106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 161

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That the Clerk of the House of Representa3 tives, in the enrollment of the bill (H.R. 5528) to author4 ize the construction of a Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place

5 in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and for other purposes,

6 shall make the following correction:

7 (1) Strike title XII and insert the following:

8 TITLE XII—NAVAJO NATION

9 TRUST LAND LEASING

10 SEC. 1201. SHORT TITLE.

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Navajo Nation Trust

12 Land Leasing Act of 2000’’.

13 SEC. 1202. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION

14 OF PURPOSES.

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Recognizing the special relationship

16 between the United States and the Navajo Nation and its

17 members, and the Federal responsibility to the Navajo

18 people, Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the third clause of section 8, Article I of the

2 United States Constitution provides that ‘‘The Con3 gress shall have Power . . . to regulate Commerce

4 . . . with Indian tribes’’, and, through this and

5 other constitutional authority, Congress has plenary

6 power over Indian affairs;

7 (2) Congress, through statutes, treaties, and

8 the general course of dealing with Indian tribes, has

9 assumed the responsibility for the protection and

10 preservation of Indian tribes and their resources;

11 (3) the United States has a trust obligation to

12 guard and preserve the sovereignty of Indian tribes

13 in order to foster strong tribal governments, Indian

14 self-determination, and economic self-sufficiency;

15 (4) pursuant to the first section of the Act of

16 August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415), Congress conferred

17 upon the Secretary of the Interior the power to pro18 mulgate regulations governing tribal leases and to

19 approve tribal leases for tribes according to regula20 tions promulgated by the Secretary;

21 (5) the Secretary of the Interior has promul22 gated the regulations described in paragraph (4) at

23 part 162 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations;

24 (6) the requirement that the Secretary approve

25 leases for the development of Navajo trust lands has
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1 added a level of review and regulation that does not

2 apply to the development of non-Indian land; and

3 (7) in the global economy of the 21st Century,

4 it is crucial that individual leases of Navajo trust

5 lands not be subject to Secretarial approval and that

6 the Navajo Nation be able to make immediate deci7 sions over the use of Navajo trust lands.

8 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are as fol9 lows:

10 (1) To establish a streamlined process for the

11 Navajo Nation to lease trust lands without having to

12 obtain the approval of the Secretary of the Interior

13 for individual leases, except leases for exploration,

14 development, or extraction of any mineral resources.

15 (2) To authorize the Navajo Nation, pursuant

16 to tribal regulations, which must be approved by the

17 Secretary, to lease Navajo trust lands without the

18 approval of the Secretary of the Interior for the indi19 vidual leases, except leases for exploration, develop20 ment, or extraction of any mineral resources.

21 (3) To revitalize the distressed Navajo Reserva22 tion by promoting political self-determination, and

23 encouraging economic self-sufficiency, including eco24 nomic development that increases productivity and
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1 the standard of living for members of the Navajo

2 Nation.

3 (4) To maintain, strengthen, and protect the

4 Navajo Nation’s leasing power over Navajo trust

5 lands.

6 (5) To ensure that the United States is faith7 fully executing its trust obligation to the Navajo Na8 tion by maintaining federal supervision through

9 oversight of and record keeping related to leases of

10 Navajo Nation tribal trust lands.

11 SEC. 1203. LEASE OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO

12 NATION.

13 The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25

14 U.S.C. 415) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (d)—

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

17 the end;

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe19 riod and inserting a semicolon; and

20 (C) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(3) the term ‘individually owned Navajo In22 dian allotted land’ means a single parcel of land

23 that—

24 ‘‘(A) is located within the jurisdiction of

25 the Navajo Nation;
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1 ‘‘(B) is held in trust or restricted status by

2 the United States for the benefit of Navajo In3 dians or members of another Indian tribe; and

4 ‘‘(C) was—

5 ‘‘(i) allotted to a Navajo Indian; or

6 ‘‘(ii) taken into trust or restricted sta7 tus by the United States for an individual

8 Indian;

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘interested party’ means an In10 dian or non-Indian individual or corporation, or trib11 al or non-tribal government whose interests could be

12 adversely affected by a tribal trust land leasing deci13 sion made by the Navajo Nation;

14 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Navajo Nation’ means the Nav15 ajo Nation government that is in existence on the

16 date of enactment of this Act or its successor;

17 ‘‘(6) the term ‘petition’ means a written request

18 submitted to the Secretary for the review of an ac19 tion (or inaction) of the Navajo Nation that is

20 claimed to be in violation of the approved tribal leas21 ing regulations;

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

23 of the Interior; and

24 ‘‘(8) the term ‘tribal regulations’ means the

25 Navajo Nation regulations enacted in accordance
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1 with Navajo Nation law and approved by the Sec2 retary.’’; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(e)(1) Any leases by the Navajo Nation for purposes

5 authorized under subsection (a), and any amendments

6 thereto, except a lease for the exploration, development,

7 or extraction of any mineral resources, shall not require

8 the approval of the Secretary if the lease is executed under

9 the tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this

10 subsection and the term of the lease does not exceed—

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of a business or agricultural

12 lease, 25 years, except that any such lease may in13 clude an option to renew for up to 2 additional

14 terms, each of which may not exceed 25 years; and

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious,

16 educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75

17 years if such a term is provided for by the Navajo

18 Nation through the promulgation of regulations.

19 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individually

20 owned Navajo Indian allotted land.

21 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall have the authority to ap22 prove or disapprove tribal regulations referred to under

23 paragraph (1). The Secretary shall approve such tribal

24 regulations if such regulations are consistent with the reg25 ulations of the Secretary under subsection (a), and any
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1 amendments thereto, and provide for an environmental re2 view process. The Secretary shall review and approve or

3 disapprove the regulations of the Navajo Nation within

4 120 days of the submission of such regulations to the Sec5 retary. Any disapproval of such regulations by the Sec6 retary shall be accompanied by written documentation

7 that sets forth the basis for the disapproval. Such 120-

8 day period may be extended by the Secretary after con9 sultation with the Navajo Nation.

10 ‘‘(4) If the Navajo Nation has executed a lease pursu11 ant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), the Navajo

12 Nation shall provide the Secretary with—

13 ‘‘(A) a copy of the lease and all amendments

14 and renewals thereto; and

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of regulations or a lease that

16 permits payment to be made directly to the Navajo

17 Nation, documentation of the lease payments suffi18 cient to enable the Secretary to discharge the trust

19 responsibility of the United States under paragraph

20 (5).

21 ‘‘(5) The United States shall not be liable for losses

22 sustained by any party to a lease executed pursuant to

23 tribal regulations under paragraph (1), including the Nav24 ajo Nation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed

25 to diminish the authority of the Secretary to take appro-
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1 priate actions, including the cancellation of a lease, in fur2 therance of the trust obligation of the United States to

3 the Navajo Nation.

4 ‘‘(6)(A) An interested party may, after exhaustion of

5 tribal remedies, submit, in a timely manner, a petition to

6 the Secretary to review the compliance of the Navajo Na7 tion with any regulations approved under this subsection.

8 If upon such review the Secretary determines that the reg9 ulations were violated, the Secretary may take such action

10 as may be necessary to remedy the violation, including re11 scinding the approval of the tribal regulations and re12 assuming responsibility for the approval of leases for Nav13 ajo Nation tribal trust lands.

14 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary seeks to remedy a violation de15 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—

16 ‘‘(i) make a written determination with respect

17 to the regulations that have been violated;

18 ‘‘(ii) provide the Navajo Nation with a written

19 notice of the alleged violation together with such

20 written determination; and

21 ‘‘(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy or the

22 rescission of the approval of the regulation involved

23 and the reassumption of the lease approval responsi24 bility, provide the Navajo Nation with a hearing on
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1 the record and a reasonable opportunity to cure the

2 alleged violation.’’.

Passed the Senate December 11 (legislative day,

September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 161

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To correct the enrollment of H.R. 5528.