XVIII HOW TO USE THIS REFERENCE GUIDE This reference guide profiles by state the economy of every federally recognized Indian reservation in the United States. Wherever possible, this Guide has relied upon information provided by the Indian tribes regarding their land holdings; their culture and history; and their infrastructure and economic enterprises. This work is an update of the 1996 edition of Tiller's Guide to Indian Country. That work is the single most consulted and authoritative source of information on the Indian tribes of the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. This guide includes a few tribes who have not (as of 2004) established a tribal land base. CONTACT INFORMATION The format used here lists on the outside column on the first line of each profile the name of the reservation (where one exists). The second line provides the status of the reservation. The third line identifies the name of the tribal group(s) occupying the reservation. The third line identifies the county or counties in which the reservations are located. The next section has the tribe's address, telephone numbers and dedicated lines for facsimile transmission or reception, followed by the tribe's official web site and or web site that provides information about the tribe. The user is cautioned to verify these numbers periodically. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION The next set of data displayed pertains to the extent of Indian land holdings on the reservation, and demographic information regarding the tribe(s) on the reservation. The information regarding land holdings was taken from either the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs statistics, or from the tribes themselves. The demographic data were taken mostly from the 2000 Decennial Report of the United States Bureau of the Census or from Labor Force Reports of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, except where a Tribe offered more current or more accurate information. The figures can vary and this guide provides the information and makes no claims to its absolute accuracy. LOCATION AND LAND STATUS The section on Location and Land Status situates each reservation geographically within the State. This section also describes such anomalies as non-contiguous reservation tracts and recently acquired lands, which may or may not (in 2004) have acquired reservation status. If all the land tenures described do not add up to the total reservation area, it is not necessarily a mistake. Tribes throughout the length and breadth of the country are disputing their jurisdictional areas, their offreservation treaty-protected areas, and even ownership of large tracts of land. For instance, surveying errors of the 19th Century are still being corrected by the Congress and the courts of the United States in the late 20th Century. Thus, the brief history of the reservation lands in this section intimates no opinion regarding the ultimate resolution of such disputes, but describes the generally accepted view of the extent of Indian land holdings associated with each reservation. For states such as Alaska and California with peculiarly complex histories, supplemental information is provided as an aid to the user. CULTURE AND HISTORY Great efforts were made to enable Tribes to provide their own information regarding these aspects of their Tribal profiles. This section includes information on broad ethnohistories, historic linguistic groupings, and historic geographic ranges of the Tribe(s) occupying the present reservation. Here, too, special introductions on Alaska, California, Flordia, Maine, and New York have been included to avoid repetition of large numbers of similar histories. GOVERNMENT This section describes briefly the method by which the Tribe(s) of each reservation presently govern themselves, and their territories. Many Tribes provided far more detailed information than could be accommodated in a brief profile. For this edition, more detailed information on tribal departments have been added, as well as information on tribal business corporations. ECONOMY The economy of each reservation is described briefly, including information regarding agricultural and livestock, forestry, fisheries, gaming, construction, mining, industrial parks, manufacturing, services and retail, and tourism and recreational activity. New categories including finance/banking, insurance, media and communications, real estate and commercial development, and telecommunications, were added to accommodate economic sectors that were either not part of tribal economies or have become viable part of tribal economies since the 1996 edition was issued. INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES These sections describe transportation, utility, and delivery services available to each reservation. Community facilities, including tribal governmental facilities, public meeting, recreational, and housing facilities are included. The sections on education and health were also given more attention in this edition. MAPS There are only 7 State maps included in this volume. Each of the tribes in the Lower 48 states have locator maps that point out the location within the state where they are located. HONORING NATIONS A special feature of this guide is the Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations (popularly known as Honoring Nations). This national awards program identifies, celebrates, and shares outstanding examples of tribal governance. Administered by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the program spotlights and awards tribal government programs and initiatives that are especially effective in addressing critical concerns and challenges facing the more than 560 Indian nations and their citizens. The Honorees from 1999 to 2003 were included to provide the reader with a wider perspective on Indian tribes, their government and its programs.
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