en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Child_Welfare_Act
1 correction found
a tribe that is federally recognized by the U.S. Federal Government but is not recognized for services of the Bureau of Indian Affairs under 25 C.F.R 83 et al.
This is incorrect: the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians is state-recognized, not federally recognized. The Bureau of Indian Affairs formally denied the group's federal acknowledgment in 1997.
Full reasoning
The claim says the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians is federally recognized by the U.S. government. Official federal sources say the opposite.
- In a 1997 final determination, the Bureau of Indian Affairs stated that it denied Federal acknowledgment to the Mobile-Washington County Band of Choctaw Indians of South Alabama (MOWA).
- The same BIA notice says that, as a result, the group is not eligible for the rights and benefits accorded federally recognized tribes and does not have a special government-to-government relationship with the United States.
- MOWA's own tribal website describes itself as "Alabama's First State Recognized Tribe," which is consistent with state recognition, not federal recognition.
So the article's statement that MOWA is federally recognized is flatly wrong.
2 sources
- BIA Declines Recognition to Alabama Group | Indian Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover signed on December 16, 1997, a Final Determination that denies Federal acknowledgment of the Mobile - Washington County Band of Choctaw Indians of South Alabama (MOWA)... The Final Determination means the Alabama group is not eligible for certain rights and benefits accorded tribes that are granted 'Federal recognition' or 'acknowledgment,' and therefore it does not have a special government-to-government relationship with the United States.
- Tribal Council and Leadership - MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians
The tribe's website describes MOWA as "Alabama's First State Recognized Tribe."