Brownell (2001) reports that the policy has "devastated" many of the groups. In particular, the tribes in California have been heavily affected by the termination era. For example, the Taylorsville Rancheria was established and participated in the IRA, but during the termination era the tribe's land was sold to Plumas county to be used for a park and roping club. The government failed to officially terminate the tribe through an act of congress, but the tribe was not included on the Federally Recognized tribes list. The Taylorsville Rancheria has been in limbo since that time and continues to struggle for their restored status as a recognized tribe. Recent shift to "political" definition Because continuing to determine Indian membership by racial criteria, such as blood quantum or Indian descent, would leave the government in a constitutionally indefensible position, it has attempted to change how its statutes and regulations provide for the distribution of benefits to Indians. Native American concerns over equal protection and tribal sovereignty have led the federal government to reduce its role as arbiter of race-based eligibility standards. This policy of allowing tribes self-determination on membership, as well as other aspects of their lives, has developed since the Nixon administration in the 1970s. Nixon said the goal should be "to strengthen the Indian's sense of autonomy without threatening his sense of community. And we must make it clear that Indians can become independent of Federal control without being cut off from Federal concern and Federal support." The pivotal legislation of the era was the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. This act began the government's process of transferring authority for administering federal grants and programs for Indians to tribal governments. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, said in 1994 that, "Sovereignty, the inherent right of self-government and self-determination, is the focal point in all Indian issues." The government has shifted to social constructs: "political" definitions by which legislation has defined Indians based on membership in federally recognized tribes. The government and many tribes prefer this definition because it allows the tribes to determine the meaning of "Indianness" in their own membership criteria. Some analysts criticize the federal government's role even in this limited way, as still setting certain conditions on the nature of membership criteria. In some cases, an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe may have no documented