The 1978 rule: identified as "American Indian," or "aboriginal" (Washington, D.C., 5 Sept. 1978)

SUMMARY17. The 1978 rule: identified as "American Indian," or "aboriginal" (Washington, D.C., 5 Sept. 1978) [Connections: Who decided who's Indian, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDFederal Register Vol. 43, No. 172, pp. 39361ff., "Procedures for establishing that an American Indian Group exists as an Indian tribe" (then 25 CFR Part 54, later Part 83), effective 2 Oct. 1978. Acknowledgment "is a prerequisite to the protection, services, and benefits from the Federal Government available to Indian tribes." All seven criteria were mandatory. Criterion (a): "the petitioner has been identified from historical times until the present on a substantially continuous basis, as 'American Indian,' or 'aboriginal.'"

PATTERNThe first test was how outsiders labeled you, continuously. A group whose records say "free colored," "mulatto" or "Negro" for decades fails (a) on the labels that were forced on it

LENS (WW9)The federal rule itself used the word "aboriginal," then made outsiders' paper the judge of who was

OPENThe BIA's copy is OCR-scanned; confirm exact wording in the printed Federal Register

SOURCEBIA, 1978 acknowledgment regulations (25 CFR Part 54), PDF.