I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2591

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 7, 1995

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal

recognition to certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Federal Rec5 ognition Administrative Procedures Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to establish an administrative procedure to

9 extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups;
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1 (2) to extend to Indian groups which are deter2 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services,

3 and benefits available from the Federal Government

4 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility;

5 (3) to extend to Indian groups which are deter6 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi7 leges available to other federally-acknowledged In8 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes

9 with a government-to-government relationship with

10 the United States;

11 (4) to ensure that when the Federal Govern12 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, it

13 does so with a consistent legal, factual and historical

14 basis;

15 (5) to establish a commission which will act in

16 a supporting role to petitioning groups applying for

17 recognition;

18 (6) to provide clear and consistent standards of

19 administrative review of documented petitions for

20 Federal acknowledgment;

21 (7) to clarify evidentiary standards and expedite

22 the administrative review process by providing ade23 quate resources to process petitions; and

24 (8) to remove the Federal acknowledgment

25 process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in-
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1 vest it in an independent Commission on Indian

2 Recognition.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘acknowledgment’’ or ‘‘acknowl6 edged’’ means a determination by the Commission

7 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group con8 stitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-gov9 ernment relationship with the United States, and

10 whose members are recognized as eligible for the

11 special programs and services provided by the Unit12 ed States to Indians because of their status as Indi13 ans.

14 (2) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

15 Indian Affairs.

16 (3) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Com17 mission on Indian Recognition established pursuant

18 to section 4.

19 (4) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart20 ment of the Interior.

21 (5) The term ‘‘documented petition’’ means the

22 detailed, factual exposition and arguments, including

23 all documentary evidence, necessary to demonstrate

24 that these arguments specifically address the manda25 tory criteria established in section 5.
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1 (6) The term ‘‘Indian group’’ or ‘‘group’’ means

2 any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, pueblo, vil3 lage or community within the United States that the

4 Secretary of the Interior does not acknowledge to be

5 an Indian tribe.

6 (7) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ or ‘‘tribe’’ means

7 any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, pueblo, vil8 lage or community within the United States included

9 on the Secretary of the Interior’s annual list of ac10 knowledged tribes.

11 (8) The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to the

12 United States in that at least part of the petitioner’s

13 traditional territory extended into what is now the

14 United States.

15 (9) The term ‘‘letter of intent’’ means an un16 documented letter or resolution which is dated and

17 signed by the governing body of an Indian group

18 and submitted to the Commission and indicates the

19 group’s intent to submit a petition for Federal ac20 knowledgment as an Indian tribe.

21 (10) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

22 means an individual who is recognized by an Indian

23 group as meeting its membership criteria.

24 (11) The term ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’

25 means an individual who meets the membership re-
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1 quirements of the tribe as set forth in its governing

2 document or, in the absence of a governing docu3 ment which sets out these requirements, has been

4 recognized as a member collectively by those persons

5 comprising the tribal governing body; and has con6 sistently maintained tribal relations with the tribe or

7 is listed on the tribal membership rolls as a member,

8 if such rolls are kept.

9 (12) The term ‘‘petition’’ means a petition for

10 acknowledgment submitted or transferred to the

11 Commission pursuant to section 5 of this Act.

12 (13) The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means any group

13 which has submitted a petition or letter of intent to

14 the Commission requesting acknowledgment that it

15 is an Indian tribe or has a petition or letter of intent

16 transferred to the Commission under section 5(a).

17 (14) The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledg18 ment’’ means any action by the Federal Government

19 the character of which is clearly premised on identi20 fication of a tribal political entity and clearly indi21 cates the recognition of a government-to-government

22 relationship between that entity and the Federal

23 Government.

24 (15) The term ‘‘restoration’’ means the

25 reextension of acknowledgment to any previously ac-
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1 knowledged tribe which may have had its acknowl2 edged status abrogated or diminished by reason of

3 congressional legislation expressly terminating that

4 status.

5 (16) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

6 of the Interior.

7 (17) The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any treaty—

8 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

9 States on or before March 3, 1871, with, or on

10 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

11 (B) made by any government with, or on

12 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe, from which

13 government the United States subsequently ac14 quired territory by purchase, conquest, annex15 ation, or cession; or

16 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

17 or on behalf of, any Indian group, whether or

18 not the treaty was subsequently ratified.

19 (18) The term ‘‘tribal roll’’ means a list exclu20 sively of those individuals who have been determined

21 by the tribe to meet the tribe’s membership require22 ments as set forth in its governing document or, in

23 the absence of a governing document setting forth

24 those requirements, have been recognized as mem25 bers by the tribe’s governing body. In either case,
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1 those individuals on a tribal roll must have affirma2 tively demonstrated consent to being listed as mem3 bers.

4 (19) The term ‘‘United States’’ means the 48

5 contiguous States, Alaska and Hawaii; and does not

6 include territories or possessions.

7 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an

9 independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec10 ognition.

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1)(A) The Commission shall

12 consist of three members appointed by the President, by

13 and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

14 (B) In making appointments to the Commission, the

15 President shall give careful consideration to—

16 (i) recommendations received from Indian

17 tribes;

18 (ii) recommendations from Indian groups and

19 professional organizations; and

20 (iii) individuals who have a background in In21 dian law or policy, anthropology, or history.

22 (2) No more than two members of the Commission

23 may be members of the same political party.
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1 (3)(A) Each member of the Commission shall be ap2 pointed for a term of four years, except as provided in

3 subparagraph (B).

4 (B) As designated by the President at the time of

5 appointment, of the members first appointed—

6 (i) one shall be appointed for a term of two

7 years;

8 (ii) one shall be appointed for a term of three

9 years; and

10 (iii) one shall be appointed for a term of four

11 years.

12 (4) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

13 its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which

14 the original appointment was made. Any member ap15 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration

16 of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap17 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that

18 term. A member may serve after the expiration of that

19 member’s term until a successor has taken office.

20 (5)(A) Each member of the Commission not other21 wise employed by the United States Government shall re22 ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

23 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of

24 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, Unit25 ed States Code, for each day, including traveltime, such
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1 member is engaged in the actual performance of duties

2 authorized by the Commission.

3 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem4 ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em5 ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the

6 Commission without additional compensation, but such

7 service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

8 status or privilege.

9 (C) All members of the Commission shall be reim10 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex11 penses during the performance of duties of the Commis12 sion while away from home or their regular place of busi13 ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of

14 title 5, United States Code.

15 (6) At the time appointments are made under para16 graph (1), the President shall designate one of such ap17 pointees as Chairman of the Commission.

18 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) The Commis19 sion shall hold its first meeting no later than 30 days after

20 the date on which all members of the Commission have

21 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

22 (2) Two members of the Commission shall constitute

23 a quorum for the transaction of business.

24 (3) The Commission may adopt such rules (consistent

25 with the provisions of this Act) as may be necessary to
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1 establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its

2 operations, organization, and personnel.

3 (4) The principal office of the Commission shall be

4 in the District of Columbia.

5 (d) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry out the

6 duties assigned to the Commission by this Act, and shall

7 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

8 Act.

9 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—(1) Subject to such

10 rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Commis11 sion, the Chairman of the Commission is authorized to—

12 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa13 tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,

14 United States Code, governing appointments in the

15 competitive service, and without regard to the provi16 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

17 of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat18 ing to the number, classification, and General

19 Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the

20 Commission and of such other personnel as the

21 Chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform22 ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not

23 to exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the

24 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the
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1 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

2 United States Code; and

3 (B) procure, as authorized by section 3109(b)

4 of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter5 mittent services to the same extent as is authorized

6 by law for agencies in the executive branch, but at

7 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

8 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu9 tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

10 (2) The Commission is authorized to—

11 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such

12 times;

13 (B) take such testimony;

14 (C) have such printing and binding done;

15 (D) enter into such contracts and other ar16 rangements, subject to the availability of funds;

17 (E) make such expenditures; and

18 (F) take such other actions,

19 as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of

20 the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

21 witnesses appearing before the Commission.

22 (3)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di23 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish24 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such

25 information as the Commission may require for the pur-
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1 pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen2 cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di3 rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in4 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

5 the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman of

6 the Commission.

7 (B) Upon the request of the Chairman of the Com8 mission, the head of any Federal department, agency, or

9 instrumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities

10 and services of such department, agency, or instrumental11 ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per12 sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to

13 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the

14 Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.

15 (C) The Commission may use the United States mails

16 in the same manner and under the same conditions as

17 other departments and agencies of the United States.

18 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro19 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not

20 apply to the Commission.

21 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION AND LETTERS OF IN22 TENT.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Any Indian group may submit

24 to the Commission a petition requesting that the Commis25 sion recognize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe.
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1 (2) Indian groups that have been denied or refused

2 recognition as an Indian tribe under regulations pre3 scribed by the Secretary shall be entitled to an adjudica4 tory hearing, under section 9 of this Act, before the Com5 mission. For purposes of the adjudicatory hearing, the As6 sistant Secretary’s final determination shall be considered

7 a preliminary determination under section 8(b)(1)(B) of

8 this Act.

9 (3) The provisions of this Act do not apply to the

10 following groups or entities, which shall not be eligible for

11 recognition under this Act—

12 (A) Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,

13 communities, and Alaska Native entities which are

14 recognized by the Secretary as of the date of enact15 ment of this Act as eligible to receive services from

16 the Bureau;

17 (B) splinter groups, political factions, commu18 nities, or groups of any character which separate

19 from the main body of an Indian tribe that, at the

20 time of such separation, was recognized as being an

21 Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear22 ly established that the group, faction, or community

23 has functioned throughout history until the date of

24 such petition as an autonomous Indian group; and
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1 (C) any Indian group whose relationship with

2 the Federal Government was expressly terminated

3 by an Act of Congress.

4 (4)(A) No later than 30 days after the date on which

5 all of the members of the Commission have been appointed

6 and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer

7 to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart8 ment. The Secretary shall also transfer all letters of intent

9 previously received by the Department that request the

10 Secretary, or the Federal Government, to recognize or ac11 knowledge an Indian group as an Indian tribe, except

12 those groups who request in writing that their petitions

13 be retained by the Department.

14 (B) On the date of such transfer, the Secretary and

15 the Department shall cease to have any authority to recog16 nize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal Government,

17 any Indian group as an Indian tribe, except those groups

18 that request in writing that their petitions be retained by

19 the Department for final disposition.

20 (C) Petitions and letters of intent transferred to the

21 Commission under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph

22 shall, for purposes of this Act, be considered as having

23 been submitted to the Commission in the same order as

24 they were submitted to the Department.
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1 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro2 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub3 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in any readable

4 form that clearly indicates that the petition is one request5 ing the Commission to recognize the petitioning Indian

6 group as an Indian tribe. Each petition shall contain spe7 cific evidence establishing criteria numbered (1), (2), and

8 (3) below, and at least one of the criterion numbered (4),

9 (5), (6), or (7) below:

10 (1) The group has been identified as ‘‘Indian,

11 Native American, or Aboriginal’’ since at least 1934

12 and individual members thereof have demonstrable

13 Indian ancestry. Such continuing Indian identifica14 tion of the group may include identification as a di15 vision of, combination of, or confederation with, spe16 cific Indian tribes. Evidence that the character of

17 the group as Indian has from time to time been de18 nied shall not be considered to be conclusive evidence

19 that this criterion has not been met. Evidence that

20 the Commission may rely on in determining the In21 dian identity of a group and the Indian ancestry of

22 individual members thereof may include any one or

23 more of the following items:
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1 (A) Identification as Indian by any depart2 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal

3 Government.

4 (B) Identification as Indian by the State

5 government where the group is principally lo6 cated.

7 (C) Identification as Indian by a county or

8 political subdivision of the State where the

9 group is principally located.

10 (D) Identification as Indian by records in

11 a private or public archive, courthouse, church,

12 or school.

13 (E) Identification as Indian by anthropolo14 gists, historians, or other scholars.

15 (F) Identification as Indian in newspapers,

16 books, or similar medium.

17 (G) Identification as Indian by another In18 dian tribe or by a national, regional, or State

19 Indian organization.

20 (H) Identification as Indian by a foreign

21 government or an international organization.

22 (I) Other evidence of Indian identity that

23 may be provided by a person or entity other

24 than the petitioner or a member of the petition25 ing group.
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1 (2) The exercise of political authority or influ2 ence over the members of the group since 1934

3 through a mechanism or process for making group

4 decisions:

5 (A) The Commission shall consider the pe6 titioner to have conclusively established this cri7 terion if the petitioner demonstrates any one of

8 the following—

9 (i) the existence of political leaders

10 with a description of means of selection,

11 (ii) more than 50 percent of the mem12 bers of the group reside in a particular

13 geographical area and the balance of the

14 group maintains social interaction with

15 some members of the group, or

16 (iii) not less than 50 percent of the

17 marriages in the group are between mem18 bers of the group.

19 (B) The provisions of the foregoing sub20 paragraph 5(b)(2)(A) do not constitute the ex21 clusive tests for establishing this criterion. The

22 Commission shall examine and consider such

23 other evidence as a petitioner submits to rea24 sonably satisfy this criterion, without regard to
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1 a petitioner’s failure to address, the elements of

2 the foregoing subparagraph 5(b)(2)(A).

3 (3) A description of the group’s current mem4 bership criteria and a roll, showing full names, ad5 dresses, and birth dates of members.

6 (4) The existence of distinct social boundaries

7 that separate the group’s current members from

8 nonmembers.

9 (5) The members of the group have exercised,

10 with or without Federal supervision or support, col11 lective or communal rights in land, funds, fishing, or

12 subsistence activities.

13 (6) The group retains evidence of or currently

14 utilizes an identified American Indian language or

15 has customary rituals, performances, or other activi16 ties or customs recognized as markers of an Indian

17 community.

18 (7) Recognition of the group as an Indian tribe

19 by the State in which the group is principally located

20 since 1934.

21 (c) PETITIONS CLAIMING PREVIOUS FEDERAL REC22 OGNITION.—A petition from an Indian group that dem23 onstrated that the group was, or is, the successor in inter24 est to, a—

25 (1) party to a treaty or treaties;
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1 (2) group acknowledged by an agency of the

2 Federal Government as eligible to participate under

3 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as

4 the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (48 Stat. 984 et

5 seq., chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.);

6 (3) group for the benefit of which the United

7 States took lands into trust; or

8 (4) group that has been denominated a tribe by

9 an Act of Congress or Executive order,

10 shall be required to establish contemporary political lead11 ership, with a time depth limited to 10 years preceding

12 the date of the petition.

13 (d) ACTION BY COMMISSION.—The Commission shall

14 recognize as an Indian tribe a petitioning group that dem15 onstrates the criteria set out in subsection (b) or (c) herein

16 by a preponderance of the evidence.

17 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION AND LETTERS OF

18 INTENT.

19 (a) PETITIONER.—Within 30 days after a petition is

20 submitted or transferred to the Commission under section

21 5(a), the Commission shall send an acknowledgement of

22 receipt in writing to the petitioner and shall have pub23 lished in the Federal Register a notice of such receipt, in24 cluding the name, location, and mailing address of the pe25 titioner and such other information that will identify the
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1 entity who submitted the petition and the date the petition

2 was received by the Commission. The notice shall also in3 dicate where a copy of the petition may be examined.

4 (b) LETTERS OF INTENT.—As to letters of intent,

5 publish in the Federal Register a notice of such receipt,

6 including the name, location, and mailing address of peti7 tioner. A petitioner who has submitted a letter of intent

8 or had a letter of intent transferred to the Commission

9 under section 5(a) shall not be required to submit a docu10 mented petition within any time period.

11 (c) OTHERS.—The Commission shall also notify, in

12 writing, the Governor and attorney general of, and each

13 recognized Indian tribe within, any State in which a peti14 tioner resides.

15 (d) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

16 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—The Commission shall pub17 lish the notice of receipt of the petition in a major news18 paper of general circulation in the town or city nearest

19 the location of the petitioner. The notice shall include, in

20 addition to the information described in subsection (a), no21 tice of opportunity for other parties to submit factual or

22 legal arguments in support of or in opposition to, the peti23 tion. Such submissions shall be provided to the petitioner

24 upon receipt by the Commission. The petitioner shall be

25 provided an opportunity to respond to such submissions
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1 prior to a determination on the petition by the Commis2 sion.

3 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

4 (a) REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of a documented peti5 tion, the Commission shall conduct a review to determine

6 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an

7 Indian tribe.

8 (2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall

9 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

10 and the factual statements contained in the petition.

11 (3) The Commission may also initiate other research

12 for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob13 taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta14 tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit15 ted by other parties.

16 (4) Upon request by the petitioner, the Library of

17 Congress and the National Archives shall each allow ac18 cess to the petitioner to its resources, records, and docu19 ments, for the purpose of conducting research and prepar20 ing evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

21 (b) CONSIDERATION.—(1) Except as otherwise pro22 vided in this subsection, petitions shall be considered on

23 a first come, first served basis, determined by the date

24 of the original filing of the petition with the Commission,

25 or the Department if the petition is one transferred to the
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1 Commission pursuant to section 5(a). The Commission

2 shall establish a priority register including those petitions

3 pending before the Department on the date of enactment

4 of this Act.

5 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission

6 by Indian groups that meet one or more of the require7 ments set forth in section 5(c) shall receive priority consid8 eration over petitions submitted by any other Indian

9 group.

10 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the receipt

12 of a petition by the Commission, the Commission shall set

13 a date for a preliminary hearing. At the preliminary hear14 ing, the petitioner and any other concerned party may pro15 vide evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

16 (b) DETERMINATION.—(1) Within 30 days after the

17 conclusion of the preliminary hearing under subsection

18 (a), the Commission shall make a determination either—

19 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgement to the

20 petitioner; or

21 (B) that the petitioner proceed to an adjudica22 tory hearing.

23 (2) The Commission shall publish the determination

24 in the Federal Register.
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1 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

2 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—(1) If the Commission

3 determines under subsection (b) that the petitioner pro4 ceed to an adjudicatory hearing, the Commission shall—

5 (A) immediately make available to the peti6 tioner all records relied upon by the Commission and

7 its staff in making the preliminary determination to

8 assist the petitioner in preparing for the adjudica9 tory hearing, and shall also include such guidance as

10 the Commission considers necessary or appropriate

11 to assist the petitioner in preparing for the hearing

12 including references to prior decisions of the Com13 mission or to recognition decisions made under regu14 lations prescribed by the Secretary that will provide

15 direction in preparing for the adjudicatory hearing;

16 and if prior recognition decisions are referred to, the

17 Commission will make all records relating to such

18 decisions available to the petitioner in a timely man19 ner; and

20 (B) within 30 days after the conclusion of the

21 preliminary hearing under subsection (a), notify the

22 petitioner in writing, which notice shall include a list

23 of any deficiencies or omissions on which the Com24 mission relied in making its determination.
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1 (2) The list of deficiencies and omissions provided

2 under paragraph (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adju3 dicatory hearing. The Commission may not add to this list

4 once it is issued.

5 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the conclu7 sion of the preliminary hearing, the Commission shall af8 ford the petitioner described in section 8(b)(1)(B) an adju9 dicatory hearing. The hearing shall be on the list of defi10 ciencies and omissions provided under section 8(c)(1)(B)

11 and shall be conducted on the record pursuant to sections

12 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States Code.

13 (b) TESTIMONY FROM STAFF OF COMMISSION.—The

14 Commission shall require testimony from its acknowledge15 ment and research staff that worked on the preliminary

16 determination and that are assisting the Commission in

17 the final determination under subsection (d) and may re18 quire the testimony of other witnesses. Any such testimony

19 shall be subject to cross-examination by the petitioner.

20 (c) EVIDENCE BY PETITIONER.—The petitioner may

21 provide such evidence as the petitioner deems appropriate.

22 (d) DECISION BY COMMISSION.—Within 60 days

23 after the end of the hearing held under subsection (a),

24 the Commission shall—
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1 (1) make a determination as to the extension or

2 denial of Federal acknowledgment to the petitioner;

3 (2) publish its determination under paragraph

4 (1) in the Federal Register; and

5 (3) deliver a copy of the determination to the

6 petitioner, and to every other interested party.

7 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the date the

9 Commission’s decision is published under section 9(d), the

10 petitioner may appeal the determination to the United

11 States District Court for the District of Columbia.

12 (b) ATTORNEY FEES.—If the petitioner prevails in

13 the appeal described in subsection (a), it shall be eligible

14 for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs under

15 the provisions of section 504 of title 5, United States

16 Code, or section 2412 of title 28 of such Code, as the case

17 may be.

18 SEC. 11. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

19 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—(1)

20 Subject to paragraph (2), upon recognition by the Com21 mission that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian

22 tribe shall be eligible for the services and benefits from

23 the Federal Government that are available to other feder24 ally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their status as

25 Indian tribes with a government-to-government relation-
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1 ship with the United States, as well as having the respon2 sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec3 ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au4 thority of Congress and the United States to which other

5 federally recognized tribes are subject.

6 (2) Recognition of the Indian tribe under this Act

7 does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro8 grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail9 able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap10 propriations shall follow a determination under subsection

11 (b) of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.

12 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months

13 after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap14 propriate area offices of the Bureau and the Indian Health

15 Service shall consult and develop in cooperation with the

16 Indian tribe, and forward to the respective Secretary, a

17 determination of the needs of the Indian tribe and a rec18 ommended budget required to serve the newly recognized

19 Indian tribe. The recommended budget shall be considered

20 along with recommendations by the appropriate Secretary

21 in the budget-request process.

22 SEC. 12. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC23 TIVITIES.

24 (a) LIST OF RECOGNIZED TRIBES.—Not later than

25 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
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1 annually on or before every January 30 thereafter, the

2 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

3 of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the Federal

4 Government and receiving services from the Bureau of In5 dian Affairs.

6 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning one year after the

7 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

8 the Commission shall submit a report to the Committee

9 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and

10 to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate a report

11 on its activities, which shall include at a minimum the fol12 lowing:

13 (1) The number of petitions pending at the be14 ginning of the year and the names of the petitioners.

15 (2) The number of petitions received during the

16 year and the names of the petitioners.

17 (3) The number of petitions the Commission

18 approved for acknowledgment and the names of the

19 acknowledged petitioners.

20 (4) The number of petitions the Commission

21 denied for acknowledgment and the names of the pe22 titioners.

23 (5) The status of all pending petitions and the

24 names of the petitioners.
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1 SEC. 13. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

2 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

3 court of the United States for the district in which the

4 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for

5 the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this

6 Act, including any time limitations within which actions

7 are required to be taken, or decisions made, under this

8 Act and the district court shall issue such orders (includ9 ing writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce

10 the provisions of this Act.

11 SEC. 14. REGULATIONS.

12 The Commission is authorized to prescribe such regu13 lations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions

14 and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must be

15 published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,

16 United States Code.

17 SEC. 15. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

18 (a) GUIDELINES.—No later than 180 days after peti19 tions and letters of intent have been transferred to the

20 Commission by the Secretary under section 5(a)(4)(A),

21 the Commission shall make available suggested guidelines

22 for the format of petitions, including general suggestions

23 and guidelines on where and how to research required in24 formation, but such examples shall not preclude the use

25 of any other format.
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1 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re2 quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to

3 any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori4 cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall

5 not be responsible for the actual research on behalf of the

6 petitioner.

7 SEC. 16. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

8 (a) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary of Health and

9 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek10 ing Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups to—

11 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan12 tiate petitions under this Act; and

13 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

14 submission of a petition under this Act.

15 (2) The grants made under this subsection shall be

16 in addition to any other grants the Secretary of Health

17 and Human Services is authorized to provide under any

18 other provision of law.

19 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under

20 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob21 jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by

22 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

23 SEC. 17. SEVERABILITY.

24 If any provision of this Act or the application thereof

25 to any petitioner is held invalid, the invalidity shall not
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1 affect other provisions or applications of the Act which

2 can be given effect without regard to the invalid provision

3 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act

4 shall be severable.

5 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying

8 out the provisions of this Act (other than section 16),

9 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1996 and $1,500,000 for each

10 of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.

11 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to

12 be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri13 cans of the Department of Health and Human Services

14 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section

15 16, $3,000,000 for each fiscal year.

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