relationships between known (recognized)
				tribal communities and the petitioner's community;
(c) Official records, which may include,
				birth, church, school, military, medical, local or county government records,
				or other official records identifying the group as American Indian. Vital
				records shall also be used in assisting the group's documentation of American
				Indian identity.
(d) State or
				federal documents identifying the group as American Indian. Any instance of
				historic government-to-government relationships between the Petitioner and
				federal or state governments shall be evidenced;
(e) Anthropological, historical, or
				genealogical documents identifying the group as American Indian and
				demonstrating the group's American Indian ancestry;
(f) Identification from State or federally
				recognized American Indian tribes attesting to the petitioning group's
				identification as American Indian, based on both the historic and current
				relationships existing between the tribe and the petitioning group.
(g) Any other documented traditions, customs,
				legends, etc., that are uniquely American Indian and signify the petitioning
				group's American Indian heritage;
(h) Participation in grants from sources or
				programs designated as for American Indian only.