Native American tribes in Massachusetts are the Native American tribes and their reservations that existed historically and those that still exist today in what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Narragansett term for this region is Ninnimissinuok. [1]
Massachusetts has two federally recognized tribes. They have met the seven criteria of an American Indian tribe: being an American Indian entity since at least 1900, a predominant part of the group forms a distinct community and has done so throughout history into the present; holding political influence over its members, having governing documents including membership criteria, members having ancestral descent from historic American Indian tribes, not being members of other existing federally recognized tribes, and not being previously terminated by the U.S. Congress. [2]
State-recognized tribes do not have government-to-government relationships with the United States federal government that federally recognized tribes do. The state has developed a formal process for state recognition, and Massachusetts has one state-recognized tribe.
The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band [5] was formally recognized through an executive order by Governor Michael Dukakis in 1976. [6]
These are four Indian Reservations in Massachusetts.
These are some of the tribes that have existed in what is now Massachusetts. Most no longer exist as functioning American Indian tribes within the state; however, some are tribes in other states or in Canada.
More than 20 organizations claim to represent historic tribes within Massachusetts; however, these groups are unrecognized, meaning they do not meet the minimum criteria of a federally recognized tribe [3] or a state-recognized tribe. [10]