(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced he has issued a Notice of Final Determination whereby he declined to acknowledge that the Duwamish Tribal Organization of Burien, Wash., (petition #25) exists as an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law. The decision is based on a determination that the petitioner does not satisfy three of seven mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment under 25 CFR Part 83, the Federal acknowledgment regulations, and therefore does not meet the requirements for a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
The petitioner did not satisfy criteria 83.7(a), 83.7(b) and 83.7(c) of the regulations. Criterion 83.7(a) requires the petitioner to have been identified on a substantially continuous basis as an American Indian entity. Criterion 83.7(b) requires the petitioner to have maintained a continuous community from historical times until the present. Criterion 83.7(c) requires the petitioner to have maintained political authority or influence on a substantially continuous basis from historical times until the present.
Having completed his review, the Assistant Secretary will publish the Notice of Final Determination on the Duwamish Tribal Organization in the Federal Register. This determination is final and will become effective 90 days from the notice’s publication date unless a request for reconsideration is filed with the Secretary of the Interior within 30 days following publication.
-BIA-
