19–010

Calendar No. 634

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 107–297

PROVIDING FOR THE USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE FUNDS AWARDED 

TO THE WESTERN SHOSHONE IDENTIFIABLE GROUP UNDER INDIAN 

CLAIMS COMMISSION DOCKET NUMBERS 326–A–1, 326–A–3, 326–K, AND 

FOR OTHER PURPOSES

OCTOBER 3, 2002.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. INOUYE, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 958]

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill 

(S. 958) to provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the Western Shoshne identifiable group under Indian Claims 

Commission Docket Numbers 326–A–1, 326–A–3, 326–K, and for 

other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 

thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 958, the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act, is to provide for the distribution of judgment awards 

granted to the Western Shoshone Indians in Docket Number 326–

K before the Indian Claims Commission (Docket No. 326–K) and 

Docket Nos. 326–A–1 and 326–A–3 before the United States Court 

of Claims (Docket Nos. 326–A–1 and 326–A–3), together with all 

accrued interest. Funds under Docket No. 326–K are to be awarded 

on a per capita basis to eligible Western Shoshones who have at 

least 1⁄4 degree of Western Shoshone blood, are citizens of the 

United States, and are living on the date of enactment of this legislation, provided however that any individual who has or is eligible 

to receive a per capita payment from any other similar judgment 

fund shall not be eligible to receive payment under this legislation. 

Funds under Docket Nos. 326–A–1 and 326–A–3 are to be placed 

in a trust fund to be established in the Treasury of the United 

States for the benefit of Western Shoshone members and to be 

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1Treaty with the Western Shoshone (also known as the Treaty of Ruby Valley), 18 Stat. 689 

(Oct. 1, 1863; ratified June 26, 1866), reprinted in II Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties 

851–53 (1904). 

known as the Western Shoshone Educational Trust Fund (Educational Trust Fund). Interest income from the Educational Trust 

Fund shall be distributed as educational grants to eligible individual Western Shoshone members and may also be used to pay 

the expenses of the Administrative Committee established to oversee the distribution of such educational grants and assistance. 

BACKGROUND

The Shoshone are an Indian people living mostly in the Great 

Basin of western North America. In 1863 the Western Bands of the 

Shoshone Nation signed a peace treaty with the United States at 

Ruby Valley, in what is now central Nevada.1 This treaty granted 

the United States certain rights within the area claimed by these 

bands, extending from the Snake River Valley of Idaho through Nevada and Utah to southern California. Certain individual Western 

Shoshone Indians filed a claim for the alleged loss of their lands 

with the Indian Claims Commission, Western Shoshone Identifiable 

Group v. United States, Docket No. 326–K. The Indian Claims 

Commission held the Western Shoshone were ‘‘deprived of their 

lands’’ in the nineteenth century by ‘‘gradual encroachment of 

whites, settlers and others.’’ Based on this finding, in 1979 the United States Court of Claims awarded about $27 million (the 1872 

value of the lands allegedly taken, without payment of pre-judgment interest); post-judgment interest has been accruing since 

1979. Additional funds are derived from related proceeding (Docket 

Nos. 326–A–1 and 326–A–3). No distribution of these funds has yet 

occurred. As of October 2, 2002, Docket No. 326–K held 

$138,701,112.40, and Docket Nos. 326–A–1 and 326–A–3 (collectively) held $1,349,491.00. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 958 was introduced on May 24, 2001, by Senator Reid, for 

himself and Senator Ensign, and was referred to the Committee on 

Indian Affairs. The Committee held a hearing on S. 958 on August 

2, 2002.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

The Committee on Indian Affairs, in an open business meeting 

on September 25, 2002, by voice vote approved S. 958, with an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute, and ordered the bill, as 

amended, to be reported favorably to the Senate. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1.—Short title 

Section 1 cites the short title of S. 958 as the ‘‘Western Shoshone 

Claims Distribution Act.’’

Section 2.—Distribution of Docket 326–K funds 

Section 2 provides for the distribution of the funds appropriated 

in satisfaction of the judgment award granted to the Western Shoshone Indians in Docket No. 326–K before the Indian Claims ComVerDate Sep 04 2002 22:41 Oct 04, 2002 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR297.XXX SR297
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mission, including interest earned. The Secretary of the Interior 

(Secretary) is directed to establish a Western Shoshone Judgment 

Roll consisting of all Western Shoshones who have a least 1/4 degree of Western Shoshone blood, are citizens of the United States, 

and are living on the date of enactment of this legislation, provided 

however that any individual found by the Secretary to be eligible 

to receive a per capita award from any other judgment fund awarded by the Indian Claims Commission, the United States Claims 

Court, or the United States Court of Federal Claims, funds for 

which are appropriated before the date of the enactment of this legislation shall not be eligible for enrollment under this legislation. 

The Secretary is directed to publish rules and regulations in the 

Federal Register governing the establishment of the Western Shoshone Judgment Roll and to utilize any documents acceptable to 

the Secretary in establishing proof of eligibility. The Secretary’s determination on all applications for enrollment shall be final. The 

Secretary shall distribute 100 percent of the funds in Docket No. 

326–K on a per capita basis, in equal portions among persons listed 

on the Roll. Payments shall be made directly to living competent 

adults who have reached the age of 19 years on the date of the distribution, whereas payments shall be distributed to the heirs and 

legatees of deceased eligible individuals in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Payments to legally incompetent 

individuals shall be administered pursuant to regulations and procedures established by the Secretary pursuant to section 3(b)(3) of 

Public Law 93–134 (25 U.S.C. § 1403(b)(3)). The shares of minors 

and individuals under the age of 19 years on the distribution date 

shall be held by the Secretary in supervised individual Indian 

money accounts, to be disbursed over a period of 4 years in payments equaling 25 percent of the principal, plus interest earned on 

that portion of the per capita share; the first such payment shall 

be disbursed to legally competent individuals upon reaching the 

age of 18, subsequent payments to be disbursed within 90 days of 

the individual’s following three birthdays. Per capita shares shall 

not be subject to Federal or State income tax and shall not be considered to be income or resources or be used as a basis for denying 

financial assistance or other benefits under the Social Security Act 

(42 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq.) or any other Federal or Federally assisted 

program. Per capita shares unpaid after 6 years, and the interest 

thereon, together with any other residual principal and interest 

funds remaining in Docket No. 326–K after completion of its distribution shall be added to the principal of the Western Shoshone 

Educational Trust Fund established pursuant to § 3, except that 

the 6-year period shall not begin as to the per capita share of a 

minor until the minor reaches the age of majority. 

Section 3.—Distribution of Dockets 326–A–1 and 3236–A–3

Section 3 provides that funds awarded in Docket Nos. 326–A–1 

and 326–A–3, together with accrued interest thereon and certain 

unclaimed funds from Docket No. 326–K, are to be placed in a trust 

fund entitled the ‘‘Western Shoshone Educational Trust Fund’’

(Educational Trust Fund), the assets of which are to be invested 

pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 162a. The interest from the Educational 

Trust Fund is to be used to provide educational assistance grants 

for individual Western Shoshone members (i.e., eligible individuals 

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who are listed on the Western Shoshone Judgment Roll and their 

lineal descendants) as directed by an Administrative Committee 

(Committee) consisting of 1 representative each of the Western 

Shoshone Te-Moak Tribe, Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, Yomba Shoshone Tribe, Ely Shoshone Tribe, Western Shoshone Committee of 

the Duck Valley Reservation, the Fallon Band of Western Shoshone, and the ‘‘at large community.’’ The members of the Committee shall be appointed for 4 year terms. The Secretary shall consult with the Committee on the management and investment of the 

assets of the Educational Trust Fund, and the Committee is authorized to disburse the income in accordance with the terms of 

this legislation. The Committee shall develop written rules and 

procedures to govern its actions, subject to approval by the Secretary, and may pay its operating expenses as provided in the legislation. The Committee shall employ a certified public accountant 

to prepare an annual financial statement and shall distribute that 

financial statement, together with a list of individuals receiving 

grants or assistance, to organizations represented on the Committee and, upon request, to individual Western Shoshone members. 

Section 4.—Definitions 

Section 4 provides definitions for the terms ‘‘Administrative Committee’’ or ‘‘Committee,’’ ‘‘Secretary,’’ ‘‘Trust Fund,’’ and ‘‘Western 

Shoshone Members.’’

Section 5.—Regulations 

Section 5 provides that the Secretary may promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this legislation. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

At the time of filing this report, the cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office on S. 958 has not yet been received. Compliance with Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(a) is therefore impracticable at this time. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee received written testimony for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, for the hearing held on 

August 2, 2002. The written testimony from the Administration is 

as follows:

STATEMENT OF NEAL A. MCCALEB, ASSISTANT SECRETARY

FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to present the views 

of the Department of the Interior on S. 958, a bill entitled 

‘‘The Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act.’’ The distribution of the Western Shoshone judgment 

funds is a long-standing issue that needs to be settled. The 

judgment funds stem from two claims that were filed by 

the Te-Moak Bans of Western Shoshone in the Indian 

Claims Commission in 1951. One is an aboriginal land 

claim that was concluded in 1979 in Docket 326–K for 

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$26.1 million. The other is an accounting claim. Several 

issues in the accounting claim were handled separately 

and resulted in two awards. The first award in the accounting claim was for approximately $823,000, and Congress appropriate funds to pay the claim in 1992. The second award was for $29,000, and funds were appropriated 

in 1995 to pay the claim. The accounting claims were in 

Dockets 326–A–1 and 326–A–3. 

Since 1980, numerous attempts have been made on 

reach agreement on the disposition of the Western Shoshone judgment funds. The most recent attempt began in 

March 1998, the Western Shoshone Steering Committee 

(WSSC), which is composed of individuals that are tribal 

members at various reservations in Nevada. With the approval of the Te-Moak Tribal Council, the WSSC has 

worked over the past four years investigating if the Western Shoshone people were favor of a judgment fund 

distibution. 

Since 1980, when the BIA held its first Hearing of 

Record on the distribution of the land claims judgment 

funds, a large segment of the Western Shosehone people 

have indicated that they are in favor of the judgment fund 

distribution. In the meantime, it’s important to note that 

the tribunal councils of the four successor Western Shoshone tribes (Te-Moak, Ely, Duckwater and Yomba) have 

mostly opposed the distribution of the judgment funds because they wanted the Western Shoshone aboriginal lands 

returned. Although the tribal governments were unanimous in their opposition in the early 1990’s, since 1997, 

three of the four tribal councils have modified their position to support the distribution of the judgment funds.

The Te-Moak Tribal Council enacted Resolution No. 97– TM–10 on March 6, 1997, adopting a plan for the distribution of these funds and requested the Department to support it. That resolution was rescinded by the next tribal 

council in the summer of 2000, but the current tribal council rescinded that action in January of this year and reinstated the 1997 resolution. The Duckwater Shoshone Tribal Council enacted Resolution No. 09–D–12 on March 18, 

1998, supporting the Western Shoshone claims distribution 

proposal. On March 10, 1999, they enacted Resolution No. 

99–D–07 reaffirming the earlier resolution supporting the 

Western Shoshone Claims distribution proposal. The Ely 

Tribal Council enacted Resolution No. 2001–EST–44 on 

October 9, 2001, supporting S. 958 and H.R. 2851. We 

have been advised that the Yomba Tribal Council continues to oppose the distribution. Several other tribes with 

enrolled tribal members that would be eligible to share in 

the judgment fund distribution under S. 958 have also enacted resolutions supporting the distribution. Those tribes 

are Duck Valley, Fallon and Fort McDermitt. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Business Council of Duck Valley withdrew its support of S. 958 by Resolution No. 2002–SPR–

012, dated November 13, 2001. However, the Western Shoshones of Duck Valley continue to support the bill. 

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We support the enactment of S. 958 because we believe 

that it reflects the wishes of the vast majority of the Western Shoshone people. We are also pleased that three of the 

four successor tribes have expressed their support of the 

distribution, as well as two other tribes with a significant 

number of tribal members of Western Shoshone descent. 

Section 2 of S. 958 proposes to distribute the Western 

Shoshone land claims funds that were awarded in Docket 

326–K, one hundred percent (100%) per capita to approximately 6,500 individuals who have at least one-quarter 

(1⁄4) degree of Western Shoshone Blood. The current balance of this fund, including interest, is $137,286,774. This 

section appears to be in accord with the wishes of the 

Western Shoshone people. 

Section 3 proposes to use the principal portion of the 

Western Shoshone accounting claims funds awarded in 

Dockets 326–A–1 and 326–A–3 for a non-expendable Trust 

Fund. The interest and investment income will be available for educational grants and other forms of educational 

assistance to individual Western Shoshone members that 

are enrolled under Section 2 of this Act, and to their lineal 

descendants. The principal fund totals $754,136. The interest fund totals $591,845. This section appears to be in accord with the wishes of the Western Shoshone people. 

We understand that many of the beneficiaries of this 

treaty continue to believe in their rights under the Treaty 

of Ruby Valley and this subsection acts as a savings clause 

for whatever rights remain in effect. We are concerned 

that some tribes or individuals may believe that Article 5 

of the Treaty (land provisions) remains in effect. To be 

safe, the clause should read, ‘‘Receipt of a share of the 

funds under this subsection shall not alter any treaty 

rights, or the final decisions of the Federal Courts regarding those rights, pursuant to the ‘‘1863 Treaty of Ruby 

Valley,’’ inclusive * * *.’’

This concludes my prepared statement. We are submitting a report to be included into the record that gives a detailed history of the Western Shoshone claims. I will be 

happy to answer any questions the Committee may have.

REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate the regulatory paperwork impact that would be incurred in carrying out 

the bill. The Committee believes that the regulatory impact of S. 

958 will be minimal. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the enactment of S. 

958 will not result in any changes in existing law.

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