Indian tribe in Alabama struggles for federal recognition

MOBILE, Ala. -- Wilford "Longhair" Taylor, chief of the MOWA Choctaws, promises to fight until death for what some prominent scholars say is his right: Federal recognition as a genuine American Indian tribe.

The state government certified the MOWAs as a tribe more than 20 years ago. And in 1998, the Smithsonian Institute returned bones to them for burial -- giving prestigious backing to their claims.

But despite what researchers say is overwhelming evidence, the Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to deny recognition, the main requirement for government assistance in health care, housing, education and business development.

"They definitely are an Indian group. Why they are not recognized now is a total travesty," said University of Arizona anthropologist Richard W. Stoffle, who has studied the tribe.

The MOWAs get their name from the first two letters of Mobile and Washington counties. Official population figures have not been compiled.

Opposition to the MOWAs gaining federal recognition has come, not only from government officials who say they lack documentation, but from other tribes, including the Poarch Creeks of Alabama -- the only tribe federally recognized in the state -- and the Choctaws in Mississippi.