Call Lora Siders, Tribal Secretary of the Miami Nation of Indians of the
State of Indiana. They were federally recognized from 1795 until l897 when
they were illegally terminated by an U. S. Assistant Attorney General. They
have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees since and have not
been able to get re-instated, even though the government has made land
payments. The BIA's Bureau of Acknowledgement and Research has continually
reviewed their petitions and applied regulations discriminately. Lora's
number is 317-473-9631.
You might also want to talk with Chief Curtis Zunigha of the Delaware
Nation of Eastern Oklahoma. Because of government bungling in the l860s and
1870s, they were made "citizens" of the Western Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
They are now having to sue the Cherokee and the BIA to try and get the whole
mess straightened out and regain federal recognition. Their number is
918-336-5272.
There are more than 100 tribes trying to gain federal recognition at the
present time. The process takes 5 to 7 years or longer and costs hundreds of
thousands of dollars. The BIA deliberately tries to exhaust the energy and
resources of these tribes in order to prevent them from obtaining those
things which are due them through the treaties of long ago. The worst thing
of all, is that most of the employees of the BIA are Indian people and
therefore hurt their own brothers and sisters.
I hope you will give Lora and Curtis a call. Nick Clark, Chair
Minnetrista Council for Great Lakes Native American Studies.