I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5322

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent land base within

its aboriginal homeland, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 27, 2000

Mr. LEWIS of California (for himself, Mrs. BONO, and Mr. CALVERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent

land base within its aboriginal homeland, 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 ‘‘Timbisha Shoshone

5 Homeland Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Since time immemorial, the Timbisha Sho9 shone Tribe has lived in portions of California and
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1 Nevada. The Tribe’s ancestral homeland includes the

2 area that now comprises Death Valley National Park

3 and other areas of California and Nevada now ad4 ministered by the Bureau of Land Management.

5 (2) Since 1936, the Tribe has lived and gov6 erned the affairs of the Tribe on approximately 40

7 acres of land near Furnace Creek in the Park.

8 (3) The Tribe achieved Federal recognition in

9 1983 but does not have a land base within the

10 Tribe’s ancestral homeland.

11 (4) Since the Tribe commenced use and occu12 pancy of the Furnace Creek area, the Tribe’s mem13 bership has grown. Tribal members have a desire

14 and need for housing, government and administra15 tive facilities, cultural facilities, and sustainable eco16 nomic development to provide decent, safe, and

17 healthy conditions for themselves and their families.

18 (5) The interests of both the Tribe and the Na19 tional Park Service would be enhanced by recog20 nizing their coexistence on the same land and by es21 tablishing partnerships for compatible land uses and

22 for the interpretation of the Tribe’s history and cul23 ture for visitors to the Park.

24 (6) The interests of both the Tribe and the

25 United States would be enhanced by the establish-
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1 ment of a land base for the Tribe and by further de2 lineation of the rights and obligations of each with

3 respect to the Furnace Creek area and to the Park

4 as a whole.

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

6 Consistent with the recommendations of the report

7 required by section 705(b) of the California Desert Protec8 tion Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–433; 108 Stat. 4498),

9 the purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to provide in trust to the Tribe land on

11 which the Tribe can live permanently and govern the

12 Tribe’s affairs in a modern community within the

13 ancestral homeland of the Tribe outside and within

14 the Park;

15 (2) to formally recognize the contributions by

16 the Tribe to the history, culture, and ecology of the

17 Park and surrounding area;

18 (3) to ensure that the resources within the Park

19 are protected and enhanced by—

20 (A) cooperative activities within the Tribe’s

21 ancestral homeland; and

22 (B) partnerships between the Tribe and

23 the National Park Service and partnerships in24 volving the Bureau of Land Management;
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1 (4) to ensure that such activities are not in

2 derogation of the purposes and values for which the

3 Park was established;

4 (5) to provide opportunities for a richer visitor

5 experience at the Park through direct interactions

6 between visitors and the Tribe including guided

7 tours, interpretation, and the establishment of a

8 tribal museum and cultural center;

9 (6) to provide appropriate opportunities for eco10 nomically viable and ecologically sustainable visitor11 related development, by the Tribe within the Park,

12 that is not in derogation of the purposes and values

13 for which the Park was established; and

14 (7) to provide trust lands for the Tribe in 4

15 separate parcels of land that is now managed by the

16 Bureau of Land Management and authorize the pur17 chase of 2 parcels now held in private ownership to

18 be taken into trust for the Tribe.

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act:

21 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means Death

22 Valley National Park, including any additions to

23 that Park.
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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Interior or the designee of the

3 Secretary.

4 (3) TRIBAL.—The term ‘‘tribal’’ means of or

5 pertaining to the Tribe.

6 (4) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the

7 Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, a tribe of American Indi8 ans recognized by the United States pursuant to

9 part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or

10 any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).

11 (5) TRUST LANDS.—The term ‘‘trust lands’’

12 means those lands taken into trust pursuant to this

13 Act.

14 SEC. 5. TRIBAL RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY ON THE TIMBISHA

15 SHOSHONE HOMELAND.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

17 (existing on the date of enactment of this Act), all right,

18 title, and interest of the United States in and to the prop19 erty, including improvements and appurtenances, de20 scribed in subsection (b) are declared to be held in trust

21 by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. All maps

22 referred to in subsection (b) shall be on file and available

23 for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Na24 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
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1 (b) PARK LANDS AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE2 MENT LANDS DESCRIBED.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following lands and

4 water shall be held in trust for the Tribe pursuant

5 to subsection (a):

6 (A) Furnace Creek, Death Valley National

7 Park, California, an area of 313.99 acres for

8 community development, residential develop9 ment, historic restoration, and visitor-related

10 economic development, depicted as Tract 37 on

11 the map of Township 27 North, Range 1 East,

12 of the San Bernardino Meridian, California,

13 numbered Map #1 and dated December 2,

14 1999, together with 92 acre feet per annum of

15 surface and ground water for the purposes as16 sociated with the transfer of such lands. This

17 area shall include a 25-acre, nondevelopment

18 zone at the north end of the area and an Adobe

19 Restoration zone containing several historic

20 adobe homes, which shall be managed by the

21 Tribe as a tribal historic district.

22 (B) Death Valley Junction, California, an

23 area of approximately 1,000 acres, as generally

24 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Death Valley

25 Junction, California’’, numbered Map #2 and
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1 dated April 12, 2000, together with 15.1 acre

2 feet per annum of ground water for the pur3 poses associated with the transfer of such

4 lands.

5 (C)(i) Centennial, California, an area of

6 approximately 640 acres, as generally depicted

7 on the map entitled ‘‘Centennial, California’’,

8 numbered Map #3 and dated April 12, 2000,

9 together with an amount of ground water not to

10 exceed 10 acre feet per annum for the purposes

11 associated with the transfer of such lands.

12 (ii) If the Secretary determines that there

13 is insufficient ground water available on the

14 lands described in clause (i) to satisfy the

15 Tribe’s right to ground water to fulfill the pur16 poses associated with the transfer of such

17 lands, then the Tribe and the Secretary shall,

18 within 2 years of such determination, identify

19 approximately 640 acres of land that are ad20 ministered by the Bureau of Land Management

21 in that portion of Inyo County, California, to

22 the north and east of the China Lake Naval

23 Weapons Center, to be a mutually agreed upon

24 substitute for the lands described in clause (i).

25 If the Secretary determines that sufficient
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1 water is available to fulfill the purposes associ2 ated with the transfer of the lands described in

3 the preceding sentence, then the Tribe shall re4 quest that the Secretary accept such lands into

5 trust for the benefit of the Timbisha Shoshone

6 Tribe, and the Secretary shall accept such

7 lands, together with an amount of water not to

8 exceed 10 acre feet per annum, into trust for

9 the Tribe as a substitute for the lands described

10 in clause (i).

11 (D) Scotty’s Junction, Nevada, an area of

12 approximately 2,800 acres, as generally de13 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Scotty’s Junction,

14 Nevada’’, numbered Map #4 and dated April

15 12, 2000, together with 375.5 acre feet per

16 annum of ground water for the purposes associ17 ated with the transfer of such lands.

18 (E) Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel, an

19 area of approximately 3,000 acres, as generally

20 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Lida, Nevada,

21 Community Parcel’’, numbered Map #5 and

22 dated April 12, 2000, together with 14.7 acre

23 feet per annum of ground water for the pur24 poses associated with the transfer of such

25 lands.
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1 (2) WATER RIGHTS.—The priority date of the

2 Federal water rights described in subparagraphs (A)

3 through (E) of paragraph (1) shall be the date of

4 enactment of this Act, and such Federal water

5 rights shall be junior to Federal and State water

6 rights existing on such date of enactment. Such

7 Federal water rights shall not be subject to relin8 quishment, forfeiture, or abandonment.

9 (3) LIMITATIONS ON FURNACE CREEK AREA

10 DEVELOPMENT.—

11 (A) DEVELOPMENT.—Recognizing the mu12 tual interests and responsibilities of the Tribe

13 and the National Park Service in and for the

14 conservation and protection of the resources in

15 the area described in paragraph (1), develop16 ment in the area shall be limited to—

17 (i) purposes of community and resi18 dential development—

19 (I) a maximum of 50 single-fam20 ily residences; and

21 (II) a tribal community center

22 with space for tribal offices, recreation

23 facilities, a multipurpose room and

24 kitchen, and senior and youth facili25 ties;
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1 (ii) for purposes of economic

2 development—

3 (I) a small-to-moderate desert

4 inn; and

5 (II) a tribal museum and cultural

6 center with a gift shop; and

7 (iii) the infrastructure necessary to

8 support the level of development described

9 in clauses (i) and (ii).

10 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the

11 provisions of subparagraph (A)(ii), the National

12 Park Service and the Tribe are authorized to

13 negotiate mutually agreed upon, visitor-related

14 economic development in lieu of the develop15 ment set forth in that subparagraph if such al16 ternative development will have no greater envi17 ronmental impact than the development set

18 forth in that subparagraph.

19 (C) RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The Tribe shall have

20 a right-of-way for ingress and egress on High21 way 190 in California.

22 (4) LIMITATIONS ON IMPACT ON MINING

23 CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as

24 terminating any valid mining claim existing on the

25 date of enactment of this Act on the land described
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1 in paragraph (1)(E). Any person with such an exist2 ing mining claim shall have all the rights incident to

3 mining claims, including the rights of ingress and

4 egress on the land described in paragraph (1)(E).

5 Any person with such an existing mining claim shall

6 have the right to occupy and use so much of the sur7 face of the land as is required for all purposes rea8 sonably necessary to mine and remove the minerals

9 from the land, including the removal of timber for

10 mining purposes. Such a mining claim shall termi11 nate when the claim is determined to be invalid or

12 is abandoned.

13 (c) LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—Not later than 1 year

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

15 file a legal description of the areas described in subsection

16 (b) with the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep17 resentatives and with the Committee on Indian Affairs

18 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

19 the Senate. Such legal description shall have the same

20 force and effect as if the information contained in the de21 scription were included in that subsection except that the

22 Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in

23 such legal description and in the maps referred to in the

24 legal description. The legal description shall be on file and
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1 available for public inspection in the offices of the Na2 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

3 (d) ADDITIONAL TRUST RESOURCES.—The Sec4 retary may purchase from willing sellers the following par5 cels and appurtenant water rights, or the water rights sep6 arately, to be taken into trust for the Tribe:

7 (1) Indian Rancheria Site, California, an area

8 of approximately 120 acres, as generally depicted on

9 the map entitled ‘‘Indian Rancheria Site, California’’

10 numbered Map #6 and dated December 3, 1999.

11 (2) Lida Ranch, Nevada, an area of approxi12 mately 2,340 acres, as generally depicted on the

13 map entitled ‘‘Lida Ranch’’ numbered Map #7 and

14 dated April 6, 2000, or another parcel mutually

15 agreed upon by the Secretary and the Tribe.

16 (e) SPECIAL USE AREAS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The areas described in this

18 subsection shall be nonexclusive special use areas for

19 the Tribe, subject to other Federal law. Members of

20 the Tribe are authorized to use these areas for low

21 impact, ecologically sustainable, traditional practices

22 pursuant to a jointly established management plan

23 mutually agreed upon by the Tribe, and by the Na24 tional Park Service or the Bureau of Land Manage25 ment, as appropriate. All maps referred to in para-
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1 graph (4) shall be on file and available for public in2 spection in the offices of the National Park Service

3 and Bureau of Land Management.

4 (2) RECOGNITION OF THE HISTORY AND CUL5 TURE OF THE TRIBE.—In the special use areas, in

6 recognition of the significant contributions the Tribe

7 has made to the history, ecology, and culture of the

8 Park and to ensure that the visitor experience in the

9 Park will be enhanced by the increased and contin10 ued presence of the Tribe, the Secretary shall permit

11 the Tribe’s continued use of Park resources for tra12 ditional tribal purposes, practices, and activities.

13 (3) RESOURCE USE BY THE TRIBE.—In the

14 special use areas, any use of Park resources by the

15 Tribe for traditional purposes, practices, and activi16 ties shall not include the taking of wildlife and shall

17 not be in derogation of purposes and values for

18 which the Park was established.

19 (4) SPECIFIC AREAS.—The following areas are

20 designated special use areas pursuant to paragraph

21 (1):

22 (A) MESQUITE USE AREA.—The area gen23 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Mesquite

24 Use Area’’ numbered Map #8 and dated April

25 12, 2000. The Tribe may use this area for
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1 processing mesquite using traditional plant

2 management techniques such as thinning, prun3 ing, harvesting, removing excess sand, and re4 moving exotic species. The National Park Serv5 ice may limit and condition, but not prohibit

6 entirely, public use of this area or parts of this

7 area, in consultation with the Tribe. This area

8 shall be managed in accordance with the jointly

9 established management plan referred to in

10 paragraph (1).

11 (B) BUFFER AREA.—An area of approxi12 mately 1,500 acres, as generally depicted on the

13 map entitled ‘‘Buffer Area’’ numbered Map #8

14 and dated April 12, 2000. The National Park

15 Service shall restrict visitor use of this area to

16 protect the privacy of the Tribe and to provide

17 an opportunity for the Tribe to conduct commu18 nity affairs without undue disruption from the

19 public.

20 (C) TIMBISHA SHOSHONE NATURAL AND

21 CULTURAL PRESERVATION AREA.—An area that

22 primarily consists of Park lands and also a

23 small portion of Bureau of Land Management

24 land in California, as generally depicted on the

25 map entitled ‘‘Timbisha Shoshone Natural and
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1 Cultural Preservation Area’’ numbered Map #9

2 and dated April 12, 2000.

3 (5) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—With respect to

4 the Timbisha Shoshone Natural and Cultural Pres5 ervation Area designated in paragraph (4)(C)—

6 (A) the Tribe may establish and maintain

7 a tribal resource management field office, ga8 rage, and storage area, all within the area of

9 the existing ranger station at Wildrose (existing

10 as of the date of enactment of this Act);

11 (B) the Tribe also may use traditional

12 camps for tribal members at Wildrose and

13 Hunter Mountain in accordance with the jointly

14 established management plan referred to in

15 paragraph (1);

16 (C) the area shall be depicted on maps of

17 the Park and Bureau of Land Management

18 that are provided for general visitor use;

19 (D) the National Park Service and the Bu20 reau of Land Management shall accommodate

21 access by the Tribe to and use by the Tribe

22 of—

23 (i) the area (including portions de24 scribed in subparagraph (E)) for tradi25 tional cultural and religious activities, in a
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1 manner consistent with the purpose and

2 intent of Public Law 95–341 (commonly

3 known as the ‘‘American Indian Religious

4 Freedom Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 1996 et seq.);

5 and

6 (ii) areas designated as wilderness (in7 cluding portions described in subparagraph

8 (E)), in a manner consistent with the pur9 pose and intent of the Wilderness Act (16

10 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and

11 (E)(i) on the request of the Tribe, the Na12 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land

13 Management shall temporarily close to the gen14 eral public, 1 or more specific portions of the

15 area in order to protect the privacy of tribal

16 members engaging in traditional cultural and

17 religious activities in those portions; and

18 (ii) any such closure shall be made in a

19 manner that affects the smallest practicable

20 area for the minimum period necessary for the

21 purposes described in clause (i).

22 (f) ACCESS AND USE.—Members of the Tribe shall

23 have the right to enter and use the Park without payment

24 of any fee for admission into the Park.
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1 (g) ADMINISTRATION.—The trust lands shall con2 stitute the Timbisha Shoshone Reservation and shall be

3 administered pursuant to the laws and regulations appli4 cable to other Indian trust lands, except as otherwise pro5 vided in this Act.

6 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.

7 (a) GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT AGREE8 MENTS.—In order to fulfill the purposes of this Act and

9 to establish cooperative partnerships for purposes of this

10 Act, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Man11 agement, and the Tribe shall enter into government-to12 government consultations and shall develop protocols to

13 review planned development in the Park. The National

14 Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are

15 authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

16 Tribe for the purpose of providing training on the inter17 pretation, management, protection, and preservation of

18 the natural and cultural resources of the areas designated

19 for special uses by the Tribe in section 5(e)(4).

20 (b) STANDARDS.—The National Park Service and the

21 Tribe shall develop mutually agreed upon standards for

22 size, impact, and design for use in planning, resource pro23 tection, and development of the Furnace Creek area and

24 for the facilities at Wildrose. The standards shall be based

25 on standards for recognized best practices for environ-
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1 mental sustainability and shall not be less restrictive than

2 the environmental standards applied within the National

3 Park System at any given time. Development in the area

4 shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the stand5 ards, which shall be reviewed periodically and revised as

6 necessary.

7 (c) WATER MONITORING.—The Secretary and the

8 Tribe shall develop mutually agreed upon standards for

9 a water monitoring system to assess the effects of water

10 use at Scotty’s Junction and at Death Valley Junction on

11 the tribal trust lands described in subparagraphs (A), (B),

12 and (D) of section 5(b)(1), and on the Park. Water moni13 toring shall be conducted in a manner that is consistent

14 with such standards, which shall be reviewed periodically

15 and revised as necessary.

16 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

17 (a) TRIBAL EMPLOYMENT.—In employing individuals

18 to perform any construction, maintenance, interpretation,

19 or other service in the Park, the Secretary shall, insofar

20 as practicable, give first preference to qualified members

21 of the Tribe.

22 (b) GAMING.—Class II gaming and class III gaming

23 as defined and regulated by the Indian Gaming Regu24 latory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) shall be prohibited

25 on trust lands within the Park.
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1 (c) INITIAL RESERVATION.—Lands taken into trust

2 for the Tribe pursuant to section 5, except for the Park

3 land described in subsections (b)(1)(A) and (d)(1) of such

4 section, shall be considered to be the Tribe’s initial res5 ervation for purposes of section 20(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the In6 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.

7 2719(b)(1)(B)(ii)).

8 (d) TRIBAL JURISDICTION OVER TRUST LANDS.—All

9 trust lands that are transferred under this Act and located

10 within California shall be exempt from section 1162 of

11 title 18, United States Code, and section 1360 of title 28,

12 United States Code, upon the certification by the Sec13 retary, after consultation with the Attorney General, that

14 the law enforcement system in place for such lands will

15 be adequate to provide for the public safety and the public

16 interest, except that no such certification may take effect

17 until the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the

18 date of enactment of this Act.

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