Check a status before you rely on a claim.
People, offices, funders, and journalists sometimes need to check what someone is claiming. The Forum offers two kinds of checks, and it is plain about what each one can and cannot tell you.
The Forum does not decide this and does not keep that list. Recognition is published by governments.
Where the Forum works. The Indigenous Affairs Forum mainly serves in the field with tribes, nations, and communities east of the Mississippi River, and we are expanding westward. Tribes, nations, and communities elsewhere are welcome and invited to participate.
The Forum is just beginning its review pilot, and the automated code lookup is not ready. Until it is, use the request form below.
Only that nation can tell you. Contact the nation's enrollment office. The Forum cannot answer this and does not try.
Use the form below. Say whether you are checking an individual or a group, include the record code or the group's name as it was presented to you, the nation or status being claimed, your organization and role, and what the check is for. By submitting, you understand the Forum confirms only what a code shows and does not confirm whether anyone has applied.
Nations, offices, and others can tell the Forum about a code, a listing, or a use of the Forum's name that concerns them. Use the same form and begin your message with the word Concern. Concerns go to the panel and receive a written response. The Forum handles them privately and does not publish them.
A Documented Descent Review confirms that the applicant submitted documentary evidence of lineal descent from an ancestor recorded in historical sources as affiliated with the named people or nation. It is not tribal enrollment, citizenship, or recognition. A Documented Descendant does not speak for or represent any federally or state recognized tribe, nation, or community, and the designation carries no official recognition beyond the Indigenous Affairs Forum. Tribal citizenship is decided by each nation.