Whats an Indian? Most properly it is probably someone who is from India, however in the US, an Indian has been used for centuries to spea of someone from Native American roots, of multiple tribes.
In the United States there are man ways to determine ethnic background, not the least of which is the DNA testing.
There is no actual criterion which will establish your identity as a Native American Indian.

Tribal membership is usually determined by the criteria of the various tribes and each looks for a particular blood quantum, however for some of them, there is no such requirement.
Generally if you can find a link to tribal blood, you may get in touch with tha tribe, but you may not qualify for membership in the tribe.

To be considered for the BIA, (Bureau of Indian Affairs) services, there are however some criterion. According to BIA, you must be:

A.  a member of a tribe recognized by the federal government
B. be of one-half or more Indian blood of tribes indigenous to the United States
C. must, for some purposes, be of one-fourth or more Indian ancestry.

Most BIA programs or “perks” if you want to deem them such are reserved however for those who live on or near to an Indian reservation.

For the purposes of the census, the US counts as “Indian” anyone who declares themeself to be Indian.

In the census of 1990, the United States had as many as nearly two million Native American Indians living in the United States.(1,959,234 American Indians and Alaska Natives)Oddly enough this was a 37.9 percent increase over the 1980 census, which the government attributed to better taking of the census and more involved self identification by American citizens.

How can you determine if you are a native American Indian? In many cases you can trace your ancestry to find the documents that will help you to determine your ancestry,and failing your ability to do that, for as little as 100 dollars in some cases, you can have a DNA test taken that will determine, if not your blood quantum, at least any traces of your blood as a Native American and where in fact your particular tribe may have originated.

To take the first step in tracing your Indian Ancestry, you will want to approach with some basic genealogical research. To do so you’re going to need some names of ancestors, places they may have lived during their lifetime and some semblance of an idea of what tribe they belonged to at any point in your history.

The US has more than 500 tribes which are recognized federally, which means that you’re going to be doing a good bit of searching if you don’t know exactly where your particularly family originated.

There are also tribes within the US which are not federally recognized, though some are state recognized, meaning that they have no relationship with the BIA or the funding or programs that it offers.

According to American Indian.com, however a”special program of the BIA, however, works with those groups seeking federal recognition status. Of the 150 petitions for federal recognition received by the BIA since 1978, 12 have received acknowledgment through the BIA process, two groups had their status clarified by the Department of the Interior through other means, and seven were restored or recognized by Congress.”

What this means is, that if you are seeking your status and confirmation for the purpose of gaining some kind of monetary assistance your chances are quite slim in achieving that purpose, however if in fact your research is simply to clarify or gain enlightenment into your background, then with the records that exist today, chances are good that you’re going to find what you’re looking for.

There are about 275 Indian lands in the US that are administered as reservations, and many have some great records that exist to asist you in your search for a Native American ancestor.

If you are interested in seeking out your Indian Ancestors, there hs never, with all of the DNA groups offering assistance, as well asthe online records that are available to you as a seeker, been a better time to find your own Native American ancestry.