II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1973

To provide for the settlement of the Navajo-Hopi land dispute, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 18, 1996

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To provide for the settlement of the Navajo-Hopi land

dispute, 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 ‘‘Navajo-Hopi Land

5 Dispute Settlement Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) it is in the public interest for the Tribe,

9 Navajos residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands,

10 and the United States to reach a peaceful resolution
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1 of the longstanding disagreements between the par2 ties under the Act commonly known as the ‘‘Navajo3 Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974’’ (Public Law

4 93–531; 25 U.S.C. 640d et seq.);

5 (2) it is in the best interest of the Tribe and

6 the United States that there be a fair and final set7 tlement of certain issues remaining in connection

8 with the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974,

9 including the full and final settlement of the mul10 tiple claims that the Tribe has against the United

11 States;

12 (3) this Act, together with the Settlement

13 Agreement executed on December 14, 1995, and the

14 Accommodation Agreement (as incorporated by the

15 Settlement Agreement), provide the authority for the

16 Tribe to enter agreements with eligible, traditional

17 Navajo families in order for those families to remain

18 residents of the Hopi Partitioned Lands for a period

19 of 75 years, subject to the terms and conditions of

20 the Accommodation Agreement;

21 (4) the United States acknowledges and re22 spects—

23 (A) the sincerity of the traditional beliefs

24 of the members of the Tribe and the Navajo
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1 families residing on the Hopi Partitioned

2 Lands; and

3 (B) the importance that the respective tra4 ditional beliefs of the members of the Tribe and

5 Navajo families have with respect to the culture

6 and way of life of those members and families;

7 (5) this Act, the Settlement Agreement, and the

8 Accommodation Agreement provide for the mutual

9 respect and protection of the traditional religious be10 liefs and practices of the Navajo families residing on

11 the Hopi Partitioned Lands; and

12 (6) the Tribe is encouraged to work with the

13 Navajo families residing on the Hopi Partitioned

14 Lands to address their concerns regarding the estab15 lishment of family or individual burial plots for de16 ceased family members who have resided on the

17 Hopi Partitioned Lands.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, for purposes

20 of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:

21 (1) ACCOMMODATION.—The term ‘‘Accommoda22 tion’’ has the meaning provided the term ‘‘Accom23 modation’’ under the Settlement Agreement.

24 (2) HOPI PARTITIONED LANDS.—The term

25 ‘‘Hopi Partitioned Lands’’ means lands located in
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1 the Hopi Partitioned Area, as defined in section

2 168.1(g) of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (as

3 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act).

4 (3) NAVAJO PARTITIONED LANDS.—The term

5 ‘‘Navajo Partitioned Lands’’ has the meaning pro6 vided that term in the proposed regulations issued

7 on November 1, 1995, at 60 Fed. Reg. 55506.

8 (4) NEW LANDS.—The term ‘‘New Lands’’ has

9 the meaning provided that term in section

10 700.701(b) of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations.

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of the Interior.

13 (6) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term

14 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the agreement be15 tween the United States and the Hopi Tribe exe16 cuted on December 14, 1995.

17 (7) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Hopi

18 Tribe.

19 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

20 The United States approves, ratifies, and confirms

21 the Settlement Agreement.

22 SEC. 5. CONDITIONS FOR LANDS TAKEN INTO TRUST.

23 The Secretary shall take such action as may be nec24 essary to ensure that the following conditions are met
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1 prior to taking lands into trust for the benefit of the Tribe

2 pursuant to the Settlement Agreement:

3 (1) SELECTION OF LANDS TAKEN INTO

4 TRUST.—

5 (A) PRIMARY AREA.—In accordance with

6 section 7(a) of the Settlement Agreement, the

7 primary area within which lands may be taken

8 into trust by the Secretary for the benefit of the

9 Tribe under the Settlement Agreement shall be

10 located in northern Arizona.

11 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR LANDS TAKEN

12 INTO TRUST IN THE PRIMARY AREA.—Lands

13 taken into trust in the primary area referred to

14 in subparagraph (A) shall be—

15 (i) land that is used substantially for

16 ranching, agriculture, or another similar

17 use; and

18 (ii) to the extent feasible, in contig19 uous parcels.

20 (2) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—Before taking

21 any land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe

22 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that:

23 (A) At least 75 percent of the eligible Nav24 ajo heads of household (as determined under

25 the Settlement Agreement) have entered into an
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1 accommodation or have chosen to relocate and

2 are eligible for relocation assistance (as deter3 mined under the Settlement Agreement).

4 (B) The Tribe has consulted with the State

5 of Arizona concerning the lands proposed to be

6 placed in trust, including consulting the State

7 concerning the impact of placing those lands

8 into trust on the State and political subdivisions

9 thereof resulting from the removal of land from

10 the tax rolls in a manner consistent with the

11 provisions of part 151 of title 25, Code of Fed12 eral Regulations.

13 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION THROUGH CONDEMNATION OF CER14 TAIN INTERSPERSED LANDS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—

16 (1) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

18 take action as specified in subparagraph (B), to

19 the extent that the Tribe, in accordance with

20 section 7(b) of the Settlement Agreement—

21 (i) acquires private lands; and

22 (ii) requests the Secretary to acquire

23 through condemnation interspersed lands

24 that are owned by the State of Arizona

25 and are located within the exterior bound-
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1 aries of those private lands in order to

2 have both the private lands and the State

3 lands taken into trust by the Secretary for

4 the benefit of the Tribe.

5 (B) ACQUISITION THROUGH CONDEMNA6 TION.—With respect to a request for an acqui7 sition of lands through condemnation made

8 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall,

9 upon the recommendation of the Tribe, take

10 such action as may be necessary to acquire the

11 lands through condemnation and pay the State

12 of Arizona fair market value for those lands in

13 accordance with applicable Federal law, if the

14 conditions described in paragraph (2) are met.

15 (2) CONDITIONS FOR ACQUISITION THROUGH

16 CONDEMNATION.—The Secretary may acquire lands

17 through condemnation under this subsection if—

18 (A) that acquisition is consistent with the

19 purpose of obtaining not more than 500,000

20 acres of land to be taken into trust for the

21 Tribe;

22 (B) the State of Arizona concurs with the

23 United States that the acquisition is consistent

24 with the interests of the State; and
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1 (C) the Tribe pays for the land acquired

2 through condemnation under this subsection.

3 (b) DISPOSITION OF LANDS.—If the Secretary ac4 quires lands through condemnation under subsection (a),

5 the Secretary shall take those lands into trust for the

6 Tribe in accordance with this Act and the Settlement

7 Agreement.

8 (c) PRIVATE LANDS.—The Secretary may not ac9 quire private lands through condemnation for the purpose

10 specified in subsection (a)(2)(A).

11 SEC. 7. ACTION TO QUIET TITLE.

12 If the United States fails to discharge the obligations

13 specified in section 9(c) of the Settlement Agreement with

14 respect to voluntary relocation of Navajos residing on

15 Hopi Partitioned Lands, or section 9(d) of the Settlement

16 Agreement, relating to the implementation of sections

17 700.137 through 700.139 of title 25, Code of Federal

18 Regulations, on the New Lands, including failure for rea19 son of insufficient funds made available by appropriations

20 or otherwise, the Tribe may bring an action to quiet pos21 session that relates to the use of the Hopi Partitioned

22 Lands after February 1, 2000, by a Navajo family that

23 is eligible for an accommodation, but fails to enter into

24 an accommodation.
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1 SEC. 8. PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.

2 Section 6901(1) of title 31, United States Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

5 (F);

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub7 paragraph (G) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

8 (3) by inserting at the end the following new

9 subparagraph:

10 ‘‘(H) Fee lands owned by the Hopi Tribe

11 or members of the Hopi Tribe that are taken

12 into trust by the Secretary of the Interior pur13 suant to the agreement between the United

14 States and the Hopi Tribe executed on Decem15 ber 14, 1995.’’.

16 SEC. 9. 75–YEAR LEASING AUTHORITY.

17 The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69

18 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) is amended—

19 (l) in subsection (a), by inserting before the pe20 riod at the end of the second sentence the following:

21 ‘‘, and except leases of land by the Hopi Tribe to

22 Navajo Indians on the Hopi Partitioned lands, which

23 may be for a term of years not to exceed seventy24 five years’’; and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following new

26 subsection:
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1 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section—

2 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Hopi Partitioned Lands’ means

3 lands located in the Hopi Partitioned Area, as de4 fined in section 168.1 (g) of title 25, Code of Fed5 eral Regulations (as in effect on the date of enact6 ment of this subsection); and

7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Navajo Indians’ means members

8 of the Navajo Tribe.’’.

9 SEC. 10. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NAVAJO-HOPI

10 RELOCATION HOUSING PROGRAM.

11 Section 25(a)(8) of Public Law 93–531 (25 U.S.C.

12 640d–24(a)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘1996, and 1997’’

13 and inserting ‘‘1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000’’.

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