Native American tribes in Nebraska in Macy, with the Winnebago Tribal Council in nearby Winnebago. The offices of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Santee Sioux Tribal Council offices are in Niobrara. The Bureau of Indian Affairs office serving Nebraska is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, while the Winnebago Agency office serves the Omaha and Winnebago. Native American tribes in Nebraska Native American tribes in the U.S. state of Nebraska have been Plains Indians, descendants of succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples who have occupied the area for thousands of years. More than 15 historic tribes have been identified as having lived in, hunted in,
Native American recognition in the United States self-identify as Indian, merely by checking the racial category, "Native American/Alaska Native". In 1990, about 1.8 million people self-identified in the census as American Indian. About 60 percent of those, or 1.14 million people, are enrolled in federally recognized tribes. People who self-identify as Indian but are not a part of a federally recognized group often wish to join a recognized tribe. The tribal government, in the absence of some legal obligation which stipulates otherwise, has final jurisdiction over who is a member of the tribe. Holly Reckord, an anthropologist who heads the BIA Branch of Acknowledgment and Recognition, discusses