II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 479

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 28 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1995

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

to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

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 1995’’.

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;
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1 (2) to extend to Indian groups that are deter2 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services,

3 and benefits available from the Federal Government

4 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility with re5 spect to Indian tribes;

6 (3) to extend to Indian groups that are deter7 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi8 leges available to other federally acknowledged In9 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes

10 with a government-to-government relationship with

11 the United States;

12 (4) to ensure that when the Federal Govern13 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe,

14 the Federal Government does so with a consistent

15 legal, factual, and historical basis;

16 (5) to establish a Commission on Indian Rec17 ognition to review and act upon petitions submitted

18 by Indian groups that apply for Federal recognition;

19 (6) to provide clear and consistent standards of

20 administrative review of documented petitions for

21 Federal acknowledgment;

22 (7) to clarify evidentiary standards and expedite

23 the administrative review process by providing ade24 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

3 transfer the responsibility for the process to an inde4 pendent Commission on Indian Recognition.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 Unless the context implies otherwise, for the purposes

7 of this Act the following definitions shall apply:

8 (1) ACKNOWLEDGED.—The term ‘‘acknowl9 edged’’ means, with respect to an Indian group, that

10 the Commission on Indian Recognition has made an

11 acknowledgment, as defined in paragraph (2), for

12 such group.

13 (2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl14 edgment’’ means a determination by the Commission

15 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group—

16 (A) constitutes an Indian tribe with a gov17 ernment-to-government relationship with the

18 United States; and

19 (B) with respect to which the members are

20 recognized as eligible for the special programs

21 and services provided by the United States to

22 Indians because of their status as Indians.

23 (3) AUTONOMOUS.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘autono25 mous’’ means the exercise of political influence
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1 or authority independent of the control of any

2 other Indian governing entity.

3 (B) CONTEXT OF TERM.—With respect to

4 a petitioner, such term shall be understood in

5 the context of the history, geography, culture,

6 and social organization of the petitioner.

7 (4) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the

8 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department.

9 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

10 means the Commission on Indian Recognition estab11 lished pursuant to section 4.

12 (6) COMMUNITY.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘community’’

14 means any group of people, living within a rea15 sonable territorial propinquity, that are able to

16 demonstrate that—

17 (i) consistent interactions and signifi18 cant social relationships exist within the

19 membership; and

20 (ii) the members of such group are

21 differentiated from and identified as dis22 tinct from nonmembers.

23 (B) CONTEXT OF TERM.—Such term shall

24 be understood in the context of the history, cul25 ture, and social organization of the group, tak-
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1 ing into account the geography of the region in

2 which the group resides.

3 (7) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.—With re4 spect to a period of history of a group, the term

5 ‘‘continuous’’ or ‘‘continuously’’ means extending

6 from the first sustained contact with Euro-Ameri7 cans throughout the history of the group to the

8 present substantially without interruption.

9 (8) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’

10 means the Department of the Interior.

11 (9) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu12 mented petition’’ means the detailed, factual expo13 sition and arguments, including all documentary evi14 dence, necessary to demonstrate that such argu15 ments specifically address the mandatory criteria es16 tablished in section 5.

17 (10) GROUP.—The term ‘‘group’’ means an In18 dian group, as defined in paragraph (12).

19 (11) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.—

20 The terms ‘‘historically’’, ‘‘historical’’, and ‘‘history’’

21 refer to the period dating from the first sustained

22 contact with Euro-Americans.

23 (12) INDIAN GROUP.—The term ‘‘Indian

24 group’’ means any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native

25 Hawaiian tribe, band, pueblo, village or community
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1 within the United States that the Secretary does not

2 acknowledge to be an Indian tribe.

3 (13) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

4 means any Indian tribe, band, pueblo, village, or

5 community within the United States that—

6 (A) the Secretary has acknowledged as an

7 Indian tribe as of the date of enactment of this

8 Act, or acknowledges to be an Indian tribe pur9 suant to the procedures applicable to certain

10 petitions under active consideration at the time

11 of the transfer of petitions to the Commission

12 under section 5(a)(3); or

13 (B) the Commission acknowledges as an

14 Indian tribe under this Act.

15 (14) INDIGENOUS.—With respect to a peti16 tioner, the term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to the

17 United States, in that at least part of the traditional

18 territory of the petitioner at the time of first sus19 tained contact with Euro-Americans extended into

20 the United States.

21 (15) LETTER OF INTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of

22 intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution

23 that—

24 (A) is dated and signed by the governing

25 body of an Indian group;
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1 (B) is submitted to the Commission; and

2 (C) indicates the intent of the Indian

3 group to submit a petition for Federal acknowl4 edgment as an Indian tribe.

5 (16) MEMBER OF AN INDIAN GROUP.—The

6 term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’ means an indi7 vidual who—

8 (A) is recognized by an Indian group as

9 meeting the membership criteria of the Indian

10 group; and

11 (B) consents in writing to being listed as

12 a member of such group.

13 (17) MEMBER OF AN INDIAN TRIBE.—The term

14 ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’ means an individual

15 who—

16 (A)(i) meets the membership requirements

17 of the tribe as set forth in its governing docu18 ment; or

19 (ii) in the absence of a governing document

20 which sets out such requirements, has been rec21 ognized as a member collectively by those per22 sons comprising the tribal governing body; and

23 (B)(i) has consistently maintained tribal

24 relations with the tribe; or
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1 (ii) is listed on the tribal membership rolls

2 as a member, if such rolls are kept.

3 (18) PETITION.—The term ‘‘petition’’ means a

4 petition for acknowledgment submitted or trans5 ferred to the Commission pursuant to section 5.

6 (19) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’

7 means any group that submits a letter of intent to

8 the Commission requesting acknowledgment that the

9 group is an Indian tribe.

10 (20) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘political in12 fluence or authority’’ means a tribal council,

13 leadership, internal process, or other mecha14 nism which a group has used as a means of—

15 (i) influencing or controlling the be16 havior of its members in a significant man17 ner;

18 (ii) making decisions for the group

19 which substantially affect its members; or

20 (iii) representing the group in dealing

21 with nonmembers in matters of con22 sequence to the group.

23 (B) CONTEXT OF TERM.—Such term shall

24 be understood in the context of the history, cul25 ture, and social organization of the group.
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1 (21) PREVIOUS FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDG2 MENT.—The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledg3 ment’’ means any action by the Federal Govern4 ment, the character of which—

5 (A) is clearly premised on identification of

6 a tribal political entity; and

7 (B) clearly indicates the recognition of a

8 government-to-government relationship between

9 that entity and the Federal Government.

10 (22) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’

11 means the reextension of acknowledgment to any

12 previously acknowledged tribe with respect to which

13 the acknowledged status may have been abrogated or

14 diminished by reason of legislation enacted by Con15 gress expressly terminating such status.

16 (23) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

17 means the Secretary of the Interior.

18 (24) SUSTAINED CONTACT.—The term ‘‘sus19 tained contact’’ means the period of earliest sus20 tained Euro-American settlement or governmental

21 presence in the local area in which the tribe or tribes

22 from which the petitioner claims descent was located

23 historically.

24 (25) TREATY.—The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any

25 treaty—
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1 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

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

3 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

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

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

6 the Federal Government subsequently acquired

7 territory by purchase, conquest, annexation, or

8 cession; or

9 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

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

11 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

12 ratified.

13 (26) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘tribe’’ means an In14 dian tribe.

15 (27) TRIBAL RELATIONS.—The term ‘‘tribal re16 lations’’ means participation by an individual in a

17 political and social relationship with an Indian tribe.

18 (28) TRIBAL ROLL.—The term ‘‘tribal roll’’

19 means a list exclusively of those individuals who—

20 (A)(i) have been determined by the tribe to

21 meet the membership requirements of the tribe,

22 as set forth in the governing document of the

23 tribe; or

24 (ii) in the absence of a governing document

25 that sets forth such requirements, have been
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1 recognized as members by the governing body

2 of the tribe; and

3 (B) have affirmatively demonstrated con4 sent to being listed as members of the tribe.

5 (29) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United

6 States’’ means the 48 contiguous States, and the

7 States of Alaska and Hawaii. Such term does not in8 clude territories or possessions of the United States.

9 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

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

11 independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec12 ognition. The Commission shall be an independent estab13 lishment, as defined in section 104 of title 5, United

14 States Code.

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—

17 (A) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall

18 consist of 3 members appointed by the Presi19 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the

20 Senate.

21 (B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

22 MEMBERSHIP.—In making appointments to the

23 Commission, the President shall give careful

24 consideration to—
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1 (i) recommendations received from In2 dian tribes; and

3 (ii) individuals who have a back4 ground in Indian law or policy, anthropol5 ogy, genealogy, or history.

6 (2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 2

7 members of the Commission may be members of the

8 same political party.

9 (3) TERMS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

11 subparagraph (B), each member of the Com12 mission shall be appointed for a term of 4

13 years.

14 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—As des15 ignated by the President at the time of appoint16 ment, of the members initially appointed under

17 this subsection—

18 (i) 1 member shall be appointed for a

19 term of 2 years;

20 (ii) 1 member shall be appointed for a

21 term of 3 years; and

22 (iii) 1 member shall be appointed for

23 a term of 4 years.

24 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis25 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission,
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1 but shall be filled in the same manner in which the

2 original appointment was made. Any member ap3 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira4 tion of the term for which the predecessor of the

5 member was appointed shall be appointed only for

6 the remainder of such term. A member may serve

7 after the expiration of the term of such member

8 until a successor has taken office.

9 (5) COMPENSATION.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the

11 Commission shall receive compensation at a

12 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual

13 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

14 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of

15 title 5, United States Code, for each day, in16 cluding traveltime, such member is engaged in

17 the actual performance of duties authorized by

18 the Commission.

19 (B) TRAVEL.—All members of the Com20 mission shall be reimbursed for travel and per

21 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the

22 performance of duties of the Commission while

23 away from their homes or regular places of

24 business, in accordance with subchapter I of

25 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
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1 (6) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—Each member

2 of the Commission shall serve on the Commission as

3 a full-time employee of the Federal Government. No

4 member of the Commission may, while serving on

5 the Commission, be otherwise employed as an officer

6 or employee of the Federal Government. Service by

7 a member who is an employee of the Federal Gov8 ernment at the time of nomination as a member

9 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

10 status or privilege.

11 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—At the time appointments

12 are made under paragraph (1), the President shall

13 designate a Chairperson of the Commission (referred

14 to in this section as the ‘‘Chairperson’’) from among

15 the appointees.

16 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall hold

18 its first meeting not later than 30 days after the

19 date on which all members of the Commission have

20 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

21 (2) QUORUM.—Two members of the Commis22 sion shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of

23 business.

24 (3) RULES.—The Commission may adopt such

25 rules (consistent with the provisions of this Act) as
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1 may be necessary to establish the procedures of the

2 Commission and to govern the manner of operations,

3 organization, and personnel of the Commission.

4 (4) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The principal office of

5 the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia.

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

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

8 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

9 Act.

10 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—

11 (1) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF CHAIR12 PERSON.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

13 may be adopted by the Commission, the Chairperson

14 may—

15 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the com16 pensation (without regard to the provisions of

17 title 5, United States Code, governing appoint18 ments in the competitive service, and without

19 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub20 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title, or of

21 any other provision of law, relating to the num22 ber, classification, and General Schedule rates)

23 of an Executive Director of the Commission and

24 of such other personnel as the Chairperson con25 siders advisable to assist in the performance of
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1 the duties of the Commission, at a rate not to

2 exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

3 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level

4 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316

5 of title 5, United States Code; and

6 (B) procure, as authorized by section

7 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, tem8 porary and intermittent services to the same ex9 tent as is authorized by law for agencies in the

10 executive branch, but at rates not to exceed the

11 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

12 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

13 under section 5316 of such title.

14 (2) GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF

15 COMMISSION.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission

17 may—

18 (i) hold such hearings and sit and act

19 at such times;

20 (ii) take such testimony;

21 (iii) have such printing and binding

22 done;

23 (iv) enter into such contracts and

24 other arrangements, subject to the avail25 ability of funds;
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1 (v) make such expenditures; and

2 (vi) take such other actions,

3 as the Commission may consider advisable.

4 (B) OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS.—Any

5 member of the Commission may administer

6 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing be7 fore the Commission.

8 (3) INFORMATION.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may

10 secure directly from any officer, department,

11 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the

12 Federal Government such information as the

13 Commission may require to carry out this Act.

14 Each such officer, department, agency, estab15 lishment, or instrumentality shall furnish, to

16 the extent permitted by law, such information,

17 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

18 the Commission, upon the request of the Chair19 person.

20 (B) FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND DE21 TAILS.—Upon the request of the Chairperson,

22 to assist the Commission in carrying out the

23 duties of the Commission under this section,

24 the head of any Federal department, agency, or

25 instrumentality may—
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1 (i) make any of the facilities and serv2 ices of such department, agency, or instru3 mentality available to the Commission; and

4 (ii) detail any of the personnel of such

5 department, agency, or instrumentality to

6 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable

7 basis.

8 (C) MAILS.—The Commission may use the

9 United States mails in the same manner and

10 under the same conditions as other departments

11 and agencies of the United States.

12 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro13 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

14 App.) shall not apply to the Commission.

15 (g) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis16 sion shall terminate on the date that is 12 years after the

17 date of enactment of this Act.

18 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) PETITIONS.—Subject to subsection (d) and

21 except as provided in paragraph (2), any Indian

22 group may submit to the Commission a petition re23 questing that the Commission recognize an Indian

24 group as an Indian tribe.
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1 (2) EXCLUSION.—The following groups and en2 tities shall not be eligible to submit a petition for

3 recognition by the Commission under this Act:

4 (A) CERTAIN ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGI5 BLE TO RECEIVE SERVICES FROM THE BU6 REAU.—Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,

7 communities, and Alaska Native entities that

8 are recognized by the Secretary as of the date

9 of enactment of this Act as eligible to receive

10 services from the Bureau.

11 (B) CERTAIN SPLINTER GROUPS, POLITI12 CAL FACTIONS, AND COMMUNITIES.—Splinter

13 groups, political factions, communities, or

14 groups of any character that separate from the

15 main body of an Indian tribe that, at the time

16 of such separation, is recognized as an Indian

17 tribe by the Secretary, unless the group, fac18 tion, or community is able to establish clearly

19 that the group, faction, or community has func20 tioned throughout history until the date of such

21 petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity.

22 (C) CERTAIN GROUPS THAT HAVE PRE23 VIOUSLY SUBMITTED PETITIONS.—Groups, or

24 successors in interest of groups, that prior to

25 the date of enactment of this Act, have peti-
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1 tioned for and been denied or refused recogni2 tion as an Indian tribe under regulations pre3 scribed by the Secretary.

4 (D) INDIAN GROUPS SUBJECT TO TERMI5 NATION.—Any Indian group whose relationship

6 with the Federal Government was expressly ter7 minated by an Act of Congress.

8 (E) PARTIES TO CERTAIN ACTIONS.—Any

9 Indian group that—

10 (i) in any action in a United States

11 court of competent jurisdiction to which

12 the group was a party, attempted to estab13 lish its status as an Indian tribe or a suc14 cessor in interest to an Indian tribe that

15 was a party to a treaty with the United

16 States;

17 (ii) was determined by such court—

18 (I) not to be an Indian tribe; or

19 (II) not to be a successor in in20 terest to an Indian tribe that was a

21 party to a treaty with the United

22 States; or

23 (iii) was the subject of findings of fact

24 by such court which, if made by the Com25 mission, would show that the group was in-
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1 capable of establishing one or more of the

2 criteria set forth in this section.

3 (3) TRANSFER OF PETITION.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

5 other provision of law, not later than 30 days

6 after the date on which all of the members of

7 the Commission have been appointed and con8 firmed by the Senate under section 4(b), the

9 Secretary shall transfer to the Commission all

10 petitions pending before the Department that—

11 (i) are not under active consideration

12 of the Secretary at the time of the trans13 fer; and

14 (ii) request the Secretary, or the Fed15 eral Government, to recognize or acknowl16 edge an Indian group as an Indian tribe.

17 (B) CESSATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES

18 OF SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any other

19 provision of law, on the date of the transfer

20 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the

21 Department shall cease to have any authority to

22 recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Fed23 eral Government, any Indian group as an In24 dian tribe, except for those groups under active

25 consideration at the time of the transfer whose
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1 petitions have been retained by the Secretary

2 pursuant to subparagraph (A).

3 (C) DETERMINATION OF ORDER OF SUB4 MISSION OF TRANSFERRED PETITIONS.—Peti5 tions transferred to the Commission under sub6 paragraph (A) shall, for purposes of this Act,

7 be considered as having been submitted to the

8 Commission in the same order as such petitions

9 were submitted to the Department.

10 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro11 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub12 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in any readable

13 form that clearly indicates that the petition is a petition

14 requesting the Commission to recognize the Indian group

15 as an Indian tribe and that contains detailed, specific evi16 dence concerning each of the following items:

17 (1) STATEMENT OF FACTS.—A statement of

18 facts establishing that the petitioner has been identi19 fied as an American Indian entity on a substantially

20 continuous basis since 1871. Evidence that the char21 acter of the group as an Indian entity has from time

22 to time been denied shall not be considered to be

23 conclusive evidence that this criterion has not been

24 met. Evidence that the Commission may rely on in
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1 determining the Indian identity of a group may in2 clude any one or more of the following items:

3 (A) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER.—An

4 identification of the petitioner as an Indian en5 tity by any department, agency, or instrumen6 tality of the Federal Government.

7 (B) RELATIONSHIP OF PETITIONER WITH

8 STATE GOVERNMENT.—A relationship between

9 the petitioner and any State government, based

10 on an identification of the petitioner as an In11 dian entity.

12 (C) RELATIONSHIP OF PETITIONER WITH

13 A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF A STATE.—Deal14 ings of the petitioner with a county or political

15 subdivision of a State in a relationship based on

16 the Indian identity of the petitioner.

17 (D) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER ON

18 THE BASIS OF CERTAIN RECORDS.—An identi19 fication of the petitioner as an Indian entity by

20 records in a private or public archive, court21 house, church, or school.

22 (E) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

23 CERTAIN EXPERTS.—An identification of the

24 petitioner as an Indian entity by an anthropolo25 gist, historian, or other scholar.
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1 (F) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

2 CERTAIN MEDIA.—An identification of the peti3 tioner as an Indian entity in a newspaper, book,

4 or similar medium.

5 (G) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

6 ANOTHER INDIAN TRIBE OR ORGANIZATION.—

7 An identification of the petitioner as an Indian

8 entity by another Indian tribe or by a national,

9 regional, or State Indian organization.

10 (H) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY A

11 FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OR INTERNATIONAL OR12 GANIZATION.—An identification of the peti13 tioner as an Indian entity by a foreign govern14 ment or an international organization.

15 (I) OTHER EVIDENCE OF IDENTIFICA16 TION.—Such other evidence of identification as

17 may be provided by a person or entity other

18 than the petitioner or a member of the member19 ship of the petitioner.

20 (2) EVIDENCE OF COMMUNITY.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A statement of facts

22 establishing that a predominant portion of the

23 membership of the petitioner—
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1 (i) comprises a community distinct

2 from those communities surrounding such

3 community; and

4 (ii) has existed as a community from

5 historical times to the present.

6 (B) EVIDENCE.—Evidence that the Com7 mission may rely on in determining that the pe8 titioner meets the criterion described in clauses

9 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) may include

10 one or more of the following items:

11 (i) MARRIAGES.—Significant rates of

12 marriage within the group, or, as may be

13 culturally required, patterned out-mar14 riages with other Indian populations.

15 (ii) SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.—Signifi16 cant social relationships connecting individ17 ual members.

18 (iii) SOCIAL INTERACTION.—Signifi19 cant rates of informal social interaction

20 which exist broadly among the members of

21 a group.

22 (iv) SHARED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.—A

23 significant degree of shared or cooperative

24 labor or other economic activity among the

25 membership.
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1 (v) DISCRIMINATION OR OTHER SO2 CIAL DISTINCTIONS.—Evidence of strong

3 patterns of discrimination or other social

4 distinctions by nonmembers.

5 (vi) SHARED RITUAL ACTIVITY.—

6 Shared sacred or secular ritual activity en7 compassing most of the group.

8 (vii) CULTURAL PATTERNS.—Cultural

9 patterns that—

10 (I) are shared among a signifi11 cant portion of the group that are dif12 ferent from the cultural patterns of

13 the non-Indian populations with whom

14 the group interacts;

15 (II) function as more than a

16 symbolic identification of the group as

17 Indian; and

18 (III) may include language, kin19 ship or religious organizations, or reli20 gious beliefs and practices.

21 (viii) COLLECTIVE INDIAN IDEN22 TITY.—The persistence of a named, collec23 tive Indian identity continuously over a pe24 riod of more than 50 years, notwithstand25 ing changes in name.
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1 (ix) HISTORICAL POLITICAL INFLU2 ENCE.—A demonstration of historical po3 litical influence pursuant to the criterion

4 set forth in paragraph (3).

5 (C) CRITERIA FOR SUFFICIENT EVI6 DENCE.—The Commission shall consider the

7 petitioner to have provided sufficient evidence

8 of community at a given point in time if the pe9 titioner has provided evidence that dem10 onstrates any one of the following:

11 (i) RESIDENCE OF MEMBERS.—More

12 than 50 percent of the members of the

13 group of the petitioner reside in a particu14 lar geographical area exclusively or almost

15 exclusively composed of members of the

16 group, and the balance of the group main17 tains consistent social interaction with

18 some members of the community.

19 (ii) MARRIAGES.—Not less than 50

20 percent of the marriages of the group are

21 between members of the group.

22 (iii) DISTINCT CULTURAL PAT23 TERNS.—Not less than 50 percent of the

24 members of the group maintain distinct

25 cultural patterns including language, kin-
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1 ship or religious organizations, or religious

2 beliefs or practices.

3 (iv) COMMUNITY SOCIAL INSTITU4 TIONS.—Distinct community social institu5 tions encompassing a substantial portion of

6 the members of the group, such as kinship

7 organizations, formal or informal economic

8 cooperation, or religious organizations.

9 (v) APPLICABILITY OF CRITERIA.—

10 The group has met the criterion in para11 graph (3) using evidence described in para12 graph (3)(B).

13 (3) AUTONOMOUS ENTITY.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A statement of facts

15 establishing that the petitioner has maintained

16 political influence or authority over its members

17 as an autonomous entity from historical times

18 until the time of the petition. The Commission

19 may rely on one or more of the following items

20 in determining whether a petitioner meets the

21 criterion described in the preceding sentence:

22 (i) MOBILIZATION OF MEMBERS.—

23 The group is capable of mobilizing signifi24 cant numbers of members and significant
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1 resources from its members for group pur2 poses.

3 (ii) ISSUES OF PERSONAL IMPOR4 TANCE.—Most of the membership of the

5 group considers issues acted upon or taken

6 by group leaders or governing bodies to be

7 of personal importance.

8 (iii) POLITICAL PROCESS.—There is a

9 widespread knowledge, communication, and

10 involvement in political processes by most

11 of the members of the group.

12 (iv) LEVEL OF APPLICATION OF CRI13 TERIA.—The group meets the criterion de14 scribed in paragraph (2) at more than a

15 minimal level.

16 (v) INTRAGROUP CONFLICTS.—There

17 are intragroup conflicts which show con18 troversy over valued group goals, prop19 erties, policies, processes, or decisions.

20 (B) EVIDENCE OF EXERCISE OF POLITICAL

21 INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—The Commission

22 shall consider that a petitioner has provided

23 sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exercise

24 of political influence or authority at a given

25 point in time by demonstrating that group lead-
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1 ers or other mechanisms exist or have existed

2 that accomplish the following:

3 (i) ALLOCATION OF GROUP RE4 SOURCES.—Allocate group resources such

5 as land, residence rights, or similar re6 sources on a consistent basis.

7 (ii) SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.—Set8 tle disputes between members or subgroups

9 such as clans or moieties by mediation or

10 other means on a regular basis.

11 (iii) INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOR OF IN12 DIVIDUAL MEMBERS.—Exert strong influ13 ence on the behavior of individual mem14 bers, such as the establishment or mainte15 nance of norms and the enforcement of

16 sanctions to direct or control behavior.

17 (iv) ECONOMIC SUBSISTENCE ACTIVI18 TIES.—Organize or influence economic

19 subsistence activities among the members,

20 including shared or cooperative labor.

21 (C) TEMPORALITY OF SUFFICIENCY OF

22 EVIDENCE.—A group that has met the require23 ments of paragraph (2)(C) at any point in time

24 shall be considered to have provided sufficient
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1 evidence to meet the criterion described in sub2 paragraph (A) at such point in time.

3 (4) GOVERNING DOCUMENT.—A copy of the

4 then present governing document of the petitioner

5 that includes the membership criteria of the peti6 tioner. In the absence of a written document, the pe7 titioner shall be required to provide a statement de8 scribing in full the membership criteria of the peti9 tioner and the then current governing procedures of

10 the petitioner.

11 (5) LIST OF MEMBERS.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—A list of all then cur13 rent members of the petitioner, including the

14 full name (and maiden name, if any), date, and

15 place of birth, and then current residential ad16 dress of each member, a copy of each available

17 former list of members based on the criteria de18 fined by the petitioner, and a statement describ19 ing the methods used in preparing such lists.

20 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.—

21 In order for the Commission to consider the

22 members of the group to be members of an In23 dian tribe for the purposes of the petition, such

24 membership shall be required to consist of es25 tablished descendancy from an Indian group
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1 that existed historically, or from historical In2 dian groups that combined and functioned as a

3 single autonomous entity.

4 (C) EVIDENCE OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.—

5 Evidence of tribal membership required by the

6 Commission for a determination of tribal mem7 bership shall include the following items:

8 (i) DESCENDANCY ROLLS.—

9 Descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec10 retary for the petitioner for purposes of

11 distributing claims money, providing allot12 ments, or other purposes.

13 (ii) CERTAIN OFFICIAL RECORDS.—

14 State, Federal, or other official records or

15 evidence identifying then present members

16 of the petitioner, or ancestors of then

17 present members of the petitioner, as being

18 descendants of a historic tribe or historic

19 tribes that combined and functioned as a

20 single autonomous political entity.

21 (iii) ENROLLMENT RECORDS.—

22 Church, school, and other similar enroll23 ment records identifying then present

24 members or ancestors of then present

25 members as being descendants of a historic
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1 tribe or historic tribes that combined and

2 functioned as a single autonomous political

3 entity.

4 (iv) AFFIDAVITS OF RECOGNITION.—

5 Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders,

6 leaders, or the tribal governing body identi7 fying then present members or ancestors of

8 then present members as being descend9 ants of 1 or more historic tribes that com10 bined and functioned as a single autono11 mous political entity.

12 (v) OTHER RECORDS OR EVIDENCE.—

13 Other records or evidence identifying then

14 present members or ancestors of then

15 present members as being descendants of 1

16 or more historic tribes that combined and

17 functioned as a single autonomous political

18 entity.

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

20 that is able to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evi21 dence that the group was, or is the successor in interest

22 to, a—

23 (1) party to a treaty or treaties;

24 (2) group acknowledged by any agency of the

25 Federal Government as eligible to participate under
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1 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as

2 the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (48 Stat. 984 et

3 seq., chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.);

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

5 States took into trust lands, or which the Federal

6 Government has treated as having collective rights

7 in tribal lands or funds; or

8 (4) group that has been denominated a tribe by

9 an Act of Congress or Executive order,

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

11 section only with respect to the period beginning on the

12 date of the applicable action described in paragraph (1),

13 (2), (3), or (4) and ending on the date of submission of

14 the petition.

15 (d) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PETITIONS.—No

16 Indian group may submit a petition to the Commission

17 requesting that the Commission recognize an Indian group

18 as an Indian tribe after the date that is 6 years after the

19 date of enactment of this Act. After the Commission

20 makes a determination on each petition submitted prior

21 to such date, the Commission may not make any further

22 determination under this Act to recognize any Indian

23 group as an Indian tribe.

24 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

25 (a) PETITIONER.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

2 a petition is submitted or transferred to the Com3 mission under section 5(a), the Commission shall—

4 (A) send an acknowledgement of receipt in

5 writing to the petitioner; and

6 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no7 tice of such receipt, including the name, loca8 tion, and mailing address of the petitioner and

9 such other information that—

10 (i) identifies the entity that submitted

11 the petition and the date the petition was

12 received by the Commission;

13 (ii) indicates where a copy of the peti14 tion may be examined; and

15 (iii) indicates whether the petition is a

16 transferred petition that is subject to the

17 special provisions under paragraph (2).

18 (2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TRANSFERRED

19 PETITIONS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a peti21 tion that is transferred to the Commission

22 under section 5(a)(3), the notice provided to the

23 petitioner, shall, in addition to providing the in24 formation specified in paragraph (1), inform

25 the petitioner whether the petition constitutes a
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1 documented petition that meets the require2 ments of section 5.

3 (B) AMENDED PETITIONS.—If the petition

4 described in subparagraph (A) is not a docu5 mented petition, the Commission shall notify

6 the petitioner that the petitioner may, not later

7 than 90 days after the date of the notice, sub8 mit to the Commission an amended petition

9 that is a documented petition for review under

10 section 7.

11 (C) EFFECT OF AMENDED PETITION.—To

12 the extent practicable, the submission of an

13 amended petition by a petitioner by the date

14 specified in this paragraph shall not affect the

15 order of consideration of the petition by the

16 Commission.

17 (b) OTHERS.—In addition to providing the notifica18 tion required under subsection (a), the Commission shall

19 notify, in writing, the Governor and attorney general of,

20 and each federally recognized Indian tribe within, any

21 State in which a petitioner resides.

22 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

23 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—

24 (1) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall pub25 lish the notice of receipt of each petition (including
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1 any amended petition submitted pursuant to sub2 section (a)(2)) in a major newspaper of general cir3 culation in the town or city located nearest the loca4 tion of the petitioner.

5 (2) OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING OR OPPOS6 ING SUBMISSIONS.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each notice published

8 under paragraph (1) shall include, in addition

9 to the information described in subsection (a),

10 notice of opportunity for other parties to submit

11 factual or legal arguments in support of or in

12 opposition to, the petition.

13 (B) COPY TO PETITIONER.—A copy of any

14 submission made under subparagraph (A) shall

15 be provided to the petitioner upon receipt by

16 the Commission.

17 (C) RESPONSE.—The petitioner shall be

18 provided an opportunity to respond to any sub19 mission made under subparagraph (A) prior to

20 a determination on the petition by the Commis21 sion.

22 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

23 (a) REVIEW.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a docu25 mented petition submitted or transferred under sec-
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1 tion 5(a) or submitted under section 6(a)(2)(B), the

2 Commission shall conduct a review to determine

3 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as

4 an Indian tribe.

5 (2) CONTENT OF REVIEW.—The review con6 ducted under paragraph (1) shall include consider7 ation of the petition, supporting evidence, and the

8 factual statements contained in the petition.

9 (3) OTHER RESEARCH.—In conducting a review

10 under this subsection, the Commission may—

11 (A) initiate other research for any purpose

12 relative to analyzing the petition and obtaining

13 additional information about the status of the

14 petitioner; and

15 (B) consider such evidence as may be sub16 mitted by other parties.

17 (4) ACCESS TO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NA18 TIONAL ARCHIVES.—Upon request by the petitioner,

19 the appropriate officials of the Library of Congress

20 and the National Archives shall allow access by the

21 petitioner to the resources, records, and documents

22 of such entities, for the purpose of conducting re23 search and preparing evidence concerning the status

24 of the petitioner.

25 (b) CONSIDERATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this subsection, petitions submitted or

3 transferred to the Commission shall be considered

4 on a first come, first served basis, determined by the

5 date of the original filing of each such petition with

6 the Commission (or the Department if the petition

7 is transferred to the Commission pursuant to section

8 5(a) or is an amended petition submitted pursuant

9 to section 6(a)(2)(B)). The Commission shall estab10 lish a priority register that includes petitions that

11 are pending before the Department on the date of

12 enactment of this Act.

13 (2) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—Each petition

14 (that is submitted or transferred to the Commission

15 pursuant to section 5(a) or that is submitted to the

16 Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B)) of an

17 Indian group that meets one or more of the require18 ments set forth in section 5(c) shall receive priority

19 consideration over a petition submitted by any other

20 Indian group.

21 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

23 receipt of a documented petition by the Commission sub24 mitted or transferred under section 5(a) or submitted to

25 the Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B), the Com-
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1 mission shall set a date for a preliminary hearing. At the

2 preliminary hearing, the petitioner and any other con3 cerned party may provide evidence concerning the status

4 of the petitioner.

5 (b) DETERMINATION.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

7 the conclusion of a preliminary hearing under sub8 section (a), the Commission shall make a determina9 tion—

10 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgment of

11 the petitioner as an Indian tribe to the peti12 tioner; or

13 (B) that provides that the petitioner

14 should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing.

15 (2) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—The Com16 mission shall publish in the Federal Register a no17 tice of each determination made under paragraph

18 (1).

19 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

20 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission makes a

22 determination under subsection (b)(1)(B) that the

23 petitioner should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing,

24 the Commission shall—
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1 (A)(i) make available appropriate evi2 dentiary records of the Commission to the peti3 tioner to assist the petitioner in preparing for

4 the adjudicatory hearing; and

5 (ii) include such guidance as the Commis6 sion considers necessary or appropriate to assist

7 the petitioner in preparing for the hearing; and

8 (B) not later than 30 days after the con9 clusion of the preliminary hearing under sub10 section (a), provide a written notification to the

11 petitioner that includes a list of any deficiencies

12 or omissions that the Commission relied on in

13 making a determination under subsection

14 (b)(1)(B).

15 (2) SUBJECT OF ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

16 The list of deficiencies and omissions provided by

17 the Commission to a petitioner under paragraph

18 (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adjudicatory hear19 ing. The Commission may not make any additions to

20 the list after the Commission issues the list.

21 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

23 conclusion of a preliminary hearing under section 8(a), the

24 Commission shall afford a petitioner who is subject to sec25 tion 8(b)(1)(B) an adjudicatory hearing. The subject of
42

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1 the adjudicatory hearing shall be the list of deficiencies

2 and omissions provided under section 8(c)(1)(B) and shall

3 be conducted pursuant to section 554 of title 5, United

4 States Code.

5 (b) TESTIMONY FROM STAFF OF COMMISSION.—In

6 any hearing held under subsection (a), the Commission

7 may require testimony from the acknowledgement and re8 search staff of the Commission or other witnesses. Any

9 such testimony shall be subject to cross-examination by

10 the petitioner.

11 (c) EVIDENCE BY PETITIONER.—In any hearing held

12 under subsection (a), the petitioner may provide such evi13 dence as the petitioner considers appropriate.

14 (d) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later

15 than 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing held

16 under subsection (a), the Commission shall—

17 (1) make a determination concerning the exten18 sion or denial of Federal acknowledgment of the pe19 titioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner;

20 (2) publish the determination of the Commis21 sion under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register;

22 and

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

24 petitioner, and to every other interested party.
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1 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

3 date that the Commission publishes a determination under

4 section 9(d), the petitioner may appeal the determination

5 to the United States District Court for the District of

6 Columbia.

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

8 an appeal made under subsection (a), the petitioner shall

9 be eligible for an award of reasonable attorney fees and

10 costs under section 504 of title 5, United States Code,

11 or section 2412 of title 28 of such Code, whichever is ap12 plicable.

13 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.

14 A determination by the Commission under section

15 9(d) that an Indian group is recognized by the Federal

16 Government as an Indian tribe shall not have the effect

17 of depriving or diminishing—

18 (1) the right of any other Indian tribe to govern

19 the reservation of such other tribe as such reserva20 tion existed prior to the recognition of such Indian

21 group, or as such reservation may exist thereafter;

22 (2) any property right held in trust or recog23 nized by the United States for such other Indian

24 tribe as such property existed prior to the recogni25 tion of such Indian group; or
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1 (3) any previously or independently existing

2 claim by a petitioner to any such property right held

3 in trust by the United States for such other Indian

4 tribe prior to the recognition by the Federal Govern5 ment of such Indian group as an Indian tribe.

6 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

7 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

9 upon recognition by the Commission of a petitioner

10 as an Indian tribe under this Act, the Indian tribe

11 shall—

12 (A) be eligible for the services and benefits

13 from the Federal Government that are available

14 to other federally recognized Indian tribes by

15 virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a

16 government-to-government relationship with the

17 United States; and

18 (B) have the responsibilities, obligations,

19 privileges, and immunities of such Indian tribes.

20 (2) PROGRAMS OF THE BUREAU.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The recognition of an

22 Indian group as an Indian tribe by the Commis23 sion under this Act shall not create an imme24 diate entitlement to programs of the Bureau in

25 existence on the date of the recognition.
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1 (B) AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAMS.—

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—The programs de3 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall become

4 available to the Indian tribe upon the ap5 propriation of funds.

6 (ii) REQUESTS FOR APPROPRIA7 TIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary

8 of Health and Human Services shall for9 ward budget requests for funding the pro10 grams for the Indian tribe pursuant to the

11 needs determination procedures established

12 under subsection (b).

13 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION AND BUDGET RE14 QUEST.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

16 after an Indian group is recognized by the Commis17 sion as an Indian tribe under this Act, the appro18 priate officials of the Bureau and the Indian Health

19 Service of the Department of Health and Human

20 Services shall consult and develop in cooperation

21 with the Indian tribe, and forward to the Secretary

22 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as

23 appropriate, a determination of the needs of the In24 dian tribe and a recommended budget required to

25 serve the newly recognized Indian tribe.
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1 (2) SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUEST.—Upon

2 receipt of the information described in paragraph

3 (1), the appropriate Secretary shall submit to the

4 President a recommended budget along with rec5 ommendations, concerning the information received

6 under paragraph (1), for inclusion in the annual

7 budget submitted by the President to the Congress

8 pursuant to section 1108 of title 31, United States

9 Code.

10 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S

11 ACTIVITIES.

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

13 90 days after the first meeting of the Commission, and

14 annually on or before each January 30 thereafter, the

15 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

16 of all Indian tribes that—

17 (1) are recognized by the Federal Government;

18 and

19 (2) receive services from the Bureau.

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that

22 is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,

23 and annually thereafter, the Commission shall pre24 pare and submit a report to the Committee on In25 dian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
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1 Resources of the House of Representatives that de2 scribes the activities of the Commission.

3 (2) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—Each report sub4 mitted under this subsection shall include, at a mini5 mum, for the year that is the subject of the report—

6 (A) the number of petitions pending at the

7 beginning of the year and the names of the pe8 titioners;

9 (B) the number of petitions received dur10 ing the year and the names of the petitioners;

11 (C) the number of petitions the Commis12 sion approved for acknowledgment during the

13 year and the names of the acknowledged peti14 tioners;

15 (D) the number of petitions the Commis16 sion denied for acknowledgment during the year

17 and the names of the petitioners; and

18 (E) the status of all pending petitions on

19 the date of the report and the names of the pe20 titioners.

21 SEC. 14. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

22 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

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

24 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for

25 the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this
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1 Act, including any time limitations within which actions

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

3 Act. The district court shall issue such orders (including

4 writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce the

5 provisions of this Act.

6 SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.

7 The Commission may, in accordance with applicable

8 requirements of title 5, United States Code, promulgate

9 and publish such regulations as may be necessary to carry

10 out this Act.

11 SEC. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

12 (a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 90 days after the

13 first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall

14 make available to Indian groups suggested guidelines for

15 the format of petitions, including general suggestions and

16 guidelines concerning where and how to research informa17 tion that is required to be included in a petition. The ex18 amples included in the guidelines shall not preclude the

19 use of any other appropriate format.

20 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission may, upon

21 request, provide suggestions and advice to any petitioner

22 with respect to the research of the petitioner concerning

23 the historical background and Indian identity of such peti24 tioner. The Commission shall not be responsible for con25 ducting research on behalf of the petitioner.
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1 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

2 (a) GRANTS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

4 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups

5 seeking Federal recognition as Indian tribes to en6 able the Indian groups to—

7 (A) conduct the research necessary to sub8 stantiate petitions under this Act; and

9 (B) prepare documentation necessary for

10 the submission of a petition under this Act.

11 (2) TREATMENT OF GRANTS.—The grants

12 made under this subsection shall be in addition to

13 any other grants the Secretary of Health and

14 Human Services is authorized to provide under any

15 other provision of law.

16 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—The grants made under

17 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively on the basis

18 of objective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated

19 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

20 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to the Commission to carry out this Act (other

23 than section 17)—

24 (1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1996; and

25 (2) $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 1997

26 through 2008.
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1 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—To carry out section 17,

2 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department

3 of Health and Human Services for the Administration for

4 Native Americans $500,000 for each of fiscal years 1996

5 through 2007.

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