5570 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 

for the purpose of enhancement of the 

survival of the species.

Applicant: Iowa State University, 

Ames, Iowa, PRT–079368. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import samples obtained from wild 

Tartaruga, Podocnemis expanasa, 

leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys 

coriacea), and hawksbill sea turtle 

(Eretmochelys imbricata), for the 

purpose of scientific research. This 

notification covers activities to be 

conducted by the applicant over a fiveyear period.

Applicant: Drexel University, 

Philadelphia, PA, PRT–814546. 

The applicant requests amendment of 

a permit to import samples and nonviable eggs obtained from wild green sea 

turtle, Chelonia mydas, leatherback sea 

turtle Dermochelys coriacea, and Olive 

Ridley sea turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea. 

for the purpose of scientific research. 

The applicant is seeking to import 

additional samples obtained from 100 

viable leatherback sea turtle eggs. This 

notification covers activities to be 

conducted by the applicant through 

December 31, 2007.

Applicant: Arkansas State University, 

State University, AR, PRT–081603. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

export and re-import non-living 

museum specimens of endangered and 

threatened species of plants and animals 

previously accessioned into the 

applicant’s collection for scientific 

research. This notification covers 

activities to be conducted by the 

applicant over a five-year period.

Applicant: Louisiana State University 

Museum of Natural Science, Baton 

Rouge, LA, PRT–003005. 

The applicant requests a renewal of 

their permit to export and re-import 

non-living museum specimens of 

endangered and threatened species of 

plants and animals previously 

accessioned into the applicant’s 

collection for scientific research. This 

notification covers activities to be 

conducted by the applicant over a fiveyear period. 

Endangered Marine Mammals and 

Marine Mammals 

The public is invited to comment on 

the following applications for a permit 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered marine mammals and/or 

marine mammals. The applications 

were submitted to satisfy requirements 

of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.) 

and/or the Marine Mammal Protection 

Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 

et seq.), and the regulations governing 

endangered species (50 CFR part 17) 

and/or marine mammals (50 CFR part 

18). Written data, comments, or requests 

for copies of the complete applications 

or requests for a public hearing on these 

applications should be submitted to the 

Director (address above). Anyone 

requesting a hearing should give 

specific reasons why a hearing would be 

appropriate. The holding of such a 

hearing is at the discretion of the 

Director.

Applicant: Nova Southeastern 

University, Dania Beach, Florida, PRT–

080580. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

conduct research using infrared and 

sonar camera imaging on up to 50 

captive and/or wild Florida manatee, 

Trichechus manatus latirostris per year 

for the purposes of scientific research. 

This notification covers activities to be 

conducted by the applicant over a fiveyear period. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, the 

Division of Management Authority is 

forwarding copies of the above 

applications to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and the Committee of 

Scientific Advisors for their review.

Applicant: Lance K. Parks, Billings, 

MT, PRT–081539. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) 

sport hunted from the Baffin Bay polar 

bear population in Canada prior to 

February 18, 1997, for personal use.

Applicant: Hubert K. Wooten, 

Raeford, NC, PRT–081715. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) 

sport hunted from the Gulf of Boothia 

polar bear population in Canada prior to 

February 18, 1997, for personal use.

Applicant: James M. Williams, 

Jackson, MS, PRT–081755. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) 

sport hunted from the Baffin Bay polar 

bear population in Canada prior to 

February 18, 1997, for personal use.

Applicant: James A. Crane, Jr., 

Blythewood, SC, PRT–081966. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) 

sport hunted from the Foxe Basin polar 

bear population in Canada prior to 

February 18, 1997, for personal use.

Applicant: Robert B. Rhyne, Sharon, 

SC, PRT–081994. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) 

sport hunted from the Foxe Basin polar 

bear population in Canada prior to 

February 18, 1997, for personal use.

Dated: January 16, 2004. 

Charles S. Hamilton, 

Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits, 

Division of Management Authority.

[FR Doc. 04–2431 Filed 2–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Final Determination To Acknowledge 

the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation

AGENCY: Office of Federal 

Acknowledgment, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of final determination.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 25 CFR 83.10(m), 

notice is hereby given that the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs acknowledges 

the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation c/o Mr. 

Richard L. Velky, 33 Elizabeth Street, 

4th Floor, Derby, Connecticut 06148, as 

an Indian tribe within the meaning of 

Federal law. This notice is based on a 

determination that the petitioning group 

satisfies all seven criteria for Federal 

acknowledgment as a tribe in 25 CFR 

83.7, and therefore meets the 

requirements for a government-togovernment relationship with the 

United States.

DATES: This determination is final and 

is effective May 5, 2004, pursuant to 25 

CFR 83.10(l)(4), unless a request for 

reconsideration is filed pursuant to 25 

CFR 83.11. On-going negotiations in 

current litigation may modify or 

eliminate the applicability of this 

provision of the regulations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. 

Lee Fleming, Director, Office of Federal 

Acknowledgment, (202) 513–7650.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published in the exercise of 

authority delegated by the Secretary of 

the Interior to the Assistant Secretary—

Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8. 

This notice is based on a 

determination that the Schaghticoke 

Tribal Nation (STN) satisfies the seven 

criteria for Federal acknowledgment as 

an Indian tribe in 25 CFR 83.7. 

The Department is considering the 

STN petition under a court approved 

negotiated agreement between the STN, 

the State of Connecticut, and other 

interested parties involved in pending 

litigation. This agreement neither 

modifies the criteria nor the standards 

required to demonstrate that all of the 

criteria have been met. 

A notice of proposed finding (PF) to 

decline to acknowledge the STN was 

published in the Federal Register

December 11, 2002 (67 FR 76184). That 

notice was based on a determination 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 5571

that the petitioner did not satisfy all 

seven of the criteria set forth in 25 CFR 

83.7, specifically criteria 83.7(b), and 

(c), and therefore did not meet the 

requirements for a government-togovernment relationship with the 

United States. 

The evidence available at the time of 

the PF showed that the STN petitioner 

and its antecedents met criteria 83.7(a) 

for identification as a Indian entity since 

1900, 83.7(d) for providing a governing 

document, 83.7(e) for having a 

membership list and demonstrating 

descent from the historical tribe, 83.7(f) 

for not being members of an 

acknowledged Indian tribe, and 83.7(g) 

for not being the subject of legislation 

that terminated or forbade the Federal 

relationship. The PF concluded that the 

petitioner did not meet the requirements 

for criteria 83.7(b) to demonstrate 

community from first sustained 

historical contact to the present because 

there was insufficient evidence to 

demonstrate that community existed 

between 1940 and 1967. The PF 

concluded that the petitioner did not 

meet criterion 83.7(c) for political 

influence or authority from first 

sustained historical contact to the 

present. The PF concluded that the 

evidence was insufficient to 

demonstrate that the Schaghticoke met 

criterion 83.7(c), political influence 

within the group, from 1801 to 1875, 

that there was almost no specific 

evidence of Schaghticoke political 

activity from 1885 to 1949, and that 

there was insufficient evidence of 

political activity from 1949 to 1967. The 

PF concluded further concerning 

criterion 83.7(c) that the continuous 

state relationship with a reservation did 

not provide additional evidence during 

those periods when there was an 

absence of specific evidence of the 

exercise of political influence within the 

group within the meaning of the 

acknowledgment regulations. 

Criteria 83.7(b) and 83.7(c) were also 

not met after 1996 because the STN’s 

2001 membership list (317 members) 

used for the PF did not include 

approximately 60 individuals, who were 

a part of the Schaghticoke social and 

political community between 1967 and 

1996. These criteria were also not met 

because almost a third of the 

membership (110 of 317) were from a 

family line that was not part of the 

community and had no known social 

and political contact with the 

Schaghticoke before 1996. 

This final determination (FD) is made 

following a review of the responses to 

the PF, the public comments on the PF, 

and STN responses to the public 

comments. This FD has reviewed the 

evidence considered for the PF, and 

evaluated that evidence in the light of 

the new documentation and argument 

received from third parties and the 

petitioners. This FD reevaluates the 

evidentiary weight given to continuous 

state recognition with a reservation. 

The PF found that the Schaghticoke 

were regularly identified as an 

American Indian entity in Federal and 

state documents, by local authorities, by 

academic scholars, and in newspaper 

articles since 1900, thus meeting 

criterion 83.7(a). Neither the petitioner 

nor the third parties addressed criterion 

83.7(a) in the comments on the PF. 

Some exhibits submitted for the FD 

provided additional external 

identifications of Schaghticoke as an 

American Indian entity from 1900 to the 

present. The conclusion of the STN PF 

that the petitioner meets criterion 

83.7(a) is affirmed. 

The PF found that Moravian mission 

records (1743 through 1771), the 

continued existence of a distinct 

residential settlement, repeated 

petitions by the group to the Colony and 

the State, and a detailed external 

enumeration of all members by name 

and age in 1789, demonstrated that 

there was a Schaghticoke community 

from the 1740’s to 1801. Throughout the 

19th century, the overseers’ reports, the 

existence of a distinct geographical 

settlement to which off-reservation 

residents frequently returned, and the 

close kinship ties between reservation 

residents and non-resident members 

provided sufficient evidence to show 

that a Schaghticoke community existed 

until about 1900. The additional 

analysis of the evidence undertaken for 

the FD strengthened these conclusions. 

The FD affirms that the Schaghticoke 

meet 83.7(b) through 1900. 

Additional evidence submitted for the 

FD confirms the conclusions of the PF 

that a portion of the Schaghticoke 

formed a residential community on the 

reservation between 1900 and 1920. 

Other Schaghticoke, resident offreservation, maintained social ties as 

part of the group, had been born on and/

or lived on the reservation, and were 

close relatives of the reservation 

residents. Additional analysis of 

residential and intermarriage patterns 

for the 19th century, which provided 

sufficient evidence for community until 

1870 and strong evidence for 

community for the balance of the 19th 

century, provides supporting evidence 

for the existence of a community in the 

first two decades of the 20th century. 

Additional documentary sources were 

provided which identified a community 

on the reservation and recognized the 

connection between reservation and 

non-reservation residents. These forms 

of evidence combined provide sufficient 

evidence to demonstrate that criterion 

83.7(b) is met from 1900 to 1920. 

For 1920 to 1940 there was less 

specific evidence concerning 

community, but the reservation 

continued to be occupied during these 

decades. Interview evidence 

demonstrated social ties between the 

three major Schaghticoke family lines. 

The State made appropriations in both 

decades for the Schaghticoke and 

passed legislation transferring 

supervision of the Schaghticoke from 

one state agency to another. 

Documentary evidence from this period 

includes references to the Schaghticoke 

as an existing group. Continuous state 

recognition with a reservation provides 

additional evidence here, where specific 

evidence of community exists. 

Therefore, the STN meets criterion 

83.7(b) from 1920 to 1940. 

A thorough review of the existing data 

together with the new data submitted in 

response to the PF demonstrates that 

community existed among the 

Schaghtcoke between 1940 and 1967. A 

review of the oral histories, including 

new information added to the record in 

response to the PF, demonstrates that 

significant social relationships existed 

between, as well as within, the three 

main family lines during this time 

period.

The documents and oral histories of 

the 1936 to 1967 era concerning 

political activities demonstrate social 

and political contact, as does the oral 

history of reservation meetings during 

that period. Additional evidence is that 

the enrollments in 1949 and 1954 

generally correspond with the families 

of Schaghticoke who enrolled between 

1967 and 1973, indicating the 

continuity of the Schaghticoke’s 

definition of their community. 

Continuous state recognition provides 

additional evidence here, where specific 

evidence of community exists. Based on 

the new evidence and the analysis and 

reevaluation of the evidence already in 

the record, this FD concludes that 

criterion 83.7(b) is met between 1940 

and 1967. 

The evidence for community and 

political processes for 1967 to 1996 was 

based on the the political processes in 

the internal conflicts in this period, as 

well as the nature of the membership. 

Supportive evidence for community 

from 1967 to 1996 for the PF and for this 

FD was that enrollment in the 

Schaghticoke organization beginning in 

1970 was almost entirely drawn from a 

select subset of the much larger pool of 

all Schaghticoke descendants, those 

who were from families that had 

5572 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 

remained in social contact since the 

petitions of 1876 and 1889. This FD 

confirms the conclusion of the PF that 

there is sufficient evidence for political 

processes for 1967 to 1996. This FD 

adds additional evidence and analysis 

of conflicts which mobilized substantial 

number of members and showed contact 

between members, providing additional 

evidence to demonstrate community. 

Therefore, this FD confirms that 

criterion 83.7(b) is met from 1967 to 

1996. 

The evidence for community and 

political processes for 1967 to 1996 and 

the nature of membership and the 

political processes in the internal 

conflicts exist for 1996 to the present as 

well. The conflicts have continued up 

until the present, and social contacts 

have continued between the enrolled 

and unenrolled portions of the 

Schaghticoke community. 

The evidence demonstrates that the 

Schaghticoke have existed as a 

community from first sustained contact 

until the present. The most recent STN 

membership list is incomplete and does 

not include a substantial portion of the 

present Schaghticoke community. This 

FD concludes that the STN, including 

the presently unenrolled portion of the 

community, meets the requirements of 

83.7(b). 

The State of Connecticut has, since 

colonial times, continuously recognized 

the Schaghticoke as a distinct tribe with 

a separate land base provided by and 

maintained by the State. The continuous 

state relationship manifested itself in 

the distinct, non-citizen status of the 

tribe’s members until 1973. There is 

implicit in the relationship between the 

State and the Schaghticoke a recognition 

of a distinct political body, in part 

because the relationship originates with 

and derives from the Colony’s 

relationship with a distinct political 

body at the time the relationship was 

first established. Colonial and state laws 

and policies directly reflected this 

political relationship until the early 

1800’s. The distinct political 

underpinning of the laws is less explicit 

from the early 1800’s until the 1970’s, 

but the Schaghticoke remained noncitizens of the State until 1973. The 

State continued the main elements of 

the earlier relationship (legislation that 

determined oversight, established and 

protected land holdings, and exempted 

tribal lands from taxation) essentially 

without change or substantial 

questioning throughout this time period. 

The state relationship is documented 

to be continuously active throughout the 

history of the Schaghticoke, as 

demonstrated by state overseer actions, 

state statutes, and other actions of the 

executive, judicial and legislative 

branches of Connecticut’s colonial and 

state governments. There are such state 

actions throughout the periods where 

there is little or no direct evidence of 

political influence within the group, 

1820 to 1840 and 1892 to 1936. 

In making this FD, the Department 

has reevaluated the evidentiary weight 

that was given to continuous state 

recognition with a reservation from 

colonial times until the present in the 

STN PF and in the Historical Eastern 

Pequot (HEP) PF and FD decisions. The 

position in those decisions was that the 

state relationship was not a substitute 

for direct evidence of political processes 

in a given period of time and could only 

add evidence where there was some, 

though insufficient, direct evidence of 

political processes. 

The Department’s reevaluated 

position is that the historically 

continuous existence of a community 

recognized throughout its history as a 

political community by the State and 

occupying a distinct territory set aside 

by the State (the reservation), provides 

sufficient evidence for continuity of 

political influence within the 

community, even though direct 

evidence of political influence is almost 

absent for two historical time periods. 

This conclusion applies only because it 

has been demonstrated that the 

Schaghticoke have existed continuously 

as a community, within the meaning of 

criterion 83.7(b), and because of the 

specific nature of their continuous 

relationship with the State. Further, 

political influence was demonstrated by 

direct evidence for very substantial 

historical periods before and after the 

two historical periods. Finally, there is 

no evidence to indicate that the tribe 

ceased to exist as a political entity 

during these periods. 

For this FD, the historical periods in 

which there is insufficient direct 

evidence of political processes are 

substantially reduced from the PF. 

These periods are 1820 to 1840 and 

1892 to 1936. Within the first period, 

evidence of community is strongly 

established. During the decade 1821–

1830, there was an overall endogamy 

rate of 40 percent. During the decade 

1831–1840, there was an overall 

endogamy rate of 35 percent. The rates 

for these two decades were substantial 

and provide strong evidence for the 

existence of community. However, they 

are below the 50 percent level required 

to provide carryover by themselves to 

demonstrate political influence or 

authority for the petitioner under 

83.7(c)(3) for the two decades 1821–

1840. 

The conclusion of the FD is that the 

antecedents to this petitioner, the 

Weantinock (which were centered at 

New Milford) and Potatuck (which were 

centered at Newtown), existed as tribes 

at the time of first sustained contact. 

The Schaghticoke did not, as the third 

parties argue, begin as a ‘‘group of 

individual Indians and families’’ who in 

the mid-1700s ‘‘coalesced from diverse 

locations and tribes long after there was 

a sustained presence of Europeans in 

western Connecticut.’’ This FD does not 

accept the third parties’ argument that 

the Schaghticoke did not exist at the 

time of first sustained contact with nonIndians nor the second argument that 

they do not derive from nor are a 

successor to any tribe or tribes that 

existed at the time of first sustained 

contact.

This FD rejects the third party 

argument that there must be evidence in 

the record of continuity of tribal 

political and social processes and 

conscious acts of amalgamation to create 

a Schaghticoke Tribe from the 

antecedent Weantinock and Potatuck. 

Neither the 25 CFR part 83 regulations 

nor precedent require an express 

decision when two tribes amalgamate. 

Amalgamation can occur over time. In 

this case, a specific early example of 

such common action is the May 13, 

1742, petition directed to the General 

Assembly in which, ‘‘Mowchu Cherry 

and others hereunto subscribing Being 

Indian Natives of this Land Humbly 

Sheweth, that there are at New Milford, 

and Potatuck the Places where we Dwell 

about Seventy Souls of us’’ and 

requested missionaries. 

For the time period 1736–1801, the PF 

found the petitioner met criterion 

83.7(c) for political authority or 

influence within the group from the 

appearance of a distinct group at 

Schaghticoke, where the Connecticut 

General Assembly assigned it land in 

1736 and where there was a Moravian 

mission from 1743 until 1771, until 

about 1801. The FD confirms this 

conclusion. 

The PF found that there was 

insufficient evidence to demonstrate 

that the Schaghticoke met criterion 

83.7(c) for the period from 1801 to 1875. 

There remains little direct evidence 

concerning political authority or 

influence among the Schaghticoke for 

this time period. However, criterion 

83.7(c)(3) provides: ‘‘A group that has 

met the requirements in paragraph 

83.7(b)(2) at a given point in time shall 

be considered to have provided 

sufficient evidence to meet this criterion 

at that point in time.’’ For the FD, taking 

into account submissions by the 

petitioner and third parties, a detailed, 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 5573

decade-by-decade, analysis was made to 

determine whether petitioner meets 

83.7(b)(2): ‘‘At least 50 percent of the 

marriages in the group are between 

members of the group.’’ On the basis of 

these calculations, the endogamy rate 

was sufficient that the STN meets 

criterion 83.7(c) from 1801–1820 and 

1841–1870 under 83.7(c)(3). 

The PF concluded that two petitions 

submitted in 1876 and 1884, signed by 

a number of Schaghticoke Indians living 

on the reservation and some living off 

the reservation, provided sufficient 

evidence that the group exercised some 

political influence or authority for that 

limited time period. For the FD, there is 

limited additional context for the two 

above petitions, which strengthens the 

conclusion of the PF that they show 

political influence and authority within 

the group at these dates. Both the 1876 

and 1884 Schaghticoke petitions for 

appointment of an overseer were 

presented shortly after the passage by 

the Connecticut legislature of legislation 

that affected the Schaghticoke tribe. The 

evidence submitted for the FD also 

documented a third petition, which 

requested an audit of the tribe’s funds. 

It was submitted in 1892 on behalf of 

the tribe by a member who had signed 

both the 1876 and 1884 petitions and 

was acted upon by the court, which 

appointed the auditors requested by the 

tribe. The auditors were paid from tribal 

funds. 

The residency rate on the reservation 

in 1870 was 48 percent and in 1880 it 

was 40 percent. This is strong evidence 

for community for the period 1870–

1880, which is supporting evidence for 

political influence, under section 

83.7(c)(1)(iv). 

On the basis of the additional 

evidence provided by the 1892 petition, 

the strong evidence of community in 

combination with the direct evidence 

for political influence demonstrates that 

the STN meets criterion 83.7(c) from 

1870 through 1892. 

This FD concludes there is little direct 

evidence to demonstrate political 

influence within the Schaghticoke 

between 1892 and 1936. This FD rejects 

many of the specific arguments 

presented by the petitioner to 

demonstrate significant political 

influence within the Schaghticoke 

between 1892 and 1936. 

There was no evidence to demonstrate 

the political influence did not exist 

within the Schaghticoke from 1892 to 

1934. There are several individuals who 

were well-known to non-Indians and 

were of some stature, but no 

contemporary evidence to demonstrate 

that they were identified as leaders by 

Schaghticoke or outsiders. Oral histories 

collected substantially later identify 

several individuals as leaders. The lack 

of evidence of overt political activity 

may have been influenced by 

demographic trends, which resulted in 

the relatively early deaths of many of 

the children of the petition signers of 

1876 and 1884, limiting potential 

leaders in this time period. Two reports, 

one in 1934 and one in 1936, denied 

that the Schaghticoke at that time or ‘‘in 

recent years,’’ had leaders. The first 

report does not provide definitive 

evidence by itself, and the second, in 

1936, is at the point in time when there 

is specific evidence of Schaghticoke 

leaders. 

A well defined community of on and 

off-reservation residents existed 

throughout the 1892 to 1936 time 

period. Community, when it is 

demonstrated to exist at more than a 

minimal level, which has been done 

here, provides supporting evidence for 

direct evidence of political processes 

(83.7(b)(1)(iv)). 

Although there is insufficient direct 

evidence to demonstrate criterion 

83.7(c) between 1892 and 1936, this FD 

concludes that overall, based on the 

continuous state relationship with a 

state-provided reservation, and the 

demonstration of continuous 

community under 83.7(b), there is 

sufficient evidence of political 

continuity throughout the Schaghticoke 

history that the STN meets the 

requirements of 83.7(c) between 1892 

and 1936. 

For this FD, the evidence is 

significantly greater than for the PF 

concerning political processes within 

the Schaghticoke from 1936 to 1967. 

The evidence is that the organization 

that Franklin Bearce helped initiate, and 

the activities of named leaders, lasted 

for a substantially longer period of time, 

from 1936 to the mid-1960’s, than was 

demonstrated for the PF. There is better 

evidence that the organization and 

office holders dealt with issues of 

significance to the group and that there 

was continuity of concern with the issue 

of protecting the reservation throughout 

this period, beginning with a possible 

Court of Claims suit in 1936, letters to 

the State in 1939, a 1943 letter to the 

U.S. Indian Service, a 1950 claim before 

the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) 

and a renewed land claims lawsuit in 

1963, after the rejection of the ICC 

claim. There is also evidence of 

continued internal conflicts and 

involvement of individuals from each 

the three major family lines throughout 

the entire time period, indicating that 

the conflicts involved the entire 

community. The years between 1959 

and 1969 were a period of political 

division, rather than there being a 

hiatus, as had appeared based on the 

analysis and evidence for the PF.

For the PF, there was not sufficient 

evidence to demonstrate that 

community had been demonstrated for 

the time period from 1940 to 1967. For 

this FD, community has been 

demonstrated for 1940 to 1967. For this 

FD, for the period from 1936 to 1967, 

where there is more evidence in the 

record than for the PF, the state 

relationship in combination with the 

specific evidence in the record for this 

period adds sufficient evidence that 

criterion 83.7(c) is met from 1936 to 

1967. 

This FD confirms the PF conclusion 

that there is ample evidence for political 

processes for 1967 to 1996. No 

information was submitted which 

demonstrated that the conflicts, 

described in some detail in the PF, had 

not occurred or not mobilized most of 

the membership. For this FD, there is 

additional evidence and analysis of the 

conflicts between 1967 and 1974 which 

mobilized substantial number of 

members and show contact between 

members. This provides additional 

evidence for criterion 83.7(c) for this 

time period. 

The same evidence for political 

influence for 1967 to 1996, based on the 

political processes in the internal 

conflicts, exists for 1996 to the present 

as well. The conflicts have continued up 

until the present, especially, but not 

entirely, between the enrolled and 

unenrolled portions of the Schaghticoke 

community. This FD concludes that a 

single political body continues to exist, 

notwithstanding the absence from the 

certified membership list of an 

important segment of those involved in 

STN political processes from the 1960’s 

to the present. This FD acknowledges 

the entirety of this political body. 

There has been a continuous, active 

relationship from colonial times to the 

present between the State and the 

Schaghticoke in which the State treated 

them as a distinct political community. 

The historical continuity of the group 

has been demonstrated. This state 

relationship provides sufficient 

evidence to conclude that political 

influence existed continuously within 

the Schaghticoke, including two specific 

historical periods during where there is 

almost no direct evidence of political 

influence, but during which community 

has been demonstrated. The 

Schaghticoke therefore meet criterion 

83.7(c) throughout their history. 

The STN meets the requirements of 

criterion 83.7(d) because it submitted a 

copy of its governing document: A 

constitution adopted in 1997 which 

5574 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 24 / Thursday, February 5, 2004 / Notices 

included a description of its 

membership criteria. 

The regulations require, under 

criterion 83.7(e), that a petitioner submit 

a complete list of its membership. In 

this instance, the petitioner has 

identified its most current certified list 

as not complete. It submitted two lists, 

the certified membership list and a list 

of the ‘‘Unenrolled Schaghticoke 

Community.’’ This FD acknowledges the 

tribe as defined by the STN’s 2003 

membership list, 273 members, and its 

additional list of 42 individuals, 

identified by the STN as part of its 

community and meeting its membership 

requirements. Together these two lists 

comprise the STN’s base membership 

roll and its present membership for 

Federal purposes. 

The STN provided sufficient evidence 

to show that all 273 individuals on the 

September 28, 2003, certified 

membership list and the 42 individuals 

listed on the September 28, 2003, 

amendment to the constitution who are 

‘‘unenrolled tribal community 

members’’ descend from the historical 

tribe. 

One hundred percent of the STN 

membership descends from the 

historical Schaghticoke tribe. Therefore 

the conclusion in the PF that the STN 

meets criterion 83.7(e) is confirmed. 

No members of the STN are known to 

be dually enrolled with any federally 

acknowledged American Indian tribe. 

Neither the petitioner nor any of the 

interested parties addressed this 

criterion. Therefore, the conclusion in 

the PF that the STN meets criterion 

83.7(f) is confirmed. 

There has been no Federal 

termination legislation in regard to the 

STN. Neither the STN nor any 

interested parties addressed this 

criterion. Therefore, the conclusion in 

the PF that the STN meets criterion 

83.7(g) is confirmed. 

The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, as 

defined by its 2003 membership list and 

its 2003 list of unenrolled community 

members meets all of the criteria for 

Federal acknowledgment as a tribe 

stated in 25 CFR 83.7 and, therefore, 

meets the requirements to be 

acknowledged as tribe with a 

government-to-government relationship 

with the United States. 

This determination is final and will 

become effective May 5, 2004, unless a 

request for reconsideration is filed 

before the Interior Board of Indian 

Appeals (IBIA) pursuant to 25 CFR 

83.11 or unless any party or amici in the 

litigation files for Administrative 

Procedures Act (APA) review with the 

district court. In addition, the court 

approved negotiated agreement calls for 

negotiation as to whether a request for 

reconsideration may be filed before the 

IBIA or whether judicial review under 

the APA is the only review. The ongoing negotiation will continue until no 

later than 30 days after publication of 

this Notice. This negotiation may 

impact the ability of interested parties, 

whether parties to the litigation or not, 

to seek reconsideration before IBIA. 

Inquiries by interested parties 

concerning the availability of the IBIA 

review should be directed to the Office 

of the Solicitor, Branch of Tribal 

Government and Alaska, 202–208–6526, 

Attention: Scott Keep or Barbara Coen.

Dated: January 29, 2004. 

Aurene M. Martin, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary—Indian 

Affairs.

[FR Doc. 04–2532 Filed 2–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4J–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians 

Notice of Availability of Draft ‘‘To-Be’’

Trust Business Model for Public 

Comment

AGENCY: Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians; Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft 

‘‘To-Be’’ trust business model for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: This action notifies the public 

of the availability of the draft ‘‘To-Be’’

trust business model for public 

comment from the date of this 

publication to March 31, 2004. 

For a number of years, the Department 

of the Interior (DOI) has been working 

on several projects to reform and 

improve the management of Indian 

fiduciary trust assets. The most 

comprehensive reform effort currently 

underway is the development of the 

‘‘To-Be’’ Trust Model, which will 

reengineer the way DOI bureaus and 

offices perform their trust 

responsibilities and, ultimately, 

improve services provided to trust 

beneficiaries. 

Reengineering is necessary, 

particularly in response to some of the 

challenges facing DOI in its 

administration of the trust. These 

challenges include: 

• Individual Indians, Tribes, and 

Congress who have, for some time, 

expressed dissatisfaction with the trust 

management services provided by DOI; 

• Multiple and often duplicative 

processes that are used to manage land 

and natural resource assets, track 

ownership, manage accounts and 

distribute funds; 

• The expectations of beneficiaries 

and employees that may exceed the 

Indian Trust mandate or capability of 

the Trustee to deliver; 

• The number of fractionated 

interests in land assets, which are 

growing at an exponential rate, and the 

number of IIM accounts that must be 

managed, that have overwhelmed and 

excessively complicated the existing 

manual and automated processes and 

systems. 

With this daunting array of 

challenges, the need for changing the 

way DOI delivers trust products and 

services is evident. DOI senior 

leadership has led the way by 

developing a plan titled The 

Comprehensive Trust Management 

(CTM) Plan, which defines and 

describes the strategic direction of trust 

reform and clearly articulates DOI’s 

commitment to fulfilling its trust 

responsibilities. Toward this end, a 

team of DOI and tribal representatives 

worked extensively to document the 

DOI performance of current fiduciary 

trust business practices nationwide, 

which are reported in the ‘‘As-Is’’

Report. The information contained in 

the ‘‘As-Is’’ Report is the foundation for 

the recommendations for reengineered 

business process that appear within the 

‘‘To-Be’’ Model. Standardization of 

fiduciary trust business processes and 

modernization of systems to meet 

customer, accounting, and operational 

requirements is needed. 

During the period of November 2003 

to January 2004, meetings were held to 

provide stakeholders’ information 

relative to the progress made to date on 

the draft ‘‘To-Be’’ trust business model. 

The meetings were also intended to 

solicit comments and recommendations 

for improving the draft ‘‘To-Be’’ trust 

business model. This comment period 

follows the conclusion of those 

informational meetings.

DATES: All comments are due by March 

31, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit any written 

comments on the ‘‘To-Be’’ draft business 

model to D. Jeff Lords, Acting Deputy 

Special Trustee—Trust Accountability, 

Office of the Special Trustee for 

American Indians, 4400 Masthead NE., 

Albuquerque, NM 87109. Submissions 

by facsimile should be sent to 505/816–

1360.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. 

Jeff Lords, Acting Deputy Special 

Trustee—Trust Accountability, Office of 

the Special Trustee for American 

Indians, 4400 Masthead NE.,