In 1928, Congress allowed California Native peoples to file lawsuits against the U.S. for lands stolen. They were defined as “Indians residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852 and their descendants.”
The 1928 California Indian Judgment Roll (CIJR) was created to distribute settlement funds in response to two California Indian claims cases that were brought against the U.S. Federal government on behalf of CA Indians to compensate for loss of land and benefits promised under unratified treaties. The CIJR was not specifically intended to set a standard for determining tribal identity, ancestry, or membership. There was a census roll taken in 1928 and 1933, and later on in 1953 and another in 1972.
How is this is relevant to modern-day CA Native identity? Particularly for those not in a federally-recognized tribe? CIJRs set a precedent for the awarding of public funds to anyone claiming to be CA Native. Individuals were not required to prove Indian lineage, tribal affiliation, or list descent from a specific village. The CIJR’s acknowledged “tribal enrollment” as being based largely on self-identification or family association, without systematic genealogical verification. The CIJRs codified collateral relations as being equal to lineal descent.
Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) do not accept Judgment Roll inclusion as proof of Indian ancestry or tribal identity. Under 25 CFR Part 83, recognition and lineage determinations require documented lineal descent from historical tribal members and evidence of continuous community and political existence—standards the Judgment Rolls do not meet.
These rolls have been used erroneously by some to serve as official documentation for tribes to establish their continuous existence and membership, but are not valid for determining and confirming lineal descent from historically autonomous villages that existed in large number prior to Spanish colonization.
For this reason, appearance on the Judgment Rolls reflects participation in a historical claims process, not proof of CA Native ancestry. Only independently documented genealogy can establish such a connection.
