There are 574 federally recognized tribes. Each has a direct government-to-government relationship with the United States, and each tribe is unique. However, not all legitimate tribes are federally recognized. Which tribes received federal recognition was often a matter of historical accident. To rectify this, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) created the federal acknowledgment process in 1978. The process was intended to provide an objective and efficient means of identifying “real” tribes, but it has failed. The process often costs millions of dollars, takes decades, and produces unpredictable results. Moreover, the process’ seven mandatory criteria are subjective and often impractical. The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and United Houma Nation (UHN) are two examples. The BIA recognized the Coushatta in the 1930s, terminated them in the 1950s, and then re-recognized the tribe in the 1970s. While the Coushatta were deserving of recognition, the recognition was driven by the leadership of Ernest Sickey, the tribe’s inaugural chairman. Sickey strongly supported UHN federal recognition, and the BIA has acknowledged the Houma are Indians. However, the BIA has yet to recognize the UHN as an Indian tribe. Without recognition, the UHN has no sovereignty to protect its traditional lands or people.