the tribe did not give up their sovereignty for citizenship. the bureau of indian affairs has repeatedly confirmed that u.s. citizenship and sovereignty are not mutually exclusive. all native americans are now u.s. citizens, yet the federal government has acknowledged approximately 573 tribes. in 1878, the federal government met with the brothertown leaders. it proposed that the tribe should release land in the former reservation that had not been allocated to individual households; the federal government intended to sell it to german immigrants settling in wisconsin.