IN SR0072

Urges the Legislative Council to assign an interim study committee to determine whether the Miami Nation should be recognized as a tribe.

Miami Indians of Indiana number over 5,000 members governed by the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana, Inc., historically occupying lands in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Miami Nation was not federally recognized as a tribe based on a 1872 decision regarding citizenship of fewer than 20 members of one clan who received communal lands in Indiana.

Prohibits state tribe recognition from conferring rights to negotiate tribal sovereignty with state or federal governments or to allow gaming on tribal land.

State tribe members are not entitled to special state rights or benefits unless specifically conferred by statute, with tribal membership criteria determined solely by the tribe's governing body.