I have to tell you, as a former employee of an organization that dealt with Indian Sovereignty on a daily basis, I'm loathe to recommend that Wikipedia get involved in the recognized/non-recognized battle. Particularly given that tripes are having recognition stripped and given even today - just google "Tribe Sovereignty stripped" for some interesting reading.
There are too many uncertainties in this area, and frankly, I don't want to be the one (or suggest that anyone else is) to involve us in tribal policies. I don't want to call the Chief/Chairman/Chief Executive of any of these tribes and say we're going to alter their article and this is why, and I think it's not good policy for us to get in the middle of this one.
Federal recognition does not equal validity. Until the BIA is straightened out, and the Department of the Interior, and ancient treaties, this is a field full of landmines, and I think we're best to stay the heck off of it.
Philippe
----- Original Message ----- From: Jeffrey V. Merkey To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 12:47 PM Subject: [Foundation-l] Native American Tribes Policy
I started a policy which was subsequently rejected by Wikiality based concensus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Native_American_Tribes
The basic problem here is that non-Federally recognized groups claiming to be Indian Tribes can expose the Foundation and Wikipedia to considerable liability and negative publicity. By way of example, when James Mooney was indicted in Utah for impersonating an Indian not only was he charged, so was the person running his websites and posting the false information. Mooney was indicted for 19 first degree felony counts for operating a CEE (Continuing Criminal Enterprise) for the purposes of distributing peyote. The Southern Cherokee Nation (which is not a real tribe) under currently operating illegal riverboat casinos and using their claims of being a Federally recognized tribe to justify their activities.
Wikipedia needs to exclude these fake tribe from the project. Any of these tribes can bring legal action against the Foundation, as can the Federal Government if fake groups are allowed to claim they are indian tribes, then use Wikipedia as a basis to claim credibility and break the law. This can have two possible outcomes. The genuine tribes (who have Federal support and Federal funding) can withdraw financial support from the project and/or Wikipedia can be exposed to negative publicity and loss of public trust by the legitimate tribes, as well as being exposed to Federal Prosecution if these groups use the project to violate US laws.
I am of Cherokee, German, and English ancestry, but I do not claim I am a citizen of Germany or the UK., even though I am of these bloodlines as well as Cherokee. The same applies to Native Tribes recognized by the US Government. These tribes are sovereign governments, and members are citizens. For someone who claims Indian ancestry to set themselves up as a tribe purports claims they are citizens of a non-recgnized sovereign. It would be the same as for me to claim I am a German or UK citizen just because I have ancestry from these groups, which would be a false claim. The same applies to Indian Nations.
I will be unable to garner support from the tribes to publicly support Wikipedia from other tribes if such a policy does not exist, since any fake group can claim they are an indian tribe when they are not. Please read the text of the policy, and the Foundation needs to make a decision about this matter. Tribes which are not Federally recognized in the US are NOT indian tribes, and numerous legal liabilities are created if we allow these groups to post false information into the project.
Jeff
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