In the
United States, the Native American tribe is a fundamental unit of sovereign tribal government. As the
Department of the Interior explains, "federally recognized tribes are recognized as possessing certain inherent rights of self-government (i.e., tribal sovereignty)...." Federal
tribal recognition grants to tribes the right to self-government, as well as certain benefits. The recognition process is largely controlled by the United States federal agency the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, in consultation with federally recognized tribes. In January 2015, the United States'
Federal Register issued an official list of 566 tribes that are
Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. The number of tribes increased to 567 in July 2015 with the federal recognition of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia.
USA.gov, the federal government's official web portal, maintains a list of tribal governments which is constantly updated. Ancillary information present in
former versions of this list but no longer contained in the current listing have been included here in italics print. In 2018, six more Virginia-based tribes were added to the list, then in 2020 the Little Shell Chippewa were recognized, bringing the total to 574. When the
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina received federal recognition in December 2025, the total increased to 575. Of these, 231 are located in Alaska. Except for Hawaii, states that have no federally recognized tribes today
forcibly removed tribes from their region in the 19th century, mainly to the west and especially to
Indian Territory, now
Oklahoma. == Alabama ==