The Navy will name a new ship in honor of the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island.

The USNS Narragansett will be a Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue (T-ATS) ship, according to a Navy news release.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro made the announcement in Washington on Tuesday, the 90th Anniversary of the Indian Reorganization Act.

The Indian Reorganization Act, signed in 1934, was a major reversal of federal policy. It provided Native Americans greater control over their lands, allowing the formation of legally recognized tribal governments and decreasing pressure toward assimilation.

The naming selection of the future USNS Narragansett follows the tradition of the Navajo-class of naming towing, salvage and rescue ships after prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes. Del Toro has previously named three Navajo-class ships: USNS Billy Frank Jr., USNS Solomon Atkinson and USNS James D. Fairbanks.

Prior to European contact, the Narragansett were a powerful Algonquian-speaking warrior tribe that occupied most of present-day Rhode Island from the Narragansett Bay in the east to the Pawcatuck River in the West.

There are about 2,400 members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe living primarily in Rhode Island. Five naval vessels have been named in honor of the Narragansett people: a screw sloop (1859-1875), a troop transport (SP 2196) (1918-1919), a ferry boat (YFB 1163) (1918-1944), a fleet tug (AT 88) (1943-1946), and a fleet ocean tug (T-ATF 167) (1979-2002).

Navajo-class ships will provide ocean-going tug, salvage and rescue capabilities to support fleet operations. Navajo-class ships will be capable of towing U.S. Navy ships and will have 6,000 square feet of deck space for embarked systems.