Sherpa is one of the scheduled tribe of Sikkim as according to the scheduled tribes order 1978 but it is considered as one of the sub-tribes of Bhutia. It is not in 1978 that Sherpa community considered one of Bhutia sub-tribes, but there are evidence like census of 1891, which records population of Sikkim as Bhutia including Sherpas, Lepchas and Paharias.