§ 1703 TITLE 25—INDIANS Page 498

(a) ‘‘Indian Corporation’’ means the Rhode

Island nonbusiness corporation known as the

‘‘Narragansett Tribe of Indians’’;

(b) ‘‘land or natural resources’’ means any

real property or natural resources, or any interest in or right involving any real property

or natural resource, including but not limited

to, minerals and mineral rights, timber and

timber rights, water and water rights, and

rights to hunt and fish;

(c) ‘‘lawsuits’’ means the actions entitled

‘‘Narragansett Tribe of Indians v. Southern

Rhode Island Land Development Co., et al.,

C.A. No. 75–0006 (D.R.I.)’’ and ‘‘Narragansett

Tribe of Indians v. Rhode Island Director of

Environmental Management, C.A. No. 75–0005

(D.R.I.)’’;

(d) ‘‘private settlement lands’’ means approximately nine hundred acres of privately

held land outlined in red in the map marked

‘‘Exhibit A’’ attached to the Settlement

Agreement that are to be acquired by the Secretary from certain private landowners pursuant to sections 1704 and 1707 of this title;

(e) ‘‘public settlement lands’’ means the

lands described in paragraph 2 of the Settlement Agreement that are to be conveyed by

the State of Rhode Island to the State Corporation pursuant to legislation as described

in section 1706 of this title;

(f) ‘‘settlement lands’’ means those lands defined in subsections (d) and (e) of this section;

(g) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the

Interior;

(h) ‘‘settlement agreement’’ means the document entitled ‘‘Joint Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Settlement of the Rhode

Island Indian Land Claims’’, executed as of

February 28, 1978, by representatives of the

State of Rhode Island, of the town of Charlestown, and of the parties to the lawsuits, as

filed with the Secretary of the State of Rhode

Island;

(i) ‘‘State Corporation’’ means the corporation created or to be created by legislation enacted by the State of Rhode Island as described in section 1706 of this title; and

(j) ‘‘transfer’’ includes but is not limited to

any sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or

conveyance, any transaction the purpose of

which was to effect a sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or conveyance, or any event

or events that resulted in a change of possession or control of land or natural resources.

(Pub. L. 95–395, §3, Sept. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 813.)

§ 1703. Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement

Fund; establishment

There is hereby established in the United

States Treasury a fund to be known as the

Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Fund

into which $3,500,000 shall be deposited following

the appropriation authorized by section 1710 of

this title.

(Pub. L. 95–395, §4, Sept. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 814.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 1704, 1707 of this

title.

§ 1704. Option agreements to purchase private

settlement lands

(a) Acceptance of option agreement assignments;

reasonableness of terms and conditions

The Secretary shall accept assignment of reasonable two-year option agreements negotiated

by the Governor of the State of Rhode Island or

his designee for the purchase of the private settlement lands: Provided, That the terms and conditions specified in such options are reasonable

and that the total price for the acquisition of

such lands, including reasonable costs of acquisition, will not exceed the amount specified in

section 1703 of this title. If the Secretary does

not determine that any such option agreement

is unreasonable within sixty days of its submission, the Secretary will be deemed to have accepted the assignment of the option.

(b) Amount of payment

Payment for any option entered into pursuant

to subsection (a) of this section shall be in the

amount of 5 per centum of the fair market value

of the land or natural resources as of the date of

the agreement and shall be paid from the fund

established by section 1703 of this title.

(c) Limitation on option fees

The total amount of the option fees paid pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall not

exceed $175,000.

(d) Application of option fee

The option fee for each option agreement shall

be applied to the agreed purchase price in the

agreement if the purchase of the defendant’s

land or natural resources is completed in accordance with the terms of the option agreement.

(e) Retention of option payment

The payment for each option may be retained

by the party granting the option if the property

transfer contemplated by the option agreement

is not completed in accordance with the terms

of the option agreement.

(Pub. L. 95–395, §5, Sept. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 814.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 1702, 1707 of this

title.

§ 1705. Publication of findings

(a) Prerequisites; consequences

If the Secretary finds that the State of Rhode

Island has satisfied the conditions set forth in

section 1706 of this title, he shall publish such

findings in the Federal Register and upon such

publication—

(1) any transfer of land or natural resources

located anywhere within the United States

from, by, or on behalf of the Indian Corporation or any other entity presently or at any

time in the past known as the Narragansett

Tribe of Indians, or any predecessor or successor in interest, member or stockholder thereof, and any transfer of land or natural resources located anywhere within the town of

Charlestown, Rhode Island, by, from, or on behalf of any Indian, Indian nation, or tribe of

Indians, including but not limited to a trans-