Federally recognized tribes are acknowledged as having natural rights to self-government (tribal sovereignty) and are entitled to receive some Federal benefits, services, and protections because of their special relationships with the U.S. Government. There are currently 567 Federally recognized American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes and villages. From 1778 to 1871, The U.S. entered 370 treaties with the sovereign tribal nations to define the relationships between them. Under Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution the U.S. considers these treaties “the supreme law of the land.” They are the foundation upon which our Nation bases Federal Indian law and our Federal Indian trust relationship. In 1871 Congress ended treaty-making, and since then, relations with the Federally recognized tribes have been officially created through Congressional Acts, Executive Orders, and Executive Agreements. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the estimated population of American Indians and Alaskan Natives, including those of more than one race, was 5.2 million, or 1.7 percent of the total U.S. population at the time.

There are eight federally recognized federally recognized Native American nations in Utah:
Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation
Navajo Nation and the Utah Navajo Chapters (Dine')
Northwestern Band of the Shoshoni Nation (Washakie)
Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
Shivwits Band of Paiutes
Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah
Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (Nunt'zi)
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe