Proposed changes to tribal recognition rules stir controversy

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Podcasts Take Two

May 23, 2014

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Proposed changes to tribal recognition rules stir controversy

The US Department of Interior proposes new rules for granting federal recognition to Native American tribes that could make it easier for groups to be achieve official status.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: (L-R) Kevin Washburn, Department of Interior Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs, Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell, and Ronald Trahan, Chairman of Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, MT., participate in an event to sign an agreement at the Department of Interior, on January 30, 2014 in Washington, DC. A cooperative agreement was signed to implement a land buy back for Tribal Nations program on the Flathead Indian Reservation (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The US Department of Interior proposes new rules for granting federal recognition to Native American tribes that could make it easier for groups to be achieve official status.

Yesterday, the Department of the Interior proposed new rules to determine which groups are federally recognized as American Indian tribes.

The revisions could make it easier to for groups across the country to become eligible for the federal benefits that come along with tribal status. But some lawmakers are worried that the changes could open the door to new casinos and stir up conflicts over historic tribal lands.

Michael Melia, Connecticut correspondent for the Associated Press, joins Take Two with more.