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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5374

To settle the land claims of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 3, 2000

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To settle the land claims of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo.

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 ‘‘Santo Domingo Pueblo

5 Claims Settlement Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings:

9 (1) For many years the Pueblo of Santo Do10 mingo has been asserting claims to lands within its

11 aboriginal use area in north central New Mexico.

12 These claims have been the subject of many law-
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1 suits, and a number of these claims remain unre2 solved.

3 (2) In December 1927, the Pueblo Lands

4 Board, acting pursuant to the Pueblo Lands Act of

5 1924 (43 Stat. 636) confirmed a survey of the

6 boundaries of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo Grant.

7 However, at the same time the Board purported to

8 extinguish Indian title to approximately 27,000

9 acres of lands within those grant boundaries which

10 lay within 3 other overlapping Spanish land grants.

11 The United States Court of Appeals in United

12 States v. Thompson (941 F.2d 1074 (10th Cir.

13 1991), cert. denied 503 U.S. 984 (1992)), held that

14 the Board ‘‘ignored an express congressional direc15 tive’’ in section 14 of the Pueblo Lands Act, which

16 ‘‘contemplated that the Pueblo would retain title to

17 and possession of all overlap land’’.

18 (3) The Pueblo of Santo Domingo has asserted

19 a claim to another 25,000 acres of land based on the

20 Pueblo’s purchase in 1748 of the Diego Gallegos

21 Grant. The Pueblo possesses the original deed re22 flecting the purchase under Spanish law but, after

23 the United States assumed sovereignty over New

24 Mexico, no action was taken to confirm the Pueblo’s

25 title to these lands. Later, many of these lands were
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1 treated as public domain, and are held today by

2 Federal agencies, the State Land Commission, other

3 Indian tribes, and private parties. The Pueblo’s law4 suit asserting this claim, Pueblo of Santo Domingo

5 v. Rael (Civil No. 83–1888 (D.N.M.)), is still pend6 ing.

7 (4) The Pueblo of Santo Domingo’s claims

8 against the United States in docket No. 355 under

9 the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1049; com10 monly referred to as the Indian Claims Commission

11 Act) have been pending since 1951. These claims in12 clude allegations of the Federal misappropriation

13 and mismanagement of the Pueblo’s aboriginal and

14 Spanish grant lands.

15 (5) Litigation to resolve the land and trespass

16 claims of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo would take

17 many years, and the outcome of such litigation is

18 unclear. The pendency of these claims has clouded

19 private land titles and has created difficulties in the

20 management of public lands within the claim area.

21 (6) The United States and the Pueblo of Santo

22 Domingo have negotiated a settlement to resolve all

23 existing land claims, including the claims described

24 in paragraphs (2) through (4).

25 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—
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1 (1) to remove the cloud on titles to land in the

2 State of New Mexico resulting from the claims of

3 the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, and to settle all of

4 the Pueblo’s claims against the United States and

5 third parties, and the land, boundary, and trespass

6 claims of the Pueblo in a fair, equitable, and final

7 manner;

8 (2) to provide for the restoration of certain

9 lands to the Pueblo of Santo Domingo and to con10 firm the Pueblo’s boundaries;

11 (3) to clarify governmental jurisdiction over the

12 lands within the Pueblo’s land claim area; and

13 (4) to ratify a Settlement Agreement between

14 the United States and the Pueblo which includes—

15 (A) the Pueblo’s agreement to relinquish

16 and compromise its land and trespass claims;

17 (B) the provision of $8,000,000 to com18 pensate the Pueblo for the claims it has pur19 sued pursuant to the Act of August 13, 1946

20 (60 Stat. 1049; commonly referred to as the In21 dian Claims Commission Act);

22 (C) the transfer of approximately 4,577

23 acres of public land to the Pueblo;

24 (D) the sale of approximately 7,355 acres

25 of national forest lands to the Pueblo; and
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1 (E) the authorization of the appropriation

2 of $15,000,000 over 3 consecutive years which

3 would be deposited in a Santo Domingo Lands

4 Claims Settlement Fund for expenditure by the

5 Pueblo for land acquisition and other enumer6 ated tribal purposes.

7 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act

8 shall be construed to effectuate an extinguishment of, or

9 to otherwise impair, the Pueblo’s title to or interest in

10 lands or water rights as described in section 5(a)(2).

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 In this Act:

13 (1) FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED LANDS.—The

14 term ‘‘federally administered lands’’ means lands,

15 waters, or interests therein, administered by Federal

16 agencies, except for the lands, waters, or interests

17 therein that are owned by, or for the benefit of, In18 dian tribes or individual Indians.

19 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Pueb20 lo of Santo Domingo Land Claims Settlement Fund

21 established under section 5(b)(1).

22 (3) PUEBLO.—The term ‘‘Pueblo’’ means the

23 Pueblo of Santo Domingo.

24 (4) SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO GRANT.—The

25 term ‘‘Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant’’ means all of
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1 the lands within the 1907 Hall-Joy Survey, as con2 firmed by the Pueblo Lands Board in 1927.

3 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

4 the Secretary of the Interior unless expressly stated

5 otherwise.

6 (6) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term

7 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the Settlement

8 Agreement dated May 26, 2000, between the De9 partments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Justice

10 and the Pueblo of Santo Domingo to Resolve All of

11 the Pueblo’s Land Title and Trespass Claims.

12 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

13 The Settlement Agreement is hereby approved and

14 ratified.

15 SEC. 5. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES AND CLAIMS.

16 (a) RELINQUISHMENT, EXTINGUISHMENT, AND COM17 PROMISE OF SANTO DOMINGO CLAIMS.—

18 (1) EXTINGUISHMENT.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph

20 (2), in consideration of the benefits provided

21 under this Act, and in accordance with the Set22 tlement Agreement pursuant to which the

23 Pueblo has agreed to relinquish and com24 promise certain claims, the Pueblo’s land and

25 trespass claims described in subparagraph (B)
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1 are hereby extinguished, effective as of the date

2 specified in paragraph (5).

3 (B) CLAIMS.—The claims described in this

4 subparagraph are the following:

5 (i) With respect to the Pueblo’s claims

6 against the United States, its agencies, of7 ficers, and instrumentalities, all claims to

8 land, whether based on aboriginal or recog9 nized title, and all claims for damages or

10 other judicial relief or for administrative

11 remedies pertaining in any way to the

12 Pueblo’s land, such as boundary, trespass,

13 and mismanagement claims, including any

14 claim related to—

15 (I) any federally administered

16 lands, including National Forest Sys17 tem lands designated in the Settle18 ment Agreement for possible sale or

19 exchange to the Pueblo;

20 (II) any lands owned or held for

21 the benefit of any Indian tribe other

22 than the Pueblo; and

23 (III) all claims which were, or

24 could have been brought against the

25 United States in docket No. 355,
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1 pending in the United States Court of

2 Federal Claims.

3 (ii) With respect to the Pueblo’s

4 claims against persons, the State of New

5 Mexico and its subdivisions, and Indian

6 tribes other than the Pueblo, all claims to

7 land, whether based on aboriginal or recog8 nized title, and all claims for damages or

9 other judicial relief or for administrative

10 remedies pertaining in any way to the

11 Pueblo’s land, such as boundary and tres12 pass claims.

13 (iii) All claims listed on pages 13894–

14 13895 of volume 48 of the Federal Reg15 ister, published on March 31, 1983, except

16 for claims numbered 002 and 004.

17 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

18 Act (including paragraph (1)) shall be construed—

19 (A) to in any way effectuate an extinguish20 ment of or otherwise impair—

21 (i) the Pueblo’s title to lands acquired

22 by or for the benefit of the Pueblo since

23 December 28, 1927, or in a tract of land

24 of approximately 150.14 acres known as

25 the ‘‘sliver area’’ and described on a plat
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1 which is appendix H to the Settlement

2 Agreement;

3 (ii) the Pueblo’s title to land within

4 the Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant which

5 the Pueblo Lands Board found not to have

6 been extinguished; or

7 (iii) the Pueblo’s water rights appur8 tenant to the lands described in clauses (i)

9 and (ii); and

10 (B) to expand, reduce, or otherwise impair

11 any rights which the Pueblo or its members

12 may have under existing Federal statutes con13 cerning religious and cultural access to and

14 uses of the public lands.

15 (3) CONFIRMATION OF DETERMINATION.—The

16 Pueblo Lands Board’s determination on page 1 of

17 its Report of December 28, 1927, that Santo Do18 mingo Pueblo title, derived from the Santo Domingo

19 Pueblo Grant to the lands overlapped by the La

20 Majada, Sitio de Juana Lopez and Mesita de Juana

21 Lopez Grants has been extinguished is hereby con22 firmed as of the date of that Report.

23 (4) TRANSFERS PRIOR TO ENACTMENT.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the

25 Settlement Agreement, any transfer of land or
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1 natural resources, prior to the date of enact2 ment of this Act, located anywhere within the

3 United States from, by, or on behalf of the

4 Pueblo, or any of the Pueblo’s members, shall

5 be deemed to have been made in accordance

6 with the Act of June 30, 1834 (4 Stat. 729;

7 commonly referred to as the Trade and Inter8 course Act), section 17 of the Act of June 7,

9 1924 (43 Stat. 641; commonly referred to as

10 the Pueblo Lands Act), and any other provision

11 of Federal law that specifically applies to trans12 fers of land or natural resources from, by, or on

13 behalf of an Indian tribe, and such transfers

14 shall be deemed to be ratified effective as of the

15 date of the transfer.

16 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

17 subparagraph (A) shall be construed to affect

18 or eliminate the personal claim of any indi19 vidual Indian which is pursued under any law

20 of general applicability that protects non-Indi21 ans as well as Indians.

22 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of para23 graphs (1), (3), and (4) shall take effect upon the

24 entry of a compromise final judgment, in a form and

25 manner acceptable to the Attorney General, in the
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1 amount of $8,000,000 in the case of Pueblo of

2 Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian Claims

3 Commission docket No. 355). The judgment so en4 tered shall be paid from funds appropriated pursu5 ant to section 1304 of title 31, United States Code.

6 (b) TRUST FUNDS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA7 TIONS.—

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab9 lished in the Treasury a trust fund to be known as

10 the ‘‘Pueblo of Santo Domingo Land Claims Settle11 ment Fund’’. Funds deposited in the Fund shall be

12 subject to the following conditions:

13 (A) The Fund shall be maintained and in14 vested by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant

15 to the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a).

16 (B) Subject to the provisions of paragraph

17 (3), monies deposited into the Fund may be ex18 pended by the Pueblo to acquire lands within

19 the exterior boundaries of the exclusive aborigi20 nal occupancy area of the Pueblo, as described

21 in the Findings of Fact of the Indian Claims

22 Commission, dated May 9, 1973, and for use

23 for education, economic development, youth and

24 elderly programs, or for other tribal purposes

25 in accordance with plans and budgets developed
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1 and approved by the Tribal Council of the

2 Pueblo and approved by the Secretary.

3 (C) If the Pueblo withdraws monies from

4 the Fund, neither the Secretary nor the Sec5 retary of the Treasury shall retain any over6 sight over or liability for the accounting, dis7 bursement, or investment of such withdrawn

8 monies.

9 (D) No portion of the monies described in

10 subparagraph (C) may be paid to Pueblo mem11 bers on a per capita basis.

12 (E) The acquisition of lands with monies

13 from the Fund shall be on a willing-seller, will14 ing-buyer basis, and no eminent domain author15 ity may be exercised for purposes of acquiring

16 lands for the benefit of the Pueblo pursuant to

17 this Act.

18 (F) The provisions of Public Law 93–134,

19 governing the distribution of Indian claims

20 judgment funds, and the plan approval require21 ments of section 203 of Public Law 103–412

22 shall not be applicable to the Fund.

23 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

24 There are authorized to be appropriated
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1 $15,000,000 for deposit into the Fund, in accord2 ance with the following schedule:

3 (A) $5,000,000 to be deposited in the fis4 cal year which commences on October 1, 2001.

5 (B) $5,000,000 to be deposited in the next

6 fiscal year.

7 (C) The balance of the funds to be depos8 ited in the third consecutive fiscal year.

9 (3) LIMITATION ON DISBURSAL.—Amounts au10 thorized to be appropriated to the Fund under para11 graph (2) shall not be disbursed until the following

12 conditions are met:

13 (A) The case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo

14 v. Rael (No. CIV–83–1888) in the United

15 States District Court for the District of New

16 Mexico, has been dismissed with prejudice.

17 (B) A compromise final judgment in the

18 amount of $8,000,000 in the case of Pueblo of

19 Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian Claims

20 Commission docket No. 355) in a form and

21 manner acceptable to the Attorney General, has

22 been entered in the United States Court of

23 Federal Claims in accordance with subsection

24 (a)(5).
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1 (4) DEPOSITS.—Funds awarded to the Pueblo

2 consistent with subsection (c)(2) in docket No. 355

3 of the Indian Claims Commission shall be deposited

4 into the Fund.

5 (c) ACTIVITIES UPON COMPROMISE.—On the date of

6 the entry of the final compromise judgment in the case

7 of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian

8 Claims Commission docket No. 355) in the United States

9 Court of Federal Claims, and the dismissal with prejudice

10 of the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael (No. CIV–

11 83–1888) in the United States District Court for the Dis12 trict of New Mexico, whichever occurs later—

13 (1) the public lands administered by the Bureau

14 of Land Management and described in section 6 of

15 the Settlement Agreement, and consisting of ap16 proximately 4,577.10 acres of land, shall thereafter

17 be held by the United States in trust for the benefit

18 of the Pueblo, subject to valid existing rights and

19 rights of public and private access, as provided for

20 in the Settlement Agreement;

21 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to

22 sell and convey National Forest System lands and

23 the Pueblo shall have the exclusive right to acquire

24 these lands as provided for in section 7 of the Settle25 ment Agreement, and the funds received by the Sec-
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1 retary of Agriculture for such sales shall be depos2 ited in the fund established under the Act of Decem3 ber 4, 1967 (16 U.S.C. 484a) and shall be available

4 to purchase non-Federal lands within or adjacent to

5 the National Forests in the State of New Mexico;

6 (3) lands conveyed by the Secretary of Agri7 culture pursuant to this section shall no longer be

8 considered part of the National Forest System and

9 upon any conveyance of National Forest lands, the

10 boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest shall be

11 deemed modified to exclude such lands;

12 (4) until the National Forest lands are con13 veyed to the Pueblo pursuant to this section, or until

14 the Pueblo’s right to purchase such lands expires

15 pursuant to section 7 of the Settlement Agreement,

16 such lands are withdrawn, subject to valid existing

17 rights, from any new public use or entry under any

18 Federal land law, except for permits not to exceed

19 1 year, and shall not be identified for any disposition

20 by or for any agency, and no mineral production or

21 harvest of forest products shall be permitted, except

22 that nothing in this subsection shall preclude forest

23 management practices on such lands, including the

24 harvest of timber in the event of fire, disease, or

25 insect infestation; and
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1 (5) once the Pueblo has acquired title to the

2 former National Forest System lands, these lands

3 may be conveyed by the Pueblo to the Secretary of

4 the Interior who shall accept and hold such lands in

5 the name of the United States in trust for the ben6 efit of the Pueblo.

7 SEC. 6. AFFIRMATION OF ACCURATE BOUNDARIES OF

8 SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO GRANT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The boundaries of the Santo Do10 mingo Pueblo Grant, as determined by the 1907 Hall-Joy

11 Survey, confirmed in the Report of the Pueblo Lands

12 Board, dated December 28, 1927, are hereby declared to

13 be the current boundaries of the Grant and any lands cur14 rently owned by or on behalf of the Pueblo within such

15 boundaries, or any lands hereinafter acquired by the Pueb16 lo within the Grant in fee simple absolute, shall be consid17 ered to be Indian country within the meaning of section

18 1151 of title 18, United States Code.

19 (b) LIMITATION.—Any lands or interests in lands

20 within the Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant, that are not

21 owned or acquired by the Pueblo, shall not be treated as

22 Indian country within the meaning of section 1151 of title

23 18, United States Code.

24 (c) ACQUISITION OF FEDERAL LANDS.—Any Federal

25 lands acquired by the Pueblo pursuant to section 5(c)(1)
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1 shall be held in trust by the Secretary for the benefit of

2 the Pueblo, and shall be treated as Indian country within

3 the meaning of section 1151 of title 18, United States

4 Code.

5 (d) LAND SUBJECT TO PROVISIONS.—Any lands ac6 quired by the Pueblo pursuant to section 5(c), or with

7 funds subject to section 5(b), shall be subject to the provi8 sions of section 17 of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat.

9 641; commonly referred to as the Pueblo Lands Act).

10 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act

11 or in the Settlement Agreement shall be construed to—

12 (1) cloud title to federally administered lands or

13 non-Indian or other Indian lands, with regard to

14 claims of title which are extinguished pursuant to

15 section 5; or

16 (2) affect actions taken prior to the date of en17 actment of this Act to manage federally adminis18 tered lands within the boundaries of the Santo Do19 mingo Pueblo Grant.

20 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION FOR ACQUISITION OF STATE

22 TRUST LANDS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of

23 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall acquire by

24 exchange the State trust lands in township 15 north,

25 range 4 east, section 2, and all interests therein, including
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1 improvements, mineral rights, and water rights. In exer2 cising the authority to acquire such lands by exchange,

3 the Secretary is authorized to use unappropriated public

4 lands within the State of New Mexico. The properties so

5 exchanged shall be of approximately equal value and the

6 Secretary may credit or debit the ledger account estab7 lished in the Memorandum of Understanding between the

8 Bureau of Land Management, the New Mexico State Land

9 Office, and the New Mexico Commissioner of Public

10 Lands, in order to equalize the values of the properties

11 exchanged. Once such lands are acquired, the Secretary

12 shall convey such lands to the Pueblo by sale, exchange,

13 or otherwise, and the Pueblo shall have the exclusive right

14 to acquire these lands. Once the Pueblo has acquired title

15 to the former State trust lands, these lands may be con16 veyed by the Pueblo to the Secretary who shall accept and

17 hold such lands in the name of the United States in trust

18 for the benefit of the Pueblo.

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR EXCHANGE OF RE20 STRICTED LANDS.—Authorization is hereby given for the

21 exchange of restricted land of the Pueblo for lands private

22 title to which was put in issue in the lawsuit styled Pueblo

23 of Santo Domingo v. Rael (Civil No. 83–1888) (D.N.M.).

24 Any land exchange agreements between the Pueblo and

25 any of the parties to such lawsuit that are executed no
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1 later than December 31, 2001, are hereby approved. Noth2 ing in this section shall be construed to limit the provision

3 of section 5(a) pertaining to the extinguishment of the

4 land claims of the Pueblo. The lands to which the Pueblo

5 acquires title in such land exchange agreements may be

6 conveyed by the Pueblo to the Secretary, who shall accept

7 and hold such lands in the name of the United States in

8 trust for the benefit of the Pueblo.

9 (c) BOUNDARY DISPUTE RESOLUTIONS AP10 PROVED.—Resolutions 97–010 and C 22–99 enacted by

11 the Tribal Council of the Pueblo de Cochiti, and Resolu12 tion S.D. 12–99–36 enacted by the Tribal Council of the

13 Pueblo of Santo Domingo, pertaining to boundary dis14 putes between the Pueblo de Cochiti and the Pueblo of

15 Santo Domingo, are hereby approved, including the Pueb16 lo de Cochiti’s agreement to relinquish its claim to the

17 southwest corner of its Spanish land grant, to the extent

18 of its overlap with the Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant, and

19 to disclaim any right to receive compensation from the

20 United States or any other party with respect to such

21 overlapping lands.

Æ