[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 1874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-73]




[[Page 1873]]

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Part IV





Department of the Interior





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Bureau of Indian Affairs



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Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgment of the MOWA Band of 
Choctaw; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 3 / Thursday, January 5, 1995 / 
Notices   
[[Page 1874]]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgment of the MOWA Band 
of Choctaw

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed finding.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 25 CFR 83.10(e), notice is hereby given that the 
Assistant Secretary proposes to decline to acknowledge that the MOWA 
Band of Choctaw (MBC), c/o Mr. Framon Weaver, 1080 W. Red Fox Road, Mt. 
Vernon, Alabama 36560, exists as an Indian tribe within the meaning of 
Federal law. This notice is based on a determination that the MBC does 
not meet one of the seven mandatory criteria set forth in 25 CFR 83.7, 
specifically, criterion 83.7(e). Therefore, the MOWA Band of Choctaw do 
not meet the requirements necessary for a government-to-government 
relationship with the United States.

DATES: As provided by 25 CFR 83.10(e)(1) and 83.10(h) through 83.10(l), 
any individual or organization wishing to challenge the proposed 
finding may submit factual or legal arguments and evidence to rebut the 
evidence relied upon. This material must be submitted within 180 
calendar days from the date of publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed finding and/or requests for a copy 
of the report of evidence should be addressed to the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C 
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240, Attention: Branch of 
Acknowledgment and Research, Mail Stop 2611-MIB.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Holly Reckord, Chief, Branch of 
Acknowledgment and Research, (202) 208-3592.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published in the exercise of 
authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant 
Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.
    The MOWA Band of Choctaw's petition for Federal acknowledgment 
claims that ``the contemporary band of Mowa Choctaws of South Alabama 
are descendants of full and mixed blood Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, 
and Chickasaws who avoided removal West during Indian removal in the 
1830s'' (MOWA Pet. Narr. 1988, 1). Upon examination of the petition, 
this claim was found to be invalid.
    The problems with the American Indian ancestry claimed by the 
petitioner fall into the following major categories:
    (1) The petitioner's core ancestral families cannot document 
American Indian ancestry;
    (2) The families which are the actual MBC progenitors from 1880 
have not been documented as descendants of the known removal-era, 
antebellum American Indians claimed as ancestors by the petitioner;
    (3) Many of the early nineteenth century persons claimed as members 
of their ``founding Indian community'' by the petitioner cannot be 
demonstrated to be Choctaw, or even American Indian.
    The MOWA Band of Choctaw petitioning group is derived from two core 
families that were resident in southwestern Alabama by the end of the 
first third of the nineteenth century. All persons on the petitioner's 
membership roll descend from these two families. Neither of these 
families has demonstrated American Indian ancestry. Neither were the 
nineteenth century ancestors of these two families members of an 
historical American Indian tribe, or of tribes which had amalgamated 
and functioned as a single American Indian entity.
    One percent of the petitioner's membership can document American 
Indian ancestry through other ancestral lines than those going to the 
two core families.
    A substantial body of documentation was available on the 
petitioning group. This extensive evidence does not demonstrate either 
the Indian ancestry claimed in the petition or other Indian ancestry. 
This extensive evidence either does not support at all, or in part 
disproves, Indian ancestry. Only approximately one percent can 
demonstrate Indian ancestry of any kind. Thus, no evidence was found to 
demonstrate that the ancestors of the petitioner were descended from a 
single historic tribe or tribes which combined and functioned as an 
autonomous entity. We conclude, therefore, that the MOWA Band of 
Choctaws clearly does not meet the requirements of criterion 83.7(e).
    As provided by 25 CFR 83.10(h) of the new regulations, a report 
summarizing the evidence, reasoning, and analysis that are the basis 
for the proposed decision will be provided to the petitioner and other 
interested parties, and is available to other parties upon written 
request.
    After consideration of the written arguments and evidence rebutting 
the proposed finding and within 60 days after the expiration of the 
180-day response period described above, the Assistant Secretary--
Indian Affairs will publish the final determination of the petitioner's 
status in the Federal Register as provided in 25 CFR 83.10(1).
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-73 Filed 1-4-95; 8:45 am]
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