What's special? long History..
here is a blurb from one US government site...
The federal government recognizes the unique political relationship, based on treaties and history, between the Indian nation governments and the federal government. In the NY/NJ area, seven are recognized by the federal government as “federally-recognized Indian Tribes”(see map below), with whom the federal government has a government-to-government relationship. Some, but not all, Indian nations or Tribes, apply to the Bureau of Indians Affairs for federal recognition. Such recognition allows the U.S. government to interact with these nations on a government-to-government basis and to provide services it cannot provide to nations that are not “federally-recognized”. The federally-recognized Indian nations (in NY/NJ) include: Cayuga Nation; Oneida Indian Nation (OIN); Onondaga Nation; St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT); Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI); Tonawanda Band of Seneca's; Tuscarora Nation.
all of the nations have web pages, i could get you urls if you want more info on a specific nation..
