IIA

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4462

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Received

OCTOBER 8 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

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

5 Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to establish an administrative procedure to

9 extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups;

10 (2) to extend to Indian groups which are deter11 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services,
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1 and benefits available from the Federal Government

2 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility;

3 (3) to extend to Indian groups which are deter4 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi5 leges available to other federally-acknowledged In6 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes

7 with a government-to-government relationship with

8 the United States;

9 (4) to ensure that when the Federal govern10 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, it

11 does so with a consistent legal, factual and historical

12 basis;

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

14 a supporting role to petitioning groups applying for

15 recognition;

16 (6) to provide clear and consistent standards of

17 administrative review of documented petitions for

18 Federal acknowledgment;

19 (7) to clarify evidentiary standards and expedite

20 the administrative review process by providing ade21 quate resources to process petitions; and

22 (8) to remove the Federal acknowledgment

23 process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in24 vest it in an independent Commission on Indian

25 Recognition.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this Act:

3 (1) The term ‘‘aboriginal group’’ means any In4 dian group or tribe that is presently located in Can5 ada or the United States of Mexico and consists of

6 individuals who are descendants of the people who

7 inhabited the area now constituting those two coun8 tries prior to their first sustained contact with Euro9 Americans.

10 (2) The term ‘‘acknowledgment’’ or ‘‘acknowl11 edged’’ means a determination by the Commission

12 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group con13 stitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-gov14 ernment relationship with the United States, and

15 whose members are recognized as eligible for the

16 special programs and services provided by the

17 United States to Indians because of their status as

18 Indians.

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

20 of political influence or authority independent of the

21 control of any other Indian governing entity. Auton22 omous must be understood in the context of the his23 tory, geography, culture and social organization of

24 the petitioner.

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

26 Indian Affairs.
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1 (5) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Com2 mission on Indian Recognition established pursuant

3 to section 4.

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

5 people, living within a reasonable territorial propin6 quity, which can demonstrate that consistent inter7 actions and significant social relationships exist

8 within its membership and that its members are dif9 ferentiated from and identified as distinct from

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

11 the context of the history, culture and social organi12 zation of the group, taking into account the geog13 raphy of the region in which they reside.

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

15 means extending from the first sustained contact

16 with Euro-Americans throughout the group’s history

17 to the present substantially without interruption.

18 (8) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart19 ment of the Interior.

20 (9) The term ‘‘documented petition’’ means the

21 detailed, factual exposition and arguments, including

22 all documentary evidence, necessary to demonstrate

23 that these arguments specifically address the manda24 tory criteria established in section 5.
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1 (10) The term ‘‘historically’’, ‘‘historical’’ or

2 ‘‘history’’ means dating from the first sustained con3 tact with Euro-Americans.

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

5 means any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawai6 ian tribe, band, pueblo, village or community within

7 the United States that the Secretary of the Interior

8 does not acknowledge to be an Indian tribe.

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

10 any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian

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

12 United States that the Secretary of the Interior

13 presently acknowledges to be an Indian tribe.

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

15 the United States in that at least part of the peti16 tioner’s traditional territory at the time of first sus17 tained contact with Euro-Americans extended into

18 what is now the United States.

19 (14) The term ‘‘letter of intent’’ means an un20 documented letter or resolution which is dated and

21 signed by the governing body of an Indian group

22 and submitted to the Commission and indicates the

23 group’s intent to submit a petition for Federal ac24 knowledgment as an Indian tribe.
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1 (15) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

2 means an individual who is recognized by an Indian

3 group as meeting its membership criteria and who

4 consents in writing to being listed as a member of

5 that group.

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

7 means an individual who meets the membership re8 quirements of the tribe as set forth in its governing

9 document or, in the absence of a governing docu10 ment which sets out these requirements, has been

11 recognized as a member collectively by those persons

12 comprising the tribal governing body; and has con13 sistently maintained tribal relations with the tribe or

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

15 if such rolls are kept.

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

17 acknowledgment submitted or transferred to the

18 Commission pursuant to section 5 of this Act.

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

20 which has submitted a letter of intent to the Com21 mission requesting acknowledgment that it is an

22 Indian tribe.

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

24 means a tribal council, leadership, internal process

25 or other mechanism which the group has used as a
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1 means of influencing or controlling the behavior of

2 its members in significant respects, or making deci3 sions for the group which substantially affect its

4 members, or representing the group in dealing with

5 non-members in matters of consequence to the

6 group. ‘‘Political influence or authority’’ is to be un7 derstood in the context of the history, culture and

8 social organization of the group.

9 (20) The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledg10 ment’’ means any action by the Federal government

11 the character of which is clearly premised on identi12 fication of a tribal political entity and clearly indi13 cates the recognition of a government-to-government

14 relationship between that entity and the Federal

15 government.

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

17 reextension of acknowledgment to any previously ac18 knowledged tribe which may have had its acknowl19 edged status abrogated or diminished by reason of

20 congressional legislation expressly terminating that

21 status.

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

23 of the Interior.

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

25 period of earliest sustained Euro-American settle-
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1 ment or governmental presence in the local area in

2 which the tribe or tribes from which the petitioner

3 claims descent was located historically.

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

5 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

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

7 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

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

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

10 government the United States subsequently ac11 quired territory by purchase, conquest, annex12 ation, or cession; or

13 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

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

15 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

16 ratified.

17 (25) The term ‘‘tribal relations’’ means partici18 pation by an individual in a political and social rela19 tionship with an Indian tribe.

20 (26) The term ‘‘tribal roll’’ means a list exclu21 sively of those individuals who have been determined

22 by the tribe to meet the tribe’s membership require23 ments as set forth in its governing document or, in

24 the absence of a governing document setting forth

25 those requirements, have been recognized as mem-
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1 bers by the tribe’s governing body. In either case,

2 those individuals on a tribal roll must have affirma3 tively demonstrated consent to being listed as mem4 bers.

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

6 contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii; and does not

7 include territories or possessions.

8 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

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

10 independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec11 ognition.

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

13 consist of three members appointed by the President, by

14 and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

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

16 President shall give careful consideration to—

17 (i) recommendations received from Indian

18 tribes;

19 (ii) individuals who have a background in In20 dian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or his21 tory; and

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

23 are employed by the United States Government and

24 would be eligible to participate through the Intergov25 ernmental Personnel Exchange Act.
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1 (2) No more than two members of the Commission

2 may be members of the same political party.

3 (3)(A) Each member of the Commission shall be ap4 pointed for a term of four years, except as provided in

5 subparagraph (B).

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

7 appointment, of the members first appointed—

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

9 years;

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

11 years; and

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

13 years.

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

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

16 the original appointment was made. Any member ap17 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration

18 of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap19 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that

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

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

22 (5)(A) Each member of the Commission not other23 wise employed by the United States Government shall re24 ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

25 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of
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1 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

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

3 such member is engaged in the actual performance of du4 ties authorized by the Commission.

5 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem6 ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em7 ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the

8 Commission without additional compensation, but such

9 service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

10 status or privilege.

11 (C) All members of the Commission shall be reim12 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex13 penses during the performance of duties of the Commis14 sion while away from home or their regular place of busi15 ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of

16 title 5, United States Code.

17 (6) At the time appointments are made under para18 graph (1), the President shall designate one of such ap19 pointees as Chairman of the Commission.

20 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) The Commis21 sion shall hold its first meeting no later than 30 days after

22 the date on which all members of the Commission have

23 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

24 (2) Two members of the Commission shall constitute

25 a quorum for the transaction of business.
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1 (3) The Commission may adopt such rules (consistent

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

3 establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its

4 operations, organization, and personnel.

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

6 in the District of Columbia.

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

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

9 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

10 Act.

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

12 rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Commis13 sion, the Chairman of the Commission is authorized to—

14 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa15 tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,

16 United States Code, governing appointments in the

17 competitive service, and without regard to the provi18 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

19 of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat20 ing to the number, classification, and General

21 Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the

22 Commission and of such other personnel as the

23 Chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform24 ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not

25 to exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
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1 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

2 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

3 United States Code; and

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

5 of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter6 mittent services to the same extent as is authorized

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

8 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

9 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu10 tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

11 (2) The Commission is authorized to—

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

13 times;

14 (B) take such testimony;

15 (C) have such printing and binding done;

16 (D) enter into such contracts and other ar17 rangements, subject to the availability of funds;

18 (E) make such expenditures; and

19 (F) take such other actions,

20 as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of

21 the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

22 witnesses appearing before the Commission.

23 (3)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di24 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish25 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such
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1 information as the Commission may require for the pur2 pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen3 cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di4 rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in5 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

6 the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman of

7 the Commission.

8 (B) Upon the request of the Chairman of the Com9 mission, the head of any Federal department, agency, or

10 instrumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities

11 and services of such department, agency, or instrumental12 ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per13 sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to

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

15 Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.

16 (C) The Commission may use the United States mails

17 in the same manner and under the same conditions as

18 other departments and agencies of the United States.

19 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro20 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not

21 apply to the Commission.

22 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

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

24 to the Commission a petition requesting that the Commis25 sion recognize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe.
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1 (2) The provisions of this Act do not apply to the

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

3 recognition under this Act—

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

5 communities, and Alaska Native entities which are

6 recognized by the Secretary as of the date of enact7 ment of this Act as eligible to receive services from

8 the Bureau;

9 (B) splinter groups, political factions, commu10 nities, or groups of any character which separate

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

12 time of such separation, is recognized as being an

13 Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear14 ly established that the group, faction, or community

15 has functioned throughout history until the date of

16 such petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity;

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

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

19 petitioned for and been denied or refused recognition

20 as an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by

21 the Secretary;

22 (D) any Indian group whose relationship with

23 the Federal Government was expressly terminated

24 by an Act of Congress; and
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1 (E) any Indian group that, in any action in a

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

3 has previously attempted to establish its status as

4 an Indian tribe or a successor-in-interest to an In5 dian tribe that was a party to a treaty with the

6 United States, and—

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

8 an Indian tribe; or

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

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

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

12 or

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

14 such court which, if made by the Commission,

15 would show that the group was incapable of es16 tablishing one or more of the criteria set forth

17 in this section.

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

19 all of the members of the Commission have been appointed

20 and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer

21 to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart22 ment and not then under active consideration that request

23 the Secretary, or the Federal Government, to recognize

24 or acknowledge an Indian group as an Indian tribe, except
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1 those groups whose petitions are under active consider2 ation at the time of the transfer.

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

4 the Department shall cease to have any authority to recog5 nize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal government,

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

7 under active consideration whose petitions have been re8 tained by the Department pursuant to subparagraph (A)

9 of this paragraph.

10 (C) Petitions transferred to the Commission under

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

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

13 Commission in the same order as they were submitted to

14 the Department.

15 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro16 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub17 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in any readable

18 form which clearly indicates that it is a petition requesting

19 the Commission to recognize that the Indian group is an

20 Indian tribe and which contains detailed, specific evidence

21 as to each of the following:

22 (1) A statement of facts establishing that the

23 petitioner has been identified as an American Indian

24 entity on a substantially continuous basis since

25 1871. Evidence that the group’s character as an In-
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1 dian entity has from time to time been denied shall

2 not be considered to be conclusive evidence that this

3 criterion has not been met. Evidence to be relied

4 upon in determining a group’s Indian identity may

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

6 as other evidence of identification by other than the

7 petitioner itself or its members:

8 (A) Identification of the petitioner as an

9 Indian entity by Federal authorities.

10 (B) Relationships of the petitioner with

11 State governments based on identification of

12 the petitioner as an Indian entity.

13 (C) Dealings of the petitioner with a coun14 ty, parish, or other local government in a rela15 tionship based on the Indian identity of the pe16 titioner.

17 (D) Identification of the petitioner as an

18 Indian entity by records in private or public ar19 chives, courthouses, churches, or schools.

20 (E) Identification of the petitioner as an

21 Indian entity by anthropologists, historians, or

22 other scholars.

23 (F) Identification of the petitioner as an

24 Indian entity in newspapers, books, or similar

25 media.
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1 (G) Identification of the petitioner as an

2 Indian entity by other Indian tribes or by na3 tional, regional, or state Indian organizations.

4 (H) Identification of the petitioner as an

5 Indian entity by foreign governments or inter6 national organizations.

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

8 predominant portion of the membership of the peti9 tioner comprises a community distinct from those

10 surrounding it and has existed as a community from

11 historical times to the present. Evidence to be relied

12 upon in determining that the petitioner meets this

13 criterion may include one or a combination of the

14 following:

15 (i) Significant rates of marriage within the

16 group, or, as may be culturally required, pat17 terned out-marriages with other Indian popu18 lations.

19 (ii) Significant social relationships connect20 ing individual members.

21 (iii) Significant rates of informal social

22 interaction which exist broadly among the mem23 bers of a group.
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1 (iv) A significant degree of shared or coop2 erative labor or other economic activity among

3 the membership.

4 (v) Evidence of strong patterns of discrimi5 nation or other social distinctions by non-mem6 bers.

7 (vi) Shared sacred or secular ritual activity

8 encompassing most of the group.

9 (vii) Cultural patterns shared among a sig10 nificant portion of the group that are different

11 from those of the non-Indian populations with

12 whom it interacts. These patterns must func13 tion as more than a symbolic identification of

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

15 not limited to, language, kinship or religious or16 ganizations, or religious beliefs and practices.

17 (viii) The persistence of a named, collective

18 Indian identity continuously over a period of

19 more than 50 years, notwithstanding changes in

20 name.

21 (ix) A demonstration of historical political

22 influence pursuant to the criterion set forth in

23 paragraph (3).

24 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have

25 provided sufficient evidence of community at a given
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1 point in time if evidence is provided demonstrating

2 any one of the following:

3 (i) More than 50 percent of the members

4 reside in a particular geographical area exclu5 sively or almost exclusively composed of mem6 bers of the group, and the balance of the group

7 maintains consistent social interaction with

8 some members of the community;

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

10 the group are between members of the group;

11 (iii) At least 50 percent of the group mem12 bers maintain distinct cultural patterns such as,

13 but not limited to, language, kinship or reli14 gious organizations, or religious beliefs or prac15 tices;

16 (iv) There are distinct community social

17 institutions encompassing a substantial portion

18 of the members, such as kinship organizations,

19 formal or informal economic cooperation, or re20 ligious organizations; or

21 (v) The group has met the criterion in

22 paragraph (3) using evidence described in para23 graph (3)(B).

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

25 the petitioner has maintained political influence or
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1 authority over its members as an autonomous entity

2 from historical times until the present. Evidence to

3 be relied upon in determining that the petitioner

4 meets this criterion may include one or a combina5 tion of the following:

6 (i) The group is able to mobilize significant

7 numbers of members and significant resources

8 from its members for group purposes.

9 (ii) Most of the membership considers is10 sues acted upon or taken by group leaders or

11 governing bodies to be of personal importance.

12 (iii) There is a widespread knowledge, com13 munication and involvement in political proc14 esses by most of the group’s members.

15 (iv) The group meets the criterion in para16 graph (2) at more than a minimal level.

17 (v) There are intragroup conflicts which

18 show controversy over valued group goals, prop19 erties, policies, processes or decisions.

20 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have

21 provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exer22 cise of political influence or authority at a given

23 point in time by demonstrating that group leaders or

24 other mechanisms exist or existed which:
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1 (i) Allocate group resources such as land,

2 residence rights or the like on a consistent

3 basis.

4 (ii) Settle disputes between members or

5 subgroups such as clans or moieties by medi6 ation or other means on a regular basis.

7 (iii) Exert strong influence on the behavior

8 of individual members, such as the establish9 ment or maintenance of norms and the enforce10 ment of sanctions to direct or control behavior.

11 (iv) Organize or influence economic sub12 sistence activities among the members, includ13 ing shared or cooperative labor.

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

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

16 considered to have provided sufficient evidence to

17 meet this criterion at that same point in time.

18 (4) A copy of the petitioner’s present governing

19 document including its membership criteria. In the

20 absence of a written document, the petitioner must

21 provide a statement describing in full its member22 ship criteria and current governing procedures.

23 (5) A list of all current members of the peti24 tioner, including each member’s full name (and

25 maiden name, if any), date and place of birth, and
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1 current residential address, as well as a copy of each

2 available former list of members based on the peti3 tioner’s own defined criteria, and a statement de4 scribing the methods used in preparing those lists.

5 The membership must consist of individuals who

6 have established descendancy from an Indian group

7 which existed historically or from historical Indian

8 groups which combined and functioned as a single

9 autonomous entity. Evidence of tribal membership

10 required by the Commission includes (but is not lim11 ited to)—

12 (A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec13 retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib14 uting claims money, providing allotments, or

15 other purposes;

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

17 or evidence identifying present members of the

18 petitioner, or ancestors of present members of

19 the petitioner, as being descendants of a his20 toric tribe or historic tribes that combined and

21 functioned as a single autonomous political en22 tity;

23 (C) church, school, and other similar en24 rollment records identifying present members or

25 ancestors of present members as being descend-
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1 ants of a historic tribe or historic tribes that

2 combined and functioned as a single autono3 mous political entity;

4 (D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el5 ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body iden6 tifying present members or ancestors of present

7 members as being descendants of a historic

8 tribe or historic tribes that combined and func9 tioned as a single autonomous political entity;

10 and

11 (E) other records or evidence identifying

12 present members or ancestors of present mem13 bers as being descendants of a historic tribe or

14 historic tribes that combined and functioned as

15 a single autonomous political entity.

16 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—A petition from an Indian group

17 which can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence

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

19 (1) party to a treaty or treaties;

20 (2) group acknowledged by any agency of the

21 Federal Government as eligible to participate in the

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

23 et seq.);

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

25 States took into trust land or lands, or which the
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1 Federal government has treated as having collective

2 rights in tribal lands or funds; or

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

4 of Congress or Executive Order,

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

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

7 present.

8 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

9 (a) PETITIONER.—Within 30 days after a petition is

10 submitted or transferred to the Commission under section

11 5(a), the Commission shall send an acknowledgement of

12 receipt in writing to the petitioner and shall have pub13 lished in the Federal Register a notice of such receipt, in14 cluding the name, location, and mailing address of the pe15 titioner and such other information that will identify the

16 entity who submitted the petition and the date the petition

17 was received by the Commission. The notice shall also in18 dicate where a copy of the petition may be examined.

19 (b) OTHERS.—The Commission shall also notify, in

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

21 recognized Indian tribe within, any State in which a peti22 tioner resides.

23 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

24 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—The Commission shall pub25 lish the notice of receipt of the petition in a major news-
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1 paper of general circulation in the town or city nearest

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

3 addition to the information described in subsection (a), no4 tice of opportunity for other parties to submit factual or

5 legal arguments in support of or in opposition to, the peti6 tion. Such submissions shall be provided to the petitioner

7 upon receipt by the Commission. The petitioner shall be

8 provided an opportunity to respond to such submissions

9 prior to a determination on the petition by the Commis10 sion.

11 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

12 (a) REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of a documented peti13 tion, the Commission shall conduct a review to determine

14 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an

15 Indian tribe.

16 (2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall

17 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

18 and the factual statements contained in the petition.

19 (3) The Commission may also initiate other research

20 for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob21 taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta22 tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit23 ted by other parties.

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

25 Congress and the National Archives shall each allow ac-
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1 cess to the petitioner to its resources, records, and docu2 ments, for the purpose of conducting research and prepar3 ing evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

4 (b) CONSIDERATION.—(1) Except as otherwise pro5 vided in this subsection, petitions shall be considered on

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

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

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

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

10 shall establish a priority register including those petitions

11 pending before the Department on the date of enactment

12 of this Act.

13 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission

14 by Indian groups that meet one or more of the require15 ments set forth in section 5(c) shall receive priority consid16 eration over petitions submitted by any other Indian

17 group.

18 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

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

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

21 a date for a preliminary hearing. At the preliminary hear22 ing, the petitioner and any other concerned party may pro23 vide evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.
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1 (b) DETERMINATION.—(1) Within 30 days after the

2 conclusion of the preliminary hearing under subsection

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

4 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgement to the

5 petitioner; or

6 (B) that the petitioner proceed to an adjudica7 tory hearing.

8 (2) The Commission shall publish the determination

9 in the Federal Register.

10 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

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

12 determines under subsection (b) that the petitioner pro13 ceed to an adjudicatory hearing, the Commission shall—

14 (A) make available its appropriate evidentiary

15 records to the petitioner to assist the petitioner in

16 preparing for the adjudicatory hearing, and shall

17 also include such guidance as the Commission con18 siders necessary or appropriate to assist the peti19 tioner in preparing for the hearing; and

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

21 preliminary hearing under subsection (a), notify the

22 petitioner in writing, which notice shall include a list

23 of any deficiencies or omissions on which the Com24 mission relied in making its determination.
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1 (2) The list of deficiencies and omissions provided

2 under paragraph (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adju3 dicatory hearing. The Commission may not add to this list

4 once it is issued.

5 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the conclu7 sion of the preliminary hearing, the Commission shall af8 ford the petitioner described in section 8(b)(1)(B) an adju9 dicatory hearing. The hearing shall be on the list of defi10 ciencies and omissions provided under section 8(c)(1)(B)

11 and shall be conducted pursuant to section 554 of title

12 5, United States Code.

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

14 Commission may require testimony from its acknowledge15 ment and research staff or other witnesses. Any such testi16 mony shall be subject to cross-examination by the peti17 tioner.

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

19 provide such evidence as the petitioner deems appropriate.

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

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

22 the Commission shall—

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

24 denial of Federal acknowledgment to the petitioner;
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1 (2) publish its determination under paragraph

2 (1) in the Federal Register; and

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

4 petitioner, and to every other interested party.

5 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

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

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

8 petitioner may appeal the determination to the United

9 States District Court for the District of Columbia.

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

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

12 for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs under

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

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

15 may be.

16 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.

17 A determination by the Commission that an Indian

18 group is recognized by the Federal Government as an In19 dian tribe shall not have the effect of—

20 (1) depriving or diminishing the right of any

21 other Indian tribe to govern its reservation as such

22 reservation existed prior to the recognition of such

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

24 (2) depriving or diminishing any property right

25 held in trust or recognized by the United States for
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1 such other Indian tribe as it existed prior to the rec2 ognition of such Indian group; or

3 (3) depriving or diminishing any previously or

4 independently existing claim by a petitioner to any

5 such property right held in trust by the United

6 States for such other Indian tribe prior to the rec7 ognition of such Indian group.

8 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

9 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—(1)

10 Subject to paragraph (2), upon recognition by the Com11 mission that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian

12 tribe shall be eligible for the services and benefits from

13 the Federal Government that are available to other feder14 ally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their status as

15 Indian tribes with a government-to-government relation16 ship with the United States, as well as having the respon17 sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec18 ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au19 thority of Congress and the United States to which other

20 federally recognized tribes are subject.

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

22 does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro23 grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail24 able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap-
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1 propriations shall follow a determination under subsection

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

3 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months

4 after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap5 propriate area offices of the Bureau and the Indian Health

6 Service shall consult and develop in cooperation with the

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

8 determination of the needs of the Indian tribe and a rec9 ommended budget required to serve the newly recognized

10 Indian tribe. The recommended budget shall be considered

11 along with recommendations by the appropriate Secretary

12 in the budget-request process.

13 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S

14 ACTIVITIES.

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

16 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and

17 annually on or before every January 30 thereafter, the

18 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

19 of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the Federal

20 Government and receiving services from the Bureau of In21 dian Affairs.

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

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

24 the Commission shall submit a report to the Committee

25 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and
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1 to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate a report

2 on its activities, which shall include at a minimum the

3 following:

4 (1) The number of petitions pending at the be5 ginning of the year and the names of the petitioners.

6 (2) The number of petitions received during the

7 year and the names of the petitioners.

8 (3) The number of petitions the Commission

9 approved for acknowledgment and the names of the

10 acknowledged petitioners.

11 (4) The number of petitions the Commission

12 denied for acknowledgement and the names of the

13 petitioners.

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

15 names of the petitioners.

16 SEC. 14. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

17 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

18 court of the United States for the district in which the

19 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for

20 the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this

21 Act, including any time limitations within which actions

22 are required to be taken, or decisions made, under this

23 Act and the district court shall issue such orders (includ24 ing writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce

25 the provisions of this Act.
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1 SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.

2 The Commission is authorized to prescribe such regu3 lations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions

4 and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must be

5 published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,

6 United States Code.

7 SEC. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

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

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

10 available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions,

11 including general suggestions and guidelines on where and

12 how to research required information, but such examples

13 shall not preclude the use of any other format.

14 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re15 quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to

16 any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori17 cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall

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

19 petitioner.

20 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

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

22 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek23 ing Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups to—

24 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan25 tiate petitions under this Act; and
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1 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

2 submission of a petition under this Act.

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

4 in addition to any other grants the Secretary of Health

5 and Human Services is authorized to provide under any

6 other provision of law.

7 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under

8 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob9 jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by

10 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

11 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro13 priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying

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

15 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,500,000 for each

16 of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.

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

18 be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri19 cans of the Department of Health and Human Services

20 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section

21 17 $3,000,000 for each fiscal year.

Passed the House of Representatives October 3,

1994,

Attest: DONNALD K. ANDERSON,

Clerk.

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