Now begins the arduous task of determining which tribes to recognize.

"We have been meeting for over three years to come up with a criteria for state recognition," said Janie Davis, who heads the Minority Affairs Commission. "The real work begins now even though it took us almost three years to get this done."

The tribes who want to be recognized will have to submit historical information, such as birth certificates, school and census records or other items that prove a legitimate tribe exists.

Davis said she's not sure when the first tribe could be recognized.

"I think we're still at least probably a year away, but I don't know. It could be less or could be more," Davis said. "But it's not something we're going to hastily do."

Chief Vernon Tanner of the Chaloklowa Indians said he expects 18 different entities that helped work on the regulations to apply for one of three levels of recognition.

The regulations establish a five-member state recognition committee that would have several criteria to determine whether to recognize an American Indian tribe, group or a special interest organization.

It also sets up an advisory committee to the Minority Affairs Commission. The Legislature has provided the agency with less than $200,000 to pay the administrative costs for that committee as well as for black and Hispanic affairs. Davis says that is less than what the agency needs, but that it will make do.

Once recognized by the state, the Indian tribes would not be allowed to support any form of gambling and could not sue the state over land disputes, the regulations say.

American Indian leaders have said state recognition would mean cultural items such as pottery could be branded with a tribe's name. State tribes also may be able to participate in federal programs.

"I'm extremely pleased," Tanner said.

Attaining federal recognition for Indian tribes is a long and difficult process. The Catawba Indian Nation is the only federally recognized tribe in South Carolina. About 27,000 people in South Carolina identified themselves as American Indians during the 2000 census.

But, Tanner said, gaining state recognition won't be easy either.

"When you're looking at the criteria, it does demand a substantial amount of paperwork and facts that need to be shown in order to do that," he said.

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