Native News: Tribal Photo IDs Will Be Accepted At Airport Security Checkpoints Instead Of "Real IDs"
Fast Alaska Real ID State-Issued Enhanced Driver's License Sample FROM INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY May, 2025 Tribal IDs accepted during Re...
https://www.countryjournal2020.com/2025/05/native-news-tribal-photo-ids-will-be.html?m=0
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| Fast Alaska Real ID State-Issued Enhanced Driver's License Sample |
Tribal IDs accepted during Real ID requirement
The Transportation Security Administration said
federally-recognized tribal IDs are allowed
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| A Tribal ID Sample. |
Kalle Benallie
ICT
Real ID requirements for domestic air travel have been enforced for nearly two weeks. Depending on the airport, passengers without a Real ID or an alternative form identification, like a passport, have been notified to get a Real ID.
The question: is tribal identification still accepted?
The Transportation Security Administration confirmed to ICT that “tribal photo identification issued by a federally-recognized Tribal Nation / Indian Tribe is accepted by TSA for identity verification purposes in the security checkpoint at airports nationwide.”
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said on May 6 to a congressional panel that those with a passport or a tribal ID “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step” after the Real ID deadline on May 7.
The TSA website states: “If your ID cannot be scanned by technology, you will be asked for a secondary ID that can be scanned. If you do not have a second ID, your Tribal ID will be inspected manually and cross-referenced with the Federal Register.”
Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Cochiti Pueblo, said that Noem’s statement was not an assurance because tribal identification had already been challenged and misunderstood by TSA officials before the Real ID Act. Van Schilfgaarde is an assistant professor of law at the University of California in Los Angeles with research on tribal sovereignty and federal Indian law.
“It is reasonable to speculate that tribal IDs are going to face additional scrutiny, putting additional burdens on Native people where the burden really should be the opposite,” van Schilfgaarde said. “Many Native people can anecdotally say, as well as tribes say, that tribal IDs have had far from the uniform acceptance rate pre-Real ID Act and so this appears to be an intensifying critique of tribal IDs.”
The Real ID Act was passed in 2005 as federal law in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. The law sets specific requirements for state-issued driver’s licenses and prohibits federal agencies from accepting driver’s licenses that do not comply with those requirements. Legal names have to be consistent across documents like social security cards and birth certificates.
There has been some opposition from states to Real ID because of the federal government’s overreach in state laws and state ID license requirements.
Tribal identification is used to show tribal membership and enrollment and for services like the federal Indian Health Service. Van Schilfgaarde said it’s not logistical if tribal identification can’t be accepted.
“It is, as a first-order principle, an expression of tribal sovereignty. The ability for the tribe to dictate how tribal identification is expressed about who tribal members are, but also about what kind of identification is necessary, if any, on tribal lands that is simply an authority that cannot nor should it be delegated,” she said.
But there are some tribes that have identification that meet state requirements.
Tribes like the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma have an all-in-one membership card that can be used as a photo ID and be used for traveling. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection that allows their Enhanced Tribal Identification Card for border-crossing purposes.
Some tribes across the country are encouraging their tribal citizens to get a renewed tribal ID that is TSA compliant like the Native Village of Koyuk in Alaska, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation in California, and the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma with their enhanced tribal card.
However, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is informing their citizens to bring a second form of identification.
A former staffer of the National Congress with American Indians, who won’t be identified for fear of retaliation, worked with TSA regarding tribal IDs. They said in their experience flying with their tribal ID, they were never required to go to a different line but they had to maintain the use of a tribal ID without a second form of identification. The experience depended on how familiar the TSA agent would be with tribal identification. Supervisors were usually called and they would cross-reference the tribal ID with tribes listed in the Federal Register per the TSA website.
The source added it’s up to the TSA’s discretion to accept tribal IDs. There are no statutes or a regulation that allows it.
“I really think that came more from tribal nations having consultations with TSA and pushing policy perspective, especially post-911 to make sure that tribal IDs were accepted by the federal government to get into federal buildings, on planes as well,” they said.
The staffer added that tribal citizens using their IDs more will help educate the general public.
“It’s a responsibility, particularly of young folks in Indian Country who can and have the time to be able to use their tribal IDs because it makes it easier on our elders and our people who have accessibility or disability issues to come through with their tribal IDs once you’ve gone through, so utilizing your privilege and knowledge and education in that way,” they said.
Van Schilfgaarde said that people who plan to use tribal identification should not panic, plan for extra time and refer the officials to your own tribal office for verification.
“Remember that you do have rights against being detained or answering questions that you are feeling uncomfortable answering, but don’t get overly excited,” van Schilfgaarde said.
ICT
Real ID requirements for domestic air travel have been enforced for nearly two weeks. Depending on the airport, passengers without a Real ID or an alternative form identification, like a passport, have been notified to get a Real ID.
The question: is tribal identification still accepted?
The Transportation Security Administration confirmed to ICT that “tribal photo identification issued by a federally-recognized Tribal Nation / Indian Tribe is accepted by TSA for identity verification purposes in the security checkpoint at airports nationwide.”
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said on May 6 to a congressional panel that those with a passport or a tribal ID “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step” after the Real ID deadline on May 7.
The TSA website states: “If your ID cannot be scanned by technology, you will be asked for a secondary ID that can be scanned. If you do not have a second ID, your Tribal ID will be inspected manually and cross-referenced with the Federal Register.”
The Federal Register uses the same list as the Bureau of Indian Affairs so tribal citizens will need to pay attention to the official name of the tribe on the BIA list. For example, the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nations will be listed as the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota.
Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Cochiti Pueblo, said that Noem’s statement was not an assurance because tribal identification had already been challenged and misunderstood by TSA officials before the Real ID Act. Van Schilfgaarde is an assistant professor of law at the University of California in Los Angeles with research on tribal sovereignty and federal Indian law.
“It is reasonable to speculate that tribal IDs are going to face additional scrutiny, putting additional burdens on Native people where the burden really should be the opposite,” van Schilfgaarde said. “Many Native people can anecdotally say, as well as tribes say, that tribal IDs have had far from the uniform acceptance rate pre-Real ID Act and so this appears to be an intensifying critique of tribal IDs.”
The Real ID Act was passed in 2005 as federal law in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. The law sets specific requirements for state-issued driver’s licenses and prohibits federal agencies from accepting driver’s licenses that do not comply with those requirements. Legal names have to be consistent across documents like social security cards and birth certificates.
There has been some opposition from states to Real ID because of the federal government’s overreach in state laws and state ID license requirements.
Tribal identification is used to show tribal membership and enrollment and for services like the federal Indian Health Service. Van Schilfgaarde said it’s not logistical if tribal identification can’t be accepted.
“It is, as a first-order principle, an expression of tribal sovereignty. The ability for the tribe to dictate how tribal identification is expressed about who tribal members are, but also about what kind of identification is necessary, if any, on tribal lands that is simply an authority that cannot nor should it be delegated,” she said.
But there are some tribes that have identification that meet state requirements.
Tribes like the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma have an all-in-one membership card that can be used as a photo ID and be used for traveling. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection that allows their Enhanced Tribal Identification Card for border-crossing purposes.
Some tribes across the country are encouraging their tribal citizens to get a renewed tribal ID that is TSA compliant like the Native Village of Koyuk in Alaska, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation in California, and the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma with their enhanced tribal card.
However, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is informing their citizens to bring a second form of identification.
A former staffer of the National Congress with American Indians, who won’t be identified for fear of retaliation, worked with TSA regarding tribal IDs. They said in their experience flying with their tribal ID, they were never required to go to a different line but they had to maintain the use of a tribal ID without a second form of identification. The experience depended on how familiar the TSA agent would be with tribal identification. Supervisors were usually called and they would cross-reference the tribal ID with tribes listed in the Federal Register per the TSA website.
The source added it’s up to the TSA’s discretion to accept tribal IDs. There are no statutes or a regulation that allows it.
“I really think that came more from tribal nations having consultations with TSA and pushing policy perspective, especially post-911 to make sure that tribal IDs were accepted by the federal government to get into federal buildings, on planes as well,” they said.
The staffer added that tribal citizens using their IDs more will help educate the general public.
“It’s a responsibility, particularly of young folks in Indian Country who can and have the time to be able to use their tribal IDs because it makes it easier on our elders and our people who have accessibility or disability issues to come through with their tribal IDs once you’ve gone through, so utilizing your privilege and knowledge and education in that way,” they said.
Van Schilfgaarde said that people who plan to use tribal identification should not panic, plan for extra time and refer the officials to your own tribal office for verification.
“Remember that you do have rights against being detained or answering questions that you are feeling uncomfortable answering, but don’t get overly excited,” van Schilfgaarde said.
