Indian Legal Affairs believes that the article below is a valuable contribution to understanding the federal acknowledgment process. Most legal practitioners recognize that in dealing with a legal forum, understanding how the forum' s rules are applied is critical to understanding how it works. To our knowledge excerpt below by Michael Lawson Ph.D. is the first time anyone has described how the Bureau of Indian Affairs actually carries out the acknowledgment process. Dr. Lawson can be reached at:

Michael L. Lawson, Ph.D.
Senior Associate
Morgan Angel & Associates LLC
1601 Connecticut Ave NW #600
Washington, DC 20009
Telephone number 202-265-1833