1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i District Court Rejects DOIs Ban on Tribes Re-petitioning for Federal Recognition February 26, 2020 On January 10, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that the Departm
2、ent of the Interiors (DOI) 2015 Final Rule revising 25 C.F.R. Part 83 to ban Indian groups from re-petitioning after DOI denied federal recognition was “arbitrary and capricious.” The case, Chinook Indian Nation v. Bernhardt, involved DOIs “Procedures for Federal Acknowledgment of Indian Tribes” (Pa
3、rt 83 Process), that govern how an Indian group may obtain federal recognition, enter into a government-to-government relationship with the United States, and become eligible for services and benefits provided to federally recognized Indian tribes and their members. The case addresses the re-petitio
4、ning ban, which has been in the regulations since 1994, as well as an exception to that ban that was included in a 2014 Proposed Rule, but omitted in final rules promulgated in 2015. This Legal Sidebar provides background on federal recognition of Indian tribes; analyzes the courts holding; and disc