103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4462

AN ACT

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 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to establish an administrative procedure to

2 extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups;

3 (2) to extend to Indian groups which are deter4 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services,

5 and benefits available from the Federal Government

6 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility;

7 (3) to extend to Indian groups which are deter8 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi9 leges available to other federally-acknowledged In10 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes

11 with a government-to-government relationship with

12 the United States;

13 (4) to ensure that when the Federal govern14 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, it

15 does so with a consistent legal, factual and historical

16 basis;

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

18 a supporting role to petitioning groups applying for

19 recognition;

20 (6) to provide clear and consistent standards of

21 administrative review of documented petitions for

22 Federal acknowledgment;

23 (7) to clarify evidentiary standards and expedite

24 the administrative review process by providing ade25 quate resources to process petitions; and
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1 (8) to remove the Federal acknowledgment

2 process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in3 vest it in an independent Commission on Indian

4 Recognition.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 For purposes of this Act:

7 (1) The term ‘‘aboriginal group’’ means any In8 dian group or tribe that is presently located in Can9 ada or the United States of Mexico and consists of

10 individuals who are descendants of the people who

11 inhabited the area now constituting those two coun12 tries prior to their first sustained contact with Euro13 Americans.

14 (2) The term ‘‘acknowledgment’’ or ‘‘acknowl15 edged’’ means a determination by the Commission

16 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group con17 stitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-gov18 ernment relationship with the United States, and

19 whose members are recognized as eligible for the

20 special programs and services provided by the Unit21 ed States to Indians because of their status as Indi22 ans.

23 (3) The term ‘‘autonomous’’ means the exercise

24 of political influence or authority independent of the

25 control of any other Indian governing entity. Auton-
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1 omous must be understood in the context of the his2 tory, geography, culture and social organization of

3 the petitioner.

4 (4) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

5 Indian Affairs.

6 (5) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Com7 mission on Indian Recognition established pursuant

8 to section 4.

9 (6) The term ‘‘community’’ means any group of

10 people, living within a reasonable territorial propin11 quity, which can demonstrate that consistent inter12 actions and significant social relationships exist

13 within its membership and that its members are dif14 ferentiated from and identified as distinct from

15 nonmembers. ‘‘Community’’ must be understood in

16 the context of the history, culture and social organi17 zation of the group, taking into account the geog18 raphy of the region in which they reside.

19 (7) The term ‘‘continuously’’ or ‘‘continuous’’

20 means extending from the first sustained contact

21 with Euro-Americans throughout the group’s history

22 to the present substantially without interruption.

23 (8) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart24 ment of the Interior.
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1 (9) The term ‘‘documented petition’’ means the

2 detailed, factual exposition and arguments, including

3 all documentary evidence, necessary to demonstrate

4 that these arguments specifically address the manda5 tory criteria established in section 5.

6 (10) The term ‘‘historically’’, ‘‘historical’’ or

7 ‘‘history’’ means dating from the first sustained con8 tact with Euro-Americans.

9 (11) The term ‘‘Indian group’’ or ‘‘group’’

10 means any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawai11 ian tribe, band, pueblo, village or community within

12 the United States that the Secretary of the Interior

13 does not acknowledge to be an Indian tribe.

14 (12) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ or ‘‘tribe’’ means

15 any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian

16 tribe, band, pueblo, village or community within the

17 United States that the Secretary of the Interior

18 presently acknowledges to be an Indian tribe.

19 (13) The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to

20 the United States in that at least part of the peti21 tioner’s traditional territory at the time of first sus22 tained contact with Euro-Americans extended into

23 what is now the United States.

24 (14) The term ‘‘letter of intent’’ means an un25 documented letter or resolution which is dated and
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1 signed by the governing body of an Indian group

2 and submitted to the Commission and indicates the

3 group’s intent to submit a petition for Federal ac4 knowledgment as an Indian tribe.

5 (15) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

6 means an individual who is recognized by an Indian

7 group as meeting its membership criteria and who

8 consents in writing to being listed as a member of

9 that group.

10 (16) The term ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’

11 means an individual who meets the membership re12 quirements of the tribe as set forth in its governing

13 document or, in the absence of a governing docu14 ment which sets out these requirements, has been

15 recognized as a member collectively by those persons

16 comprising the tribal governing body; and has con17 sistently maintained tribal relations with the tribe or

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

19 if such rolls are kept.

20 (17) The term ‘‘petition’’ means a petition for

21 acknowledgment submitted or transferred to the

22 Commission pursuant to section 5 of this Act.

23 (18) The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means any group

24 which has submitted a letter of intent to the Com-
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1 mission requesting acknowledgment that it is an In2 dian tribe.

3 (19) The term ‘‘political influence or authority’’

4 means a tribal council, leadership, internal process

5 or other mechanism which the group has used as a

6 means of influencing or controlling the behavior of

7 its members in significant respects, or making deci8 sions for the group which substantially affect its

9 members, or representing the group in dealing with

10 non-members in matters of consequence to the

11 group. ‘‘Political influence or authority’’ is to be un12 derstood in the context of the history, culture and

13 social organization of the group.

14 (20) The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledg15 ment’’ means any action by the Federal government

16 the character of which is clearly premised on identi17 fication of a tribal political entity and clearly indi18 cates the recognition of a government-to-government

19 relationship between that entity and the Federal

20 government.

21 (21) The term ‘‘restoration’’ means the

22 reextension of acknowledgment to any previously ac23 knowledged tribe which may have had its acknowl24 edged status abrogated or diminished by reason of
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1 congressional legislation expressly terminating that

2 status.

3 (22) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

4 of the Interior.

5 (23) The term ‘‘sustained contact’’ means the

6 period of earliest sustained Euro-American settle7 ment or governmental presence in the local area in

8 which the tribe or tribes from which the petitioner

9 claims descent was located historically.

10 (24) The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any treaty—

11 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

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

13 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

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

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

16 government the United States subsequently ac17 quired territory by purchase, conquest, annex18 ation, or cession; or

19 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

20 or on behalf of, any Indian group in California,

21 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

22 ratified.

23 (25) The term ‘‘tribal relations’’ means partici24 pation by an individual in a political and social rela25 tionship with an Indian tribe.
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1 (26) The term ‘‘tribal roll’’ means a list exclu2 sively of those individuals who have been determined

3 by the tribe to meet the tribe’s membership require4 ments as set forth in its governing document or, in

5 the absence of a governing document setting forth

6 those requirements, have been recognized as mem7 bers by the tribe’s governing body. In either case,

8 those individuals on a tribal roll must have affirma9 tively demonstrated consent to being listed as mem10 bers.

11 (27) The term ‘‘United States’’ means the 48

12 contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii; and does not

13 include territories or possessions.

14 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

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

16 independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec17 ognition.

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

19 consist of three members appointed by the President, by

20 and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

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

22 President shall give careful consideration to—

23 (i) recommendations received from Indian

24 tribes;
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1 (ii) individuals who have a background in In2 dian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or his3 tory.; and

4 (iii) individuals who, at the time of nomination,

5 are employed by the United States Government and

6 would be eligible to participate through the Intergov7 ernmental Personnel Exchange Act.

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

9 may be members of the same political party.

10 (3)(A) Each member of the Commission shall be ap11 pointed for a term of four years, except as provided in

12 subparagraph (B).

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

14 appointment, of the members first appointed—

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

16 years;

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

18 years; and

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

20 years.

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

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

23 the original appointment was made. Any member ap24 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration

25 of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap-
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1 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that

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

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

4 (5)(A) Each member of the Commission not other5 wise employed by the United States Government shall re6 ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

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

8 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

9 United States Code, for each day, including traveltime,

10 such member is engaged in the actual performance of du11 ties authorized by the Commission.

12 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem13 ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em14 ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the

15 Commission without additional compensation, but such

16 service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

17 status or privilege.

18 (C) All members of the Commission shall be reim19 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex20 penses during the performance of duties of the Commis21 sion while away from home or their regular place of busi22 ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of

23 title 5, United States Code.
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1 (6) At the time appointments are made under para2 graph (1), the President shall designate one of such ap3 pointees as Chairman of the Commission.

4 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) The Commis5 sion shall hold its first meeting no later than 30 days after

6 the date on which all members of the Commission have

7 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

8 (2) Two members of the Commission shall constitute

9 a quorum for the transaction of business.

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

11 with the provisions of this Act) as may be necessary to

12 establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its

13 operations, organization, and personnel.

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

15 in the District of Columbia.

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

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

18 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

19 Act.

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

21 rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Commis22 sion, the Chairman of the Commission is authorized to—

23 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa24 tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,

25 United States Code, governing appointments in the
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1 competitive service, and without regard to the provi2 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

3 of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat4 ing to the number, classification, and General

5 Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the

6 Commission and of such other personnel as the

7 Chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform8 ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not

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

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

11 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

12 United States Code; and

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

14 of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter15 mittent services to the same extent as is authorized

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

17 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

18 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu19 tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

20 (2) The Commission is authorized to—

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

22 times;

23 (B) take such testimony;

24 (C) have such printing and binding done;
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1 (D) enter into such contracts and other ar2 rangements, subject to the availability of funds;

3 (E) make such expenditures; and

4 (F) take such other actions,

5 as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of

6 the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

7 witnesses appearing before the Commission.

8 (3)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di9 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish10 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such

11 information as the Commission may require for the pur12 pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen13 cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di14 rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in15 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

16 the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman of

17 the Commission.

18 (B) Upon the request of the Chairman of the Com19 mission, the head of any Federal department, agency, or

20 instrumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities

21 and services of such department, agency, or instrumental22 ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per23 sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to

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

25 Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.
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1 (C) The Commission may use the United States mails

2 in the same manner and under the same conditions as

3 other departments and agencies of the United States.

4 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro5 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not

6 apply to the Commission.

7 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

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

9 to the Commission a petition requesting that the Commis10 sion recognize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe.

11 (2) The provisions of this Act do not apply to the

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

13 recognition under this Act—

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

15 communities, and Alaska Native entities which are

16 recognized by the Secretary as of the date of enact17 ment of this Act as eligible to receive services from

18 the Bureau;

19 (B) splinter groups, political factions, commu20 nities, or groups of any character which separate

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

22 time of such separation, is recognized as being an

23 Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear24 ly established that the group, faction, or community
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1 has functioned throughout history until the date of

2 such petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity;

3 (C) groups, or successors in interest of groups,

4 that prior to the date of enactment of this Act, have

5 petitioned for and been denied or refused recognition

6 as an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by

7 the Secretary;

8 (D) any Indian group whose relationship with

9 the Federal Government was expressly terminated

10 by an Act of Congress; and

11 (E) any Indian group that, in any action in a

12 United States court to which the group was a party,

13 has previously attempted to establish its status as

14 an Indian tribe or a successor-in-interest to an In15 dian tribe that was a party to a treaty with the

16 United States, and—

17 (i) was determined by such court not to be

18 an Indian tribe; or

19 (ii) was determined by such court not to be

20 a successor-in-interest to an Indian tribe that

21 was a party to a treaty with the United States;

22 or

23 (iii) was the subject of findings of fact by

24 such court which, if made by the Commission,

25 would show that the group was incapable of es-
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1 tablishing one or more of the criteria set forth

2 in this section.

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

4 all of the members of the Commission have been appointed

5 and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer

6 to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart7 ment and not then under active consideration that request

8 the Secretary, or the Federal Government, to recognize

9 or acknowledge an Indian group as an Indian tribe, except

10 those groups whose petitions are under active consider11 ation at the time of the transfer.

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

13 the Department shall cease to have any authority to recog14 nize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal government,

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

16 under active consideration whose petitions have been re17 tained by the Department pursuant to subparagraph (A)

18 of this paragraph.

19 (C) Petitions transferred to the Commission under

20 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall, for purposes of

21 this Act, be considered as having been submitted to the

22 Commission in the same order as they were submitted to

23 the Department.

24 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro25 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub-
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1 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in any readable

2 form which clearly indicates that it is a petition requesting

3 the Commission to recognize that the Indian group is an

4 Indian tribe and which contains detailed, specific evidence

5 as to each of the following:

6 (1) A statement of facts establishing that the

7 petitioner has been identified as an American Indian

8 entity on a substantially continuous basis since

9 1871. Evidence that the group’s character as an In10 dian entity has from time to time been denied shall

11 not be considered to be conclusive evidence that this

12 criterion has not been met. Evidence to be relied

13 upon in determining a group’s Indian identity may

14 include one or a combination of the following, as well

15 as other evidence of identification by other than the

16 petitioner itself or its members:

17 (A) Identification of the petitioner as an

18 Indian entity by Federal authorities.

19 (B) Relationships of the petitioner with

20 State governments based on identification of

21 the petitioner as an Indian entity.

22 (C) Dealings of the petitioner with a coun23 ty, parish, or other local government in a rela24 tionship based on the Indian identity of the pe25 titioner.
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1 (D) Identification of the petitioner as an

2 Indian entity by records in private or public ar3 chives, courthouses, churches, or schools.

4 (E) Identification of the petitioner as an

5 Indian entity by anthropologists, historians, or

6 other scholars.

7 (F) Identification of the petitioner as an

8 Indian entity in newspapers, books, or similar

9 media.

10 (G) Identification of the petitioner as an

11 Indian entity by other Indian tribes or by na12 tional, regional, or state Indian organizations.

13 (H) Identification of the petitioner as an

14 Indian entity by foreign governments or inter15 national organizations.

16 (2)(A) A statement of facts establishing that a

17 predominant portion of the membership of the peti18 tioner comprises a community distinct from those

19 surrounding it and has existed as a community from

20 historical times to the present. Evidence to be relied

21 upon in determining that the petitioner meets this

22 criterion may include one or a combination of the

23 following:

24 (i) Significant rates of marriage within the

25 group, or, as may be culturally required, pat-
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1 terned out-marriages with other Indian popu2 lations.

3 (ii) Significant social relationships connect4 ing individual members.

5 (iii) Significant rates of informal social

6 interaction which exist broadly among the mem7 bers of a group.

8 (iv) A significant degree of shared or coop9 erative labor or other economic activity among

10 the membership.

11 (v) Evidence of strong patterns of discrimi12 nation or other social distinctions by non-mem13 bers.

14 (vi) Shared sacred or secular ritual activity

15 encompassing most of the group.

16 (vii) Cultural patterns shared among a sig17 nificant portion of the group that are different

18 from those of the non-Indian populations with

19 whom it interacts. These patterns must func20 tion as more than a symbolic identification of

21 the group as Indian, and may include, but are

22 not limited to, language, kinship or religious or23 ganizations, or religious beliefs and practices.

24 (viii) The persistence of a named, collective

25 Indian identity continuously over a period of
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1 more than 50 years, notwithstanding changes in

2 name.

3 (ix) A demonstration of historical political

4 influence pursuant to the criterion set forth in

5 paragraph (3).

6 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have

7 provided sufficient evidence of community at a given

8 point in time if evidence is provided demonstrating

9 any one of the following:

10 (i) More than 50 percent of the members

11 reside in a particular geographical area exclu12 sively or almost exclusively composed of mem13 bers of the group, and the balance of the group

14 maintains consistent social interaction with

15 some members of the community.

16 (ii) At least 50 percent of the marriages of

17 the group are between members of the group.

18 (iii) At least 50 percent of the group mem19 bers maintain distinct cultural patterns such as,

20 but not limited to, language, kinship or reli21 gious organizations, or religious beliefs or prac22 tices.

23 (iv) There are distinct community social

24 institutions encompassing a substantial portion

25 of the members, such as kinship organizations,
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1 formal or informal economic cooperation, or re2 ligious organizations. or

3 (v) The group has met the criterion in

4 paragraph (3) using evidence described in para5 graph (3)(B).

6 (3)(A) A statement of facts establishing that

7 the petitioner has maintained political influence or

8 authority over its members as an autonomous entity

9 from historical times until the present. Evidence to

10 be relied upon in determining that the petitioner

11 meets this criterion may include one or a combina12 tion of the following:

13 (i) The group is able to mobilize significant

14 numbers of members and significant resources

15 from its members for group purposes.

16 (ii) Most of the membership considers is17 sues acted upon or taken by group leaders or

18 governing bodies to be of personal importance.

19 (iii) There is a widespread knowledge, com20 munication and involvement in political proc21 esses by most of the group’s members.

22 (iv) The group meets the criterion in para23 graph (2) at more than a minimal level.
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1 (v) There are intragroup conflicts which

2 show controversy over valued group goals, prop3 erties, policies, processes or decisions.

4 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have

5 provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exer6 cise of political influence or authority at a given

7 point in time by demonstrating that group leaders or

8 other mechanisms exist or existed which:

9 (i) Allocate group resources such as land,

10 residence rights or the like on a consistent

11 basis.

12 (ii) Settle disputes between members or

13 subgroups such as clans or moieties by medi14 ation or other means on a regular basis.

15 (iii) Exert strong influence on the behavior

16 of individual members, such as the establish17 ment or maintenance of norms and the enforce18 ment of sanctions to direct or control behavior.

19 (iv) Organize or influence economic sub20 sistence activities among the members, includ21 ing shared or cooperative labor.

22 (C) A group that has met the requirements in

23 paragraph (2)(B) at a given point in time shall be

24 considered to have provided sufficient evidence to

25 meet this criterion at that same point in time.
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1 (4) A copy of the petitioner’s present governing

2 document including its membership criteria. In the

3 absence of a written document, the petitioner must

4 provide a statement describing in full its member5 ship criteria and current governing procedures.

6 (5) A list of all current members of the peti7 tioner including each member’s full name (and maid8 en name, if any), date and place of birth, and cur9 rent residential address, as well as a copy of each

10 available former list of members based on the peti11 tioner’s own defined criteria, and a statement de12 scribing the methods used in preparing those lists.

13 The membership must consist of individuals who

14 have established descendancy from an Indian group

15 which existed historically or from historical Indian

16 groups which combined and functioned as a single

17 autonomous entity. Evidence of tribal membership

18 required by the Commission includes (but is not lim19 ited to)—

20 (A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec21 retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib22 uting claims money, providing allotments, or

23 other purposes;

24 (B) State, Federal, or other official records

25 or evidence identifying present members of the
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1 petitioner, or ancestors of present members of

2 the petitioner, as being descendants of a his3 toric tribe or historic tribes that combined and

4 functioned as a single autonomous political en5 tity;

6 (C) church, school, and other similar en7 rollment records identifying present members or

8 ancestors of present members as being descend9 ants of a historic tribe or historic tribes that

10 combined and functioned as a single autono11 mous political entity;

12 (D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el13 ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body iden14 tifying present members or ancestors of present

15 members as being descendants of a historic

16 tribe or historic tribes that combined and func17 tioned as a single autonomous political entity;

18 and

19 (E) other records or evidence identifying

20 present members or ancestors of present mem21 bers as being descendants of a historic tribe or

22 historic tribes that combined and functioned as

23 a single autonomous political entity.
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1 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—A petition from an Indian group

2 which can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence

3 that it was, or is the successor in interest to, a—

4 (1) party to a treaty or treaties;

5 (2) group acknowledged by any agency of the

6 Federal Government as eligible to participate in the

7 Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461

8 et seq.);

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

10 States took into trust land or lands, or which the

11 Federal government has treated as having collective

12 rights in tribal lands or funds; or

13 (4) group has been denominated a tribe by Act

14 of Congress or Executive Order,

15 shall be required to establish the criteria set forth in this

16 section only from the date of that Federal action to the

17 present.

18 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

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) OTHERS.—The Commission shall also notify, in

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

6 recognized Indian tribe within, any State in which a peti7 tioner resides.

8 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

9 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—The Commission shall pub10 lish the notice of receipt of the petition in a major news11 paper of general circulation in the town or city nearest

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

13 addition to the information described in subsection (a), no14 tice of opportunity for other parties to submit factual or

15 legal arguments in support of or in opposition to, the peti16 tion. Such submissions shall be provided to the petitioner

17 upon receipt by the Commission. The petitioner shall be

18 provided an opportunity to respond to such submissions

19 prior to a determination on the petition by the Commis20 sion.

21 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

22 (a) REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of a documented peti23 tion, the Commission shall conduct a review to determine

24 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an

25 Indian tribe.
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1 (2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall

2 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

3 and the factual statements contained in the petition.

4 (3) The Commission may also initiate other research

5 for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob6 taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta7 tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit8 ted by other parties.

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

10 Congress and the National Archives shall each allow ac11 cess to the petitioner to its resources, records, and docu12 ments, for the purpose of conducting research and prepar13 ing evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

14 (b) CONSIDERATION.—(1) Except as otherwise pro15 vided in this subsection, petitions shall be considered on

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

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

18 or the Department if the petition is one transferred to the

19 Commission pursuant to section 5(a). The Commission

20 shall establish a priority register including those petitions

21 pending before the Department on the date of enactment

22 of this Act.

23 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission

24 by Indian groups that meet one or more of the require25 ments set forth in section 5(c) shall receive priority consid-
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•HR 4462 EH

1 eration over petitions submitted by any other Indian

2 group.

3 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

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

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

6 a date for a preliminary hearing. At the preliminary hear7 ing, the petitioner and any other concerned party may pro8 vide evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

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

10 conclusion of the preliminary hearing under subsection

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

12 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgement to the

13 petitioner; or

14 (B) that the petitioner proceed to an adjudica15 tory hearing.

16 (2) The Commission shall publish the determination

17 in the Federal Register.

18 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

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

20 determines under subsection (b) that the petitioner pro21 ceed to an adjudicatory hearing, the Commission shall—

22 (A) make available its appropriate evidentiary

23 records to the petitioner to assist the petitioner in

24 preparing for the adjudicatory hearing, and shall

25 also include such guidance as the Commission con-
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•HR 4462 EH

1 siders necessary or appropriate to assist the peti2 tioner in preparing for the hearing; and

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

4 preliminary hearing under subsection (a), notify the

5 petitioner in writing, which notice shall include a list

6 of any deficiencies or omissions on which the Com7 mission relied in making its determination.

8 (2) The list of deficiencies and omissions provided

9 under paragraph (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adju10 dicatory hearing. The Commission may not add to this list

11 once it is issued.

12 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the conclu14 sion of the preliminary hearing, the Commission shall af15 ford the petitioner described in section 8(b)(1)(B) an adju16 dicatory hearing. The hearing shall be on the list of defi17 ciencies and omissions provided under section 8(c)(1)(B)

18 and shall be conducted pursuant to section 554 of title

19 5, United States Code.

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

21 Commission may require testimony from its acknowledge22 ment and research staff or other witnesses. Any such testi23 mony shall be subject to cross-examination by the peti24 tioner.
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•HR 4462 EH

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

2 provide such evidence as the petitioner deems appropriate.

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

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

5 the Commission shall—

6 (1) make a determination as to the extension or

7 denial of Federal acknowledgment to the petitioner;

8 (2) publish its determination under paragraph

9 (1) in the Federal Register; and

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

11 petitioner, and to every other interested party.

12 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

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

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

15 petitioner may appeal the determination to the United

16 States District Court for the District of Columbia.

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

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

19 for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs under

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

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

22 may be.
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•HR 4462 EH

1 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.

2 A determination by the Commission that an Indian

3 group is recognized by the Federal Government as an In4 dian tribe shall not have the effect of—

5 (1) depriving or diminishing the right of any

6 other Indian tribe to govern its reservation as such

7 reservation existed prior to the recognition of such

8 Indian group, or as the same may exist thereafter;

9 (2) depriving or diminishing any property right

10 held in trust or recognized by the United States for

11 such other Indian tribe as it existed prior to the rec12 ognition of such Indian group; or

13 (3) depriving or diminishing any previously or

14 independently existing claim by a petitioner to any

15 such property right held in trust by the United

16 States for such other Indian tribe prior to the rec17 ognition of such Indian group.

18 SEC. 12. 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 relation26 ship with the United States, as well as having the respon-
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•HR 4462 EH

1 sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec2 ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au3 thority of Congress and the United States to which other

4 federally recognized tribes are subject.

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

6 does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro7 grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail8 able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap9 propriations shall follow a determination under subsection

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

11 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months

12 after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap13 propriate area offices of the Bureau and the Indian Health

14 Service shall consult and develop in cooperation with the

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

16 determination of the needs of the Indian tribe and a rec17 ommended budget required to serve the newly recognized

18 Indian tribe. The recommended budget shall be considered

19 along with recommendations by the appropriate Secretary

20 in the budget-request process.

21 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC22 TIVITIES.

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

24 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and

25 annually on or before every January 30 thereafter, the
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•HR 4462 EH

1 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

2 of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the Federal

3 Government and receiving services from the Bureau of In4 dian Affairs.

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

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

7 the Commission shall submit a report to the Committee

8 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and

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

10 on its activities, which shall include at a minimum the fol11 lowing:

12 (1) The number of petitions pending at the be13 ginning of the year and the names of the petitioners.

14 (2) The number of petitions received during the

15 year and the names of the petitioners.

16 (3) The number of petitions the Commission

17 approved for acknowledgment and the names of the

18 acknowledged petitioners.

19 (4) The number of petitions the Commission

20 denied for acknowledgement and the names of the

21 petitioners.

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

23 names of the petitioners.
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•HR 4462 EH

1 SEC. 14. 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. 15. 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. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

18 (a) GUIDELINES.—No later than 90 days after the

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make

20 available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions,

21 including general suggestions and guidelines on where and

22 how to research required information, but such examples

23 shall not preclude the use of any other format.

24 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re25 quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to

26 any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori-
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•HR 4462 EH

1 cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall

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

3 petitioner.

4 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

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

6 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek7 ing Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups to—

8 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan9 tiate petitions under this Act; and

10 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

11 submission of a petition under this Act.

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

13 in addition to any other grants the Secretary of Health

14 and Human Services is authorized to provide under any

15 other provision of law.

16 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under

17 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob18 jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by

19 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

20 SEC. 18.AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying

23 out the provisions of this Act (other than section 15 17),

24 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,500,000 for each

25 of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.
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•HR 4462 EH

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

2 be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri3 cans of the Department of Health and Human Services

4 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section

5 17, $3,000,000 for each fiscal year.

Passed the House of Representatives October 3,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4462

AN ACT

To provide for administrative procedures to extend

for other purposes.Federal recognition to certain Indian groups, and