Who is a Tribal, Indian, Native American today? There is no clear answer to this question, since different people apply different definitions. Most definitions are based on a cultural or racial context. In brief, Latin American perspective defines tribal people as those who live a tribal/Indian way of life. Anglo-American government officials tend to keep rather close record of whether a person is: full or half or less blood quantum.
Basically one system is inclusive and the other is exclusive and also utilizes racial backgrounds rather than cultural definitions. Perhaps the most important criteria is self-determination and how the individual is categorized in the community where they reside. Ask your family first, with rare exception, tribal people have vast family connections and there is always someone within tribal families that knows who is related to whom or why not and more.
When we look at culture in connection with the lifestyle of a particular people, we find that their way of life almost always includes options or variations and, therefore, is never completely homogeneous. Cultural evolution is constantly in process and groups are continually borrowing from their neighbors as well as developing more or less original traits.
For example, the Diegueno- Kamia-Kumeyaay-Kwaamii peoples of southern California. The distinction between Diegueno and Kamia is purely artificial. Certain Ipai-Tipai speaking people were missionized at the San Diego Mission, while others were missionized in several Baja California missions. Some were not missionized at all!
The Ipai-Tipai speaking people compose a branch of the Kamia-Cocopa-Halyikwami-Kohuana group within the Yuman division of the Hokam language family.
Very closely related to the socio-political life of native peoples are the various ceremonial exchange systems. In the California area, people of various community-republics (bands) had and have regular patterns of inviting the people of other specific localities to their ceremonies. Such ceremonial exchange systems are particularly significant in California regions.
In summary, the individual who desires accurate information relative to the socio-political organization of Native American/Tribal people must continually be alert to the complexities involved in categorizing human groups and to the appropriate time-period context.