Data Exchange Description
UPDATE April 2023: U.S. EPA has replaced the Tribal ID data flow with a RESTful API. Please visit this link to access the new API. The resources below are only available for reference purposes and should not be used.
The EPA Tribal Identification (TRIBES) data flow is a set of Web services that allow Partners to access and use standardized information related to Federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal entities. Tribal names and codes for the flow come from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The flow also includes a unique EPA identifier to address issues that arise when Tribe names change. EPA intends this data flow to be available inside the Agency, as well as to EPA Regions, States, local governments, and other approved organizations requiring Tribal information.
The TRIBES Web Services are intended to support implementation of EPA’s Tribal ID Data Standard. The Tribal ID data standard specifies incorporation of BIA Tribal names and BIA Tribal codes into Agency and Partner information systems. When implementing the Tribal ID data standard, system owners also should incorporate an additional data element – the EPA Tribal Internal Identifier – to ensure consistent and unambiguous identification of Tribal entities. EPA understands that BIA intends to make broad changes to codes associated with Alaskan Native Villages. In addition, there are several Tribes in the Continental United States for which codes are currently unknown. Pending BIA resolution of these issues, EPA has decided not to display codes for those entities. This is why TRIBES consumers must incorporate the EPA Tribal Internal Identifier.
In addition to providing the ability to access and consume a current list of political (i.e., non-geographic) Tribal entities, TRIBES enables system list validation against standard names and codes and provides Tribe names and codes for a specific time frame.
Version Notes
Status: Deprecated
The TRIBES schema and supporting documentation have been deprecated by EPA and replaced with a RESTful Web API. These resources are available for reference purposes only.
