Washington, DC-The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has adopted a new policy in regards to how tribes can apply for federal recognition.

According to BIA's Assistant Secretary, Kevin Washburn, the federal acknowledgement process which was formally adopted in 1978, will no longer allow some tribes to gain recognition or affirmation of their status through other means. This new policy puts an end to that.

"The recently revised Part 83 regulations promote fairness, integrity, efficiency and flexibility," Washburn writes in the policy that was published in the Federal Register. "No group should be d...