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Union Calendar No. 121

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 562

[Report No. 106–207]

To approve and ratify certain transfers of land and natural resources by

or on behalf of the Delaware Nation of Indians, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 3, 1999

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

Committee on Resources

JUNE 29, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To approve and ratify certain transfers of land and natural

resources by or on behalf of the Delaware Nation of

Indians, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. RATIFICATION OF TRANSFER; EXTINGUISH2 MENT OF TITLE AND CLAIMS.

3 (a) APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF PRIOR TRANS4 FER.—Any transfer of land or natural resources located

5 anywhere within what is now the boundaries of the State

6 of New Jersey, from, by, or on behalf of the Delaware

7 Nation of Indians or any of its members, which occurred

8 prior to 1833, including any transfer pursuant to any

9 treaty, compact, deed, Act, or statute of the State of New

10 Jersey, shall be deemed to have been made in accordance

11 with the Constitution and all laws of the United States

12 that are specifically applicable to transfer of land or nat13 ural resources from, by, or on behalf of any Indian, Indian

14 nation, or tribe or band of Indians (including, but without

15 limitation, the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790 (ch. 33,

16 sec. 4 Stat. 137, 138)) and all amendments thereto and

17 all subsequent reenactments and versions thereof, and

18 Congress does approve and ratify such transfer effective

19 as of the date of the transfer.

20 (b) ABORIGINAL TITLE EXTINGUISHED AS OF DATE

21 OF TRANSFER.—To the extent that any transfer of land

22 or natural resources described in subsection (a) involves

23 land or natural resources to which the Delaware Nation

24 of Indians or any of its members, or any other Indian,

25 Indian nation, or tribe or band of Indians had aboriginal

26 title, subsection (a) shall be regarded as an extinguish-
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1 ment of such aboriginal title as of the date of such trans2 fer.

3 (c) CLAIMS EXTINGUISHED AS OF DATE OF TRANS4 FER.—By virtue of the approval and ratification of a

5 transfer of land or natural resources under subsection (a)

6 or the extinguishment of aboriginal title under subsection

7 (b), all claims against the United States, the State of New

8 Jersey or subdivision thereof, or any other person or enti9 ty, by the Delaware Nation of Indians or any of their

10 members or any predecessors or successors in interest

11 thereof, arising at the time of or subsequent to the trans12 fer and based on any interest in or right involving such

13 land or natural resources, including but without limita14 tions, claims for trespass damages or claims for use and

15 occupancy, shall be deemed extinguished as of the date

16 of transfer.

17 SECTION 1. RATIFICATION OF TRANSFERS; EXTINGUISH18 MENT OF TITLE AND CLAIMS.

19 (a) APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF PRIOR TRANS20 FERS.—Any transfer of land or natural resources located

21 within what is now the boundaries of the State of New Jer22 sey or any transfer of hunting or fishing rights related

23 thereto, from, by, or on behalf of the Delaware Nation of

24 Indians, which occurred prior to 1833, including any

25 transfer pursuant to any treaty, compact, deed, Act, or stat-
4

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1 ute of the State of New Jersey, shall be deemed to have been

2 made in accordance with the Constitution and all laws of

3 the United States that are specifically applicable to trans4 fers of land or natural resources from, by, or on behalf of

5 any tribe, nation, pueblo, or band of Indians, or any mem6 ber thereof (including without limitation, the Trade and

7 Intercourse Act of 1790 (ch. 33, sec. 4; 1 Stat. 137, 138)),

8 and Congress does approve and ratify any such transfer

9 effective as of the date of the transfer.

10 (b) ABORIGINAL TITLE EXTINGUISHED.—To the extent

11 that any transfer described in subsection (a) involves land,

12 natural resources, or hunting or fishing rights to which the

13 Delaware Nation of Indians had aboriginal title, subsection

14 (a) shall be regarded as an extinguishment of such aborigi15 nal title.

16 (c) CLAIMS EXTINGUISHED.—All claims against the

17 United States, the State of New Jersey or subdivision there18 of, or any other person or entity, by the Delaware Nation

19 of Indians arising before December 31, 1832, and based on

20 any interest in or right to land or natural resources within

21 the boundaries of the State of New Jersey, (including with22 out limitation, claims for trespass damages, claims for use

23 and occupancy, or claims involving hunting or fishing

24 rights) shall be deemed to have been extinguished as of De25 cember 31, 1832.
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1 (d) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, the

2 term ‘‘Delaware Nation of Indians’’ means the Delaware

3 Nation of Indians, the Delaware Tribe of Indians, the Dela4 ware Tribe of Western Oklahoma, any member of those

5 tribes, and any descendant, predecessor, or successor in in6 terest of those tribes and any member thereof.
Union Calendar No. 121

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 562

[Report No. 106–207]

A BILL

To approve and ratify certain transfers of land and

Nation of Indians, and for other purposes.natural resources by or on behalf of the Delaware

JUNE 29, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,