NIGC Not Compiling a “Carcieri” List

The National Indian Gaming Commission is not drawing up a list of tribes recognized after 1934, according to NIGC Chairman Philip Hogen. In an interview with Indianz, Hogen said  that although he had expressed a need for a such a list, the NIGC was not leading the effort. Matthew Fletcher, of Turtle Talk argues that it would be a mistake for federal agencies to start compiling such lists, which could be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and could disadvantage tribes that are wrongly identified for the list.  Such a list could be significant in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which restricts the land into trust process to only those tribes that were federally recognized in 1934.