I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4653

To settle Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 1994

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

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To settle Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut,

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 ‘‘Mohegan Nation of

5 Connecticut Land Claims Settlement Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF

7 POLICY.

8 Congress finds and declares that—

9 (1) the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecti10 cut is a successor in interest to the aboriginal entity
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1 known as the Mohegan Indian Tribe which has ex2 isted in the State of Connecticut from time immemo3 rial and for which certain lands were sequestered as

4 tribal lands by the Colony and State of Connecticut;

5 (2) there is pending before the United States

6 District Court for the Southern District of Connecti7 cut a lawsuit by the Mohegan Indian Tribe which in8 volves certain lands within the State of Connecticut;

9 (3) the pendency of the lawsuit may result in

10 economic hardships for residents of the State of

11 Connecticut by clouding the titles to lands in the

12 State, including lands not now involved in the law13 suit;

14 (4) the State of Connecticut and the Mohegan

15 Tribe have executed agreements for the purposes of

16 resolving all disputes between them and settling the

17 lawsuit, which agreements require implementing leg18 islation by the Congress of the United States;

19 (5) in the agreements described above, the par20 ties provide for the assumption by the State of Con21 necticut of criminal jurisdiction over the members of

22 the Mohegan Tribe and on its lands and to the sub23 mission of all gaming-related development to the

24 State of Connecticut State Traffic Commission; and
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1 (6) Congress shares with the parties to such

2 agreements a desire to settle all Mohegan Indian

3 claims in the State of Connecticut and to remove all

4 clouds on titles resulting from such lawsuits.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 For purposes of this Act, the term—

7 (1) ‘‘Mohegan Tribe’’ means the Mohegan

8 Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, a tribe of American

9 Indians recognized by the United States pursuant to

10 25 C.F.R. 83 and by the State of Connecticut pur11 suant to Connecticut General Statutes sections 47–

12 59 (a) and (b) and further described in section 2(a);

13 (2) ‘‘State of Connecticut’’ means the State of

14 Connecticut, its agencies, political subdivisions, con15 stitutional officers, officials of its agencies and sub16 divisions;

17 (3) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the

18 Interior;

19 (4) ‘‘Lands or natural resources’’ means any

20 real property or natural resources, or any interest in

21 or right involving any real property or natural re22 sources including, but not limited to, minerals and

23 mineral rights, timber and timber rights, water and

24 water rights, and rights to hunt and fish;
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1 (5) ‘‘Lawsuit’’ means the action in the United

2 States District Court for the District of Connecticut,

3 entitled ‘‘Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut

4 v. State of Connecticut, et al., Case No. H77–434;

5 (6) ‘‘Agreement’’ means that document entitled

6 ‘‘Agreement between the Mohegan Tribe and the

7 State of Connecticut’’ executed on April 25, 1994,

8 by the Governor of the State of Connecticut and the

9 Chief of the Mohegan Tribe, and filed with the Sec10 retary of State of the State of Connecticut; and

11 (7) ‘‘Transfer’’ includes, but is not limited to,

12 any sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or con13 veyance, any transaction the purpose of which was

14 to effect a sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or

15 conveyance, or any event or events that resulted in

16 a change of possession or control of lands or natural

17 resources.

18 SEC. 4. FINDINGS BY THE SECRETARY.

19 Section 5 of this Act shall not take effect until the

20 following events have occurred and the Secretary so

21 finds—

22 (1) the Governor of the State of Connecticut

23 has entered into a binding compact with the Mohe24 gan Tribe providing for tribal gaming operations, in25 cluding class III gaming in accordance with the In-
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1 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et

2 seq.) and the compact has received all the Federal

3 approvals required to be fully effective; and

4 (2) the United States has accepted in trust for

5 the Mohegan Tribe the lands the Tribe has des6 ignated for including in their initial Reservation as

7 described in Exhibit B to the Agreement.

8 SEC. 5. APPROVAL OF PRIOR TRANSFERS AND EXTIN9 GUISHMENT OF CLAIMS AND ABORIGINAL

10 TITLE INVOLVING THE MOHEGAN TRIBE.

11 (a) If the Secretary finds that the conditions set forth

12 in section 4 of this Act have been satisfied, he shall publish

13 such findings and the Agreement in the Federal Register,

14 and upon such publication:

15 (1) The transfers, waivers, releases,

16 relinquishments, and other commitments made by

17 the Mohegan Tribe in paragraph (1) of its Agree18 ment with the State of Connecticut shall be of full

19 force and effect on the terms and conditions therein

20 stated.

21 (2) The transfers, waivers, releases,

22 relinquishments, and other commitments validated

23 by paragraph (1) of the Agreement and of this sec24 tion and the transfers and extinguishments approved

25 and validated by subsection (b)(1) and (2) shall be
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1 deemed to have been made in accordance with the

2 United States Constitution and all laws of the Unit3 ed States that are specifically applicable to transfers

4 of lands or natural resources from, by, or on behalf

5 of any Indian, Indian nation, or tribe of Indians (in6 cluding but not limited to the Trade and Intercourse

7 Act of 1790, Act of July 22, 1790, ch. 33, sec. 4,

8 1 Stat. 137, and any amendments thereto and all

9 subsequent versions thereof), and Congress does

10 hereby approve any such transfers effective as of the

11 date of said transfers.

12 (b)(1) All claims to lands within the State of Con13 necticut based upon aboriginal title by the Mohegan Tribe,

14 or any predecessor or successor in interest, are hereby ex15 tinguished, as are any and all other claims the Mohegan

16 Tribe might have to any public or private lands or natural

17 resources in Connecticut, such as claims or rights based

18 on recognized title, including but not limited to—

19 (A) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have to

20 the tribal sequestered lands bounded out to the

21 Tribe in 1684, consisting of some 20,480 acres lying

22 between the Thames River, New London bounds,

23 Norwich bounds, and Colchester bounds;

24 (B) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have

25 based on a survey under the authority of the Con-
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1 necticut General Assembly in 1736 of lands reserved

2 and sequestered by the General Assembly for the

3 sole use and improvement of the Mohegan Indian

4 Tribe; and

5 (C) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have

6 based on any action by the State in 1860, 1861, or

7 otherwise to allot, reallot, and/or confirm any lands

8 of the Mohegan Tribe to individual Indians or other

9 persons. Any transfer of lands or natural resources

10 located anywhere within the State of Connecticut in11 cluding, but not limited to, transfers pursuant to the

12 statute or treaty of or with any State or the United

13 States, by, from, or on behalf of the Mohegan Tribe,

14 or any predecessor or successor in interest, shall be

15 deemed to be in full force and effect, as provided in

16 subsection (a)(2): Provided, however, That nothing

17 herein shall be construed as extinguishing any ab18 original right, title, interest, or claim to lands or

19 natural resources solely to the extent of the rights

20 or interests defined as ‘‘excepted interests’’ in para21 graph 1a of the Agreement between the Mohegan

22 Tribe and the State of Connecticut, agreed to April

23 25, 1994.

24 (2) By virtue of the approval of a transfer of lands

25 or natural resources effected by this section, or an extin-
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1 guishment of aboriginal title effected thereby, all claims

2 against the United States, any State or subdivision there3 of, or any other person or entity, by the Mohegan Tribe,

4 arising subsequent to the transfer and based upon any in5 terest in or right involving the claims described in para6 graph (1) above in lands or natural resources, including,

7 but not limited to, claims for trespass damages or claims

8 for use and occupancy, shall be regarded as extinguished

9 as of the date of the transfer, provided that this limitation

10 shall not apply to any interest in lands or natural re11 sources subsequently and lawfully acquired by the Mohe12 gan Tribe or its members.

13 (c) No provision of this section shall be construed to

14 offset or eliminate the personal claim of any individual In15 dian which is pursued under any law of general applicabil16 ity that protects Indians as well as non-Indians.

17 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF LANDS TO THE MOHEGAN TRIBE.

18 (a) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and

19 directed to accept the transfer to the United States of the

20 lands described in exhibits A and B of the agreement be21 tween the State of Connecticut and the Mohegan tribe to

22 be held in trust for the use and benefit of the Mohegan

23 Tribe of Indians of Connecticut as an Indian reservation,

24 notwithstanding the existence of any clouds on title or any

25 liens agreed to by the Tribe.
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1 (b) The lands transferred to the United States in

2 trust for the Mohegan Tribe under subsection (a) shall

3 be subject to the laws of the United States relating to In4 dian lands, including section 177 of this title.

5 SEC. 7. STATE JURISDICTION OVER RESERVATION.

6 (a) Notwithstanding other provisions of Federal law,

7 including but not limited to 25 U.S.C. 1312–1326, the

8 Mohegan Tribe of Indians agrees to and consents to the

9 assumption by the State of Connecticut of criminal juris10 diction over the Mohegan tribal members and all Indians

11 on land or other natural resources presently owned by the

12 Tribe, or which are included in any Federal legislation re13 lating to Mohegan tribe land claims, or any annexation

14 thereto and any other land that may now or hereafter be

15 owned by or held in trust for said Tribe or its members.

16 Such criminal jurisdiction shall extend to the criminal laws

17 of the State of Connecticut and to the criminal jurisdiction

18 of the courts of the State of Connecticut to the same ex19 tent as such criminal law jurisdiction and criminal court

20 jurisdiction which empower the State with respect to any

21 other person or lands or other natural resources within

22 and subject to the jurisdiction of the State of Connecticut.

23 The Congress consents to this assumption of criminal ju24 risdiction by the State of Connecticut.
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1 (b) Notwithstanding other provisions of Federal law,

2 including but not limited to 25 U.S.C. sections 1321–

3 1326, the Mohegan Tribe of Indians agrees to and con4 sents to the assumption of jurisdiction by the State of

5 Connecticut State Traffic Commission over all gaming-re6 lated traffic control matters to the same extent as the

7 State Traffic Commission has jurisdiction over traffic con8 trol within the State of Connecticut as set out in chapter

9 249 of the Connecticut General Statutes, sections 14–297

10 to 14–314C. The Congress consents to this assumption

11 of traffic control jurisdiction by the State of Connecticut.

12 SEC. 8. GENERAL DISCHARGE AND RELEASE OF STATE OF

13 CONNECTICUT.

14 Except as expressly provided herein, this Act shall

15 constitute a general discharge and release of all obliga16 tions of the State of Connecticut and all of its political

17 subdivisions, agencies, departments, and all of the officers

18 or employees thereof arising from any treaty or agreement

19 with, or on behalf of the Tribe of the United Sates as

20 trustee therefor.

21 SEC. 9. REVOCATION OF AGREEMENT.

22 In the event the Agreement between the Mohegan

23 Tribe and the State of Connecticut is invalidated, or if

24 the gaming compact provided in section 4(a) of this Act,

25 or any implementing agreements between the parties
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1 thereto, is invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction,

2 the transfers, waivers, releases, relinquishments and other

3 commitments made by the Mohegan Tribe in paragraph

4 1a of the Agreement shall no longer be of any force or

5 effect, section 5 of this Act shall be inapplicable to the

6 lands, interests in lands or natural resources of the Mohe7 gan Tribe and its members as if never enacted, and the

8 approvals of prior transfers and the extinguishment of

9 claims and aboriginal title of the Mohegan Tribe otherwise

10 effected by section 5 shall be void ab initio. In any such

11 event, the Mohegan Tribe shall have the right to reinstate

12 its land claim within a reasonable time, which period shall

13 be defined as the later of 6 months after the Mohegan

14 Tribe receives written notice of such determination, or if

15 appealed, 6 months after entry of judgment by the court

16 of last resort, and, if the suit is reinstated within that

17 time, no defense, such as laches, statute of limitations, law

18 of the case, res judicata, or prior disposition shall be as19 serted based on the withdrawal of the lawsuit and com20 mencement of the resumed litigation, nor shall the sub21 stance of discussions leading to the Agreement be admissi22 ble in any subsequent litigation: Provided, however, That

23 if any such suit is reinstated, any defense which would

24 have been available to the State of Connecticut at the time

25 the lawsuit was withdrawn may be asserted, and is not
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1 waived by anything in the Agreement or by subsequent

2 events occurring between the withdrawal of the lawsuit

3 and commencement of the resumed litigation.

4 SEC. 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any ac6 tion to contest the constitutionality of this Act or the va7 lidity of any agreement entered into under the authority

8 of this Act or approved by this Act shall be barred unless

9 the complaint is filed within 180 days after ll. Exclu10 sive jurisdiction over any such action is hereby vested in

11 the United States District Court for the District of

12 Connecticut.

13 SEC. 11. JUNE 16, 1994, AGREEMENT.

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law—

15 (1) the Mohegan Tribe is authorized to make

16 payments to the town of Montville according to the

17 terms of the Tribe’s June 16, 1994, agreement with

18 the town, subject to modification by mutual agree19 ment of the parties; and

20 (2) the Secretary of the Interior is authorized

21 and directed to approve that agreement, thereby giv22 ing full force and effect to its provisions, and to ap23 prove future modifications mutually agreed to by the

24 parties.

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