II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 611

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 15, 1999

Mr. CAMPBELL 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 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are as follows:

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 expe23 dite the administrative review process by providing

24 adequate resources to process petitions.
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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 In this Act:

7 (1) ACKNOWLEDGED.—The term ‘‘acknowl8 edged’’ means, with respect to an Indian group, that

9 the Commission on Indian Recognition has made an

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

11 that group.

12 (2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl13 edgment’’ means a determination by the Commission

14 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group—

15 (A) constitutes an Indian tribe with a gov16 ernment-to-government relationship with the

17 United States; and

18 (B) with respect to which the members are

19 recognized as eligible for the special programs

20 and services provided by the United States to

21 Indians because of their status as Indians.

22 (3) ALASKA NATIVE.—The term ‘‘Alaska Na23 tive’’ means an individual who is an Alaskan Indian,

24 Eskimo, or Aleut, or any combination thereof.

25 (4) AUTONOMOUS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘autono2 mous’’ means the exercise of political influence

3 or authority independent of the control of any

4 other Indian governing entity.

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

6 a petitioner, that term shall be understood in

7 the context of the history, geography, culture,

8 and social organization of the petitioner.

9 (5) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the

10 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department.

11 (6) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

12 means the Commission on Indian Recognition estab13 lished under section 4.

14 (7) COMMUNITY.—

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

16 means any group of people, living within a rea17 sonable territorial that is able to demonstrate

18 that—

19 (i) consistent interactions and signifi20 cant social relationships exist within the

21 membership; and

22 (ii) the members of that group are

23 differentiated from and identified as dis24 tinct from nonmembers.
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1 (B) CONTEXT OF TERM.—The term shall

2 be understood in the context of the history, cul3 ture, and social organization of the group, tak4 ing into account the geography of the region in

5 which the group resides.

6 (8) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.—With re7 spect to a period of history of a group, the term

8 ‘‘continuous’’ or ‘‘continuously’’ means extending

9 from the first sustained contact with Euro-Ameri10 cans throughout the history of the group to the

11 present substantially without interruption.

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

13 means the Department of the Interior.

14 (10) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘doc15 umented petition’’ means the detailed, factual expo16 sition and arguments, including all documentary evi17 dence, necessary to demonstrate that those argu18 ments specifically address the mandatory criteria es19 tablished in section 5.

20 (11) GROUP.—The term ‘‘group’’ means an

21 Indian group, as defined in paragraph (13).

22 (12) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.—

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

24 refer to the period dating from the first sustained

25 contact with Euro-Americans.
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1 (13) INDIAN GROUP.—The term ‘‘Indian

2 group’’ means any Indian or Alaska Native band,

3 pueblo, village or community within the United

4 States that the Secretary does not acknowledge to be

5 an Indian tribe.

6 (14) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

7 means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band,

8 pueblo, village, or community within the United

9 States that—

10 (A) the Secretary has acknowledged as an

11 Indian tribe as of the date of enactment of this

12 Act, or acknowledges to be an Indian tribe pur13 suant to the procedures applicable to certain

14 petitions under active consideration at the time

15 of the transfer of petitions to the Commission

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

17 (B) the Commission acknowledges as an

18 Indian tribe under this Act.

19 (15) INDIGENOUS.—With respect to a peti20 tioner, the term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to the

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

22 territory of the petitioner at the time of first sus23 tained contact with Euro-Americans extended into

24 the United States.
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1 (16) LETTER OF INTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of

2 intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution

3 that—

4 (A) is dated and signed by the governing

5 body of an Indian group;

6 (B) is submitted to the Commission; and

7 (C) indicates the intent of the Indian

8 group to submit a petition for Federal acknowl9 edgment.

10 (17) MEMBER OF AN INDIAN GROUP.—The

11 term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’ means an indi12 vidual who—

13 (A) is recognized by an Indian group as

14 meeting the membership criteria of the Indian

15 group; and

16 (B) consents in writing to being listed as

17 a member of that group.

18 (18) MEMBER OF AN INDIAN TRIBE.—The term

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

20 who—

21 (A)(i) meets the membership requirements

22 of the tribe as set forth in its governing docu23 ment; or

24 (ii) in the absence of a governing document

25 which sets out those requirements, has been
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1 recognized as a member collectively by those

2 persons comprising the tribal governing body;

3 and

4 (B)(i) has consistently maintained tribal

5 relations with the tribe; or

6 (ii) is listed on the tribal membership rolls

7 as a member, if those rolls are kept.

8 (19) PETITION.—The term ‘‘petition’’ means a

9 petition for acknowledgment submitted or trans10 ferred to the Commission pursuant to section 5.

11 (20) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’

12 means any group that submits a letter of intent to

13 the Commission requesting acknowledgment.

14 (21) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘political in16 fluence or authority’’ means a tribal council,

17 leadership, internal process, or other mecha18 nism that a group has used as a means of—

19 (i) influencing or controlling the be20 havior of its members in a significant man21 ner;

22 (ii) making decisions for the group

23 which substantially affect its members; or
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1 (iii) representing the group in dealing

2 with nonmembers in matters of con3 sequence to the group.

4 (B) CONTEXT OF TERM.—The term shall

5 be understood in the context of the history, cul6 ture, and social organization of the group.

7 (22) PREVIOUS FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDG8 MENT.—The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledg9 ment’’ means any action by the Federal Govern10 ment, the character of which—

11 (A) is clearly premised on identification of

12 a tribal political entity; and

13 (B) clearly indicates the recognition of a

14 government-to-government relationship between

15 that entity and the Federal Government.

16 (23) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’

17 means the reextension of acknowledgment to any

18 previously acknowledged tribe with respect to which

19 the acknowledged status may have been abrogated or

20 diminished by reason of legislation enacted by Con21 gress expressly terminating that status.

22 (24) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

23 means the Secretary of the Interior.

24 (25) SUSTAINED CONTACT.—The term ‘‘sus25 tained contact’’ means the period of earliest sus-
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1 tained Euro-American settlement or governmental

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

3 from which the petitioner claims descent was located

4 historically.

5 (26) TREATY.—The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any

6 treaty—

7 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

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

9 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

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

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

12 the Federal Government subsequently acquired

13 territory by purchase, conquest, annexation, or

14 cession; or

15 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

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

17 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

18 ratified.

19 (27) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘tribe’’ means an In20 dian tribe.

21 (28) TRIBAL RELATIONS.—The term ‘‘tribal re22 lations’’ means participation by an individual in a

23 political and social relationship with an Indian tribe.

24 (29) TRIBAL ROLL.—The term ‘‘tribal roll’’

25 means a list exclusively of those individuals who—
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1 (A)(i) have been determined by the tribe to

2 meet the membership requirements of the tribe,

3 as set forth in the governing document of the

4 tribe; or

5 (ii) in the absence of a governing document

6 that sets forth those requirements, have been

7 recognized as members by the governing body

8 of the tribe; and

9 (B) have affirmatively demonstrated con10 sent to being listed as members of the tribe.

11 (30) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United

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

13 States of Alaska and Hawaii. The term does not in14 clude territories or possessions of the United States.

15 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

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

17 independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec18 ognition. The Commission shall be an independent estab19 lishment, as defined in section 104 of title 5, United

20 States Code.

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—

23 (A) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall

24 consist of 3 members appointed by the Presi-
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1 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the

2 Senate.

3 (B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

4 MEMBERSHIP.—In making appointments to the

5 Commission, the President shall give careful

6 consideration to—

7 (i) recommendations received from In8 dian tribes; and

9 (ii) individuals who have a

10 background in Indian law or policy, an11 thropology, genealogy, or history.

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

13 members of the Commission may be members of the

14 same political party.

15 (3) TERMS.—

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

17 subparagraph (B), each member of the Com18 mission shall be appointed for a term of 4

19 years.

20 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—As des21 ignated by the President at the time of appoint22 ment, of the members initially appointed under

23 this subsection—

24 (i) 1 member shall be appointed for a

25 term of 2 years;
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1 (ii) 1 member shall be appointed for a

2 term of 3 years; and

3 (iii) 1 member shall be appointed for

4 a term of 4 years.

5 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis6 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission,

7 but shall be filled in the same manner in which the

8 original appointment was made. Any member ap9 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira10 tion of the term for which the predecessor of the

11 member was appointed shall be appointed only for

12 the remainder of that term. A member may serve

13 after the expiration of the term of that member until

14 a successor has taken office.

15 (5) COMPENSATION.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the

17 Commission shall receive compensation at a

18 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual

19 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

20 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of

21 title 5, United States Code, for each day, in22 cluding traveltime, that member is engaged in

23 the actual performance of duties authorized by

24 the Commission.
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1 (B) TRAVEL.—All members of the Com2 mission shall be reimbursed for travel and per

3 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the

4 performance of duties of the Commission while

5 away from their homes or regular places of

6 business, in accordance with subchapter I of

7 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

8 (6) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—Each member

9 of the Commission shall serve on the Commission as

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

11 member of the Commission may, while serving on

12 the Commission, be otherwise employed as an officer

13 or employee of the Federal Government. Service by

14 a member who is an employee of the Federal Gov15 ernment at the time of nomination as a member

16 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

17 status or privilege.

18 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—At the time appointments

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

20 designate a Chairperson of the Commission (referred

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

22 the appointees.

23 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—

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

25 its first meeting not later than 30 days after the
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1 date on which all members of the Commission have

2 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

3 (2) QUORUM.—Two members of the Commis4 sion shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of

5 business.

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

7 rules (consistent with the provisions of this Act) as

8 may be necessary to establish the procedures of the

9 Commission and to govern the manner of operations,

10 organization, and personnel of the Commission.

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

12 the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia.

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

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

15 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

16 Act.

17 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—

18 (1) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF CHAIR19 PERSON.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

20 may be adopted by the Commission, the Chairperson

21 may—

22 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the com23 pensation (without regard to the provisions of

24 title 5, United States Code, governing appoint25 ments in the competitive service, and without
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1 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub2 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title, or of any

3 other provision of law, relating to the number,

4 classification, and General Schedule rates) of

5 an Executive Director of the Commission and of

6 such other personnel as the Chairperson con7 siders advisable to assist in the performance of

8 the duties of the Commission, at a rate not to

9 exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

10 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level

11 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316

12 of title 5, United States Code; and

13 (B) procure, as authorized by section

14 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, tem15 porary and intermittent services to the same ex16 tent as is authorized by law for agencies in the

17 executive branch, but at rates not to exceed the

18 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

19 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

20 under section 5316 of that title.

21 (2) GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF

22 COMMISSION.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may

24 hold such hearings and sit and act at such
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1 times as the Commission considers to be appro2 priate.

3 (B) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—As the Com4 mission may consider advisable, the Commission

5 may—

6 (i) take testimony;

7 (ii) have printing and binding done;

8 (iii) enter into contracts and other ar9 rangements, subject to the availability of

10 funds;

11 (iv) make expenditures; and

12 (v) take other actions.

13 (C) OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS.—Any

14 member of the Commission may administer

15 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing be16 fore the Commission.

17 (3) INFORMATION.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may

19 secure directly from any officer, department,

20 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the

21 Federal Government such information as the

22 Commission may require to carry out this Act.

23 Each such officer, department, agency, estab24 lishment, or instrumentality shall furnish, to

25 the extent permitted by law, such information,
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1 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

2 the Commission, upon the request of the Chair3 person.

4 (B) FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND DE5 TAILS.—Upon the request of the Chairperson,

6 to assist the Commission in carrying out the

7 duties of the Commission under this section,

8 the head of any Federal department, agency, or

9 instrumentality may—

10 (i) make any of the facilities and serv11 ices of that department, agency, or instru12 mentality available to the Commission; and

13 (ii) detail any of the personnel of that

14 department, agency, or instrumentality to

15 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable

16 basis.

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

18 United States mails in the same manner and

19 under the same conditions as other departments

20 and agencies of the United States.

21 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro22 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

23 App.) shall not apply to the Commission.
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1 (g) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis2 sion shall terminate on the date that is 12 years after the

3 date of enactment of this Act.

4 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—

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

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

8 group may submit to the Commission a petition re9 questing that the Commission recognize an Indian

10 group as an Indian tribe.

11 (2) EXCLUSION.—The following groups and en12 tities shall not be eligible to submit a petition for

13 recognition by the Commission under this Act:

14 (A) CERTAIN ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGI15 BLE TO RECEIVE SERVICES FROM THE BU16 REAU.—Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,

17 communities, and Alaska Native entities that

18 are recognized by the Secretary as of the date

19 of enactment of this Act as eligible to receive

20 services from the Bureau.

21 (B) CERTAIN SPLINTER GROUPS, POLIT22 ICAL FACTIONS, AND COMMUNITIES.—Splinter

23 groups, political factions, communities, or

24 groups of any character that separate from the

25 main body of an Indian tribe that, at the time
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1 of that separation, is recognized as an Indian

2 tribe by the Secretary, unless the group, fac3 tion, or community is able to establish clearly

4 that the group, faction, or community has func5 tioned throughout history until the date of that

6 petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity.

7 (C) CERTAIN GROUPS THAT HAVE PRE8 VIOUSLY SUBMITTED PETITIONS.—Groups, or

9 successors in interest of groups, that before the

10 date of enactment of this Act, have petitioned

11 for and been denied or refused recognition as

12 an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by

13 the Secretary.

14 (D) INDIAN GROUPS SUBJECT TO TERMI15 NATION.—Any Indian group whose relationship

16 with the Federal Government was expressly ter17 minated by an Act of Congress.

18 (E) PARTIES TO CERTAIN ACTIONS.—Any

19 Indian group that—

20 (i) in any action in a United States

21 court of competent jurisdiction to which

22 the group was a party, attempted to estab23 lish its status as an Indian tribe or a suc24 cessor in interest to an Indian tribe that
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1 was a party to a treaty with the United

2 States;

3 (ii) was determined by that court—

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

5 (II) not to be a successor in in6 terest to an Indian tribe that was a

7 party to a treaty with the United

8 States; or

9 (iii) was the subject of findings of fact

10 by that court which, if made by the Com11 mission, would show that the group was in12 capable of establishing 1 or more of the

13 criteria set forth in this section.

14 (3) TRANSFER OF PETITION.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

16 other provision of law, not later than 30 days

17 after the date on which all of the members of

18 the Commission have been appointed and con19 firmed by the Senate under section 4(b), the

20 Secretary shall transfer to the Commission all

21 petitions pending before the Department that—

22 (i) are not under active consideration

23 by the Secretary at the time of the trans24 fer; and
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1 (ii) request the Secretary, or the Fed2 eral Government, to recognize or acknowl3 edge an Indian group as an Indian tribe.

4 (B) CESSATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES

5 OF SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any other

6 provision of law, on the date of the transfer

7 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the

8 Department shall cease to have any authority

9 to recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the

10 Federal Government, any Indian group as an

11 Indian tribe, except for those groups under ac12 tive consideration at the time of the transfer

13 whose petitions have been retained by the Sec14 retary pursuant to subparagraph (A).

15 (C) DETERMINATION OF ORDER OF SUB16 MISSION OF TRANSFERRED PETITIONS.—Peti17 tions transferred to the Commission under sub18 paragraph (A) shall, for purposes of this Act,

19 be considered as having been submitted to the

20 Commission in the same order as those peti21 tions were submitted to the Department.

22 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro23 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub24 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in any readable

25 form that clearly indicates that the petition is a petition
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1 requesting the Commission to recognize the Indian group

2 as an Indian tribe and that contains detailed, specific evi3 dence concerning each of the following items:

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

5 facts establishing that the petitioner has been identi6 fied as an American Indian entity on a substantially

7 continuous basis since 1871. Evidence that the char8 acter of the group as an Indian entity has from time

9 to time been denied shall not be considered to be

10 conclusive evidence that this criterion has not been

11 met. Evidence that the Commission may rely on in

12 determining the Indian identity of a group may in13 clude any 1 or more of the following items:

14 (A) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER.—An

15 identification of the petitioner as an Indian en16 tity by any department, agency, or instrumen17 tality of the Federal Government.

18 (B) RELATIONSHIP OF PETITIONER WITH

19 STATE GOVERNMENT.—A relationship between

20 the petitioner and any State government, based

21 on an identification of the petitioner as an In22 dian entity.

23 (C) RELATIONSHIP OF PETITIONER WITH

24 A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF A STATE.—Deal25 ings of the petitioner with a county or political
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1 subdivision of a State in a relationship based on

2 the Indian identity of the petitioner.

3 (D) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER ON

4 THE BASIS OF CERTAIN RECORDS.—An identi5 fication of the petitioner as an Indian entity by

6 records in a private or public archive, court7 house, church, or school.

8 (E) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

9 CERTAIN EXPERTS.—An identification of the

10 petitioner as an Indian entity by an anthropolo11 gist, historian, or other scholar.

12 (F) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

13 CERTAIN MEDIA.—An identification of the peti14 tioner as an Indian entity in a newspaper, book,

15 or similar medium.

16 (G) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

17 ANOTHER INDIAN TRIBE OR ORGANIZATION.—

18 An identification of the petitioner as an Indian

19 entity by another Indian tribe or by a national,

20 regional, or State Indian organization.

21 (H) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY A

22 FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OR INTERNATIONAL OR23 GANIZATION.—An identification of the peti24 tioner as an Indian entity by a foreign govern25 ment or an international organization.
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1 (I) OTHER EVIDENCE OF IDENTIFICA2 TION.—Such other evidence of identification as

3 may be provided by a person or entity other

4 than the petitioner or a member of the member5 ship of the petitioner.

6 (2) EVIDENCE OF COMMUNITY.—

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

8 establishing that a predominant portion of the

9 membership of the petitioner—

10 (i) comprises a community distinct

11 from those communities surrounding that

12 community; and

13 (ii) has existed as a community from

14 historical times to the present.

15 (B) EVIDENCE.—Evidence that the Com16 mission may rely on in determining that the pe17 titioner meets the criterion described in clauses

18 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) may include 1

19 or more of the following items:

20 (i) MARRIAGES.—Significant rates of

21 marriage within the group, or, as may be

22 culturally required, patterned out-mar23 riages with other Indian populations.
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1 (ii) SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.—Signifi2 cant social relationships connecting indi3 vidual members.

4 (iii) SOCIAL INTERACTION.—Signifi5 cant rates of informal social interaction

6 which exist broadly among the members of

7 a group.

8 (iv) SHARED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.—A

9 significant degree of shared or cooperative

10 labor or other economic activity among the

11 membership.

12 (v) DISCRIMINATION OR OTHER SO13 CIAL DISTINCTIONS.—Evidence of strong

14 patterns of discrimination or other social

15 distinctions by nonmembers.

16 (vi) SHARED RITUAL ACTIVITY.—

17 Shared sacred or secular ritual activity en18 compassing most of the group.

19 (vii) CULTURAL PATTERNS.—Cultural

20 patterns that—

21 (I) are shared among a signifi22 cant portion of the group that are dif23 ferent from the cultural patterns of

24 the non-Indian populations with whom

25 the group interacts;
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1 (II) function as more than a

2 symbolic identification of the group as

3 Indian; and

4 (III) may include language, kin5 ship or religious organizations, or reli6 gious beliefs and practices.

7 (viii) COLLECTIVE INDIAN IDEN8 TITY.—The persistence of a named, collec9 tive Indian identity continuously over a pe10 riod of more than 50 years, notwith11 standing changes in name.

12 (ix) HISTORICAL POLITICAL INFLU13 ENCE.—A demonstration of historical po14 litical influence pursuant to the criterion

15 set forth in paragraph (3).

16 (C) CRITERIA FOR SUFFICIENT EVI17 DENCE.—The Commission shall consider the

18 petitioner to have provided sufficient evidence

19 of community at a given point in time if the pe20 titioner has provided evidence that dem21 onstrates any one of the following:

22 (i) RESIDENCE OF MEMBERS.—More

23 than 50 percent of the members of the

24 group of the petitioner reside in a par25 ticular geographical area exclusively or al-
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1 most exclusively composed of members of

2 the group, and the balance of the group

3 maintains consistent social interaction with

4 some members of the community.

5 (ii) MARRIAGES.—Not less than 50

6 percent of the marriages of the group are

7 between members of the group.

8 (iii) DISTINCT CULTURAL PAT9 TERNS.—Not less than 50 percent of the

10 members of the group maintain distinct

11 cultural patterns including language, kin12 ship or religious organizations, or religious

13 beliefs or practices.

14 (iv) COMMUNITY SOCIAL INSTITU15 TIONS.—Distinct community social institu16 tions encompassing a substantial portion of

17 the members of the group, such as kinship

18 organizations, formal or informal economic

19 cooperation, or religious organizations.

20 (v) APPLICABILITY OF CRITERIA.—

21 The group has met the criterion in para22 graph (3) using evidence described in para23 graph (3)(B).

24 (3) AUTONOMOUS ENTITY.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A statement of facts

2 establishing that the petitioner has maintained

3 political influence or authority over its members

4 as an autonomous entity from historical times

5 until the time of the petition. The Commission

6 may rely on 1 or more of the following items in

7 determining whether a petitioner meets the cri8 terion described in the preceding sentence:

9 (i) MOBILIZATION OF MEMBERS.—

10 The group is capable of mobilizing signifi11 cant numbers of members and significant

12 resources from its members for group pur13 poses.

14 (ii) ISSUES OF PERSONAL IMPOR15 TANCE.—Most of the membership of the

16 group consider issues acted upon or taken

17 by group leaders or governing bodies to be

18 of personal importance.

19 (iii) POLITICAL PROCESS.—There is a

20 widespread knowledge, communication, and

21 involvement in political processes by most

22 of the members of the group.

23 (iv) LEVEL OF APPLICATION OF CRI24 TERIA.—The group meets the criterion de-
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1 scribed in paragraph (2) at more than a

2 minimal level.

3 (v) INTRAGROUP CONFLICTS.—There

4 are intragroup conflicts which show con5 troversy over valued group goals, prop6 erties, policies, processes, or decisions.

7 (B) EVIDENCE OF EXERCISE OF POLITICAL

8 INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—The Commission

9 shall consider that a petitioner has provided

10 sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exercise

11 of political influence or authority at a given

12 point in time by demonstrating that group lead13 ers or other mechanisms exist or have existed

14 that accomplish the following:

15 (i) ALLOCATION OF GROUP RE16 SOURCES.—Allocate group resources such

17 as land, residence rights, or similar re18 sources on a consistent basis.

19 (ii) SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.—Set20 tle disputes between members or subgroups

21 such as clans or moieties by mediation or

22 other means on a regular basis.

23 (iii) INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOR OF IN24 DIVIDUAL MEMBERS.—Exert strong influ25 ence on the behavior of individual mem-
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1 bers, such as the establishment or mainte2 nance of norms and the enforcement of

3 sanctions to direct or control behavior.

4 (iv) ECONOMIC SUBSISTENCE ACTIVI5 TIES.—Organize or influence economic

6 subsistence activities among the members,

7 including shared or cooperative labor.

8 (C) TEMPORALITY OF SUFFICIENCY OF

9 EVIDENCE.—A group that has met the require10 ments of paragraph (2)(C) at any point in time

11 shall be considered to have provided sufficient

12 evidence to meet the criterion described in sub13 paragraph (A) at that point in time.

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

15 then present governing document of the petitioner

16 that includes the membership criteria of the peti17 tioner. In the absence of a written document, the pe18 titioner shall be required to provide a statement de19 scribing in full the membership criteria of the peti20 tioner and the then current governing procedures of

21 the petitioner.

22 (5) LIST OF MEMBERS.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—A list of all then cur24 rent members of the petitioner, including the

25 full name (and maiden name, if any), date, and
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1 place of birth, and then current residential ad2 dress of each member, a copy of each available

3 former list of members based on the criteria de4 fined by the petitioner, and a statement describ5 ing the methods used in preparing those lists.

6 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.—

7 In order for the Commission to consider the

8 members of the group to be members of an In9 dian tribe for the purposes of the petition, that

10 membership shall be required to consist of es11 tablished descendancy from an Indian group

12 that existed historically, or from historical In13 dian groups that combined and functioned as a

14 single autonomous entity.

15 (C) EVIDENCE OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.—

16 Evidence of tribal membership required by the

17 Commission for a determination of tribal mem18 bership shall include the following items:

19 (i) DESCENDANCY ROLLS.—

20 Descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec21 retary for the petitioner for purposes of

22 distributing claims money, providing allot23 ments, or other purposes.

24 (ii) CERTAIN OFFICIAL RECORDS.—

25 Federal, State, or other official records or
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1 evidence identifying then present members

2 of the petitioner, or ancestors of then

3 present members of the petitioner, as being

4 descendants of a historic tribe or historic

5 tribes that combined and functioned as a

6 single autonomous political entity.

7 (iii) ENROLLMENT RECORDS.—

8 Church, school, and other similar enroll9 ment records identifying then present

10 members or ancestors of then present

11 members as being descendants of a historic

12 tribe or historic tribes that combined and

13 functioned as a single autonomous political

14 entity.

15 (iv) AFFIDAVITS OF RECOGNITION.—

16 Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders,

17 leaders, or the tribal governing body identi18 fying then present members or ancestors of

19 then present members as being descend20 ants of 1 or more historic tribes that com21 bined and functioned as a single autono22 mous political entity.

23 (v) OTHER RECORDS OR EVIDENCE.—

24 Other records or evidence identifying then

25 present members or ancestors of then
34

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1 present members as being descendants of 1

2 or more historic tribes that combined and

3 functioned as a single autonomous political

4 entity.

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

6 that is able to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evi7 dence that the group was, or is the successor in interest

8 to, a—

9 (1) party to a treaty or treaties;

10 (2) group acknowledged by any agency of the

11 Federal Government as eligible to participate under

12 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as

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

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

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

16 States took into trust lands, or which the Federal

17 Government has treated as having collective rights

18 in tribal lands or funds; or

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

20 an Act of Congress or Executive order,

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

22 section only with respect to the period beginning on the

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

24 (2), (3), or (4) and ending on the date of submission of

25 the petition.
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1 (d) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PETITIONS.—No

2 Indian group may submit a petition to the Commission

3 requesting that the Commission recognize an Indian group

4 as an Indian tribe after the date that is 8 years after the

5 date of enactment of this Act. After the Commission

6 makes a determination on each petition submitted before

7 that date, the Commission may not make any further de8 termination under this Act to recognize any Indian group

9 as an Indian tribe.

10 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

11 (a) PETITIONER.—

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

13 a petition is submitted or transferred to the Com14 mission under section 5(a), the Commission shall—

15 (A) send an acknowledgement of receipt in

16 writing to the petitioner; and

17 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no18 tice of that receipt, including the name, loca19 tion, and mailing address of the petitioner and

20 such other information that—

21 (i) identifies the entity that submitted

22 the petition and the date the petition was

23 received by the Commission;

24 (ii) indicates where a copy of the peti25 tion may be examined; and
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•S 611 IS

1 (iii) indicates whether the petition is a

2 transferred petition that is subject to the

3 special provisions under paragraph (2).

4 (2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TRANSFERRED

5 PETITIONS.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a peti7 tion that is transferred to the Commission

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

9 petitioner, shall, in addition to providing the in10 formation specified in paragraph (1), inform

11 the petitioner whether the petition constitutes a

12 documented petition that meets the require13 ments of section 5.

14 (B) AMENDED PETITIONS.—If the petition

15 described in subparagraph (A) is not a docu16 mented petition, the Commission shall notify

17 the petitioner that the petitioner may, not later

18 than 90 days after the date of the notice, sub19 mit to the Commission an amended petition

20 that is a documented petition for review under

21 section 7.

22 (C) EFFECT OF AMENDED PETITION.—To

23 the extent practicable, the submission of an

24 amended petition by a petitioner by the date

25 specified in this paragraph shall not affect the
37

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1 order of consideration of the petition by the

2 Commission.

3 (b) OTHERS.—In addition to providing the notifica4 tion required under subsection (a), the Commission shall

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

6 and each federally recognized Indian tribe within, any

7 State in which a petitioner resides.

8 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

9 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—

10 (1) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall pub11 lish the notice of receipt of each petition (including

12 any amended petition submitted pursuant to sub13 section (a)(2)) in a major newspaper of general cir14 culation in the town or city located nearest the loca15 tion of the petitioner.

16 (2) OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING OR OPPOS17 ING SUBMISSIONS.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each notice published

19 under paragraph (1) shall include, in addition

20 to the information described in subsection (a),

21 notice of opportunity for other parties to submit

22 factual or legal arguments in support of or in

23 opposition to, the petition.

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

25 submission made under subparagraph (A) shall
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1 be provided to the petitioner upon receipt by

2 the Commission.

3 (C) RESPONSE.—The petitioner shall be

4 provided an opportunity to respond to any sub5 mission made under subparagraph (A) before a

6 determination on the petition by the Commis7 sion.

8 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

9 (a) REVIEW.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a docu11 mented petition submitted or transferred under sec12 tion 5(a) or submitted under section 6(a)(2)(B), the

13 Commission shall conduct a review to determine

14 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as

15 an Indian tribe.

16 (2) CONTENT OF REVIEW.—The review con17 ducted under paragraph (1) shall include consider18 ation of the petition, supporting evidence, and the

19 factual statements contained in the petition.

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

21 under this subsection, the Commission may—

22 (A) initiate other research for any purpose

23 relative to analyzing the petition and obtaining

24 additional information about the status of the

25 petitioner; and
39

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1 (B) consider such evidence as may be sub2 mitted by other parties.

3 (4) ACCESS TO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NA4 TIONAL ARCHIVES.—Upon request by the petitioner,

5 the appropriate officials of the Library of Congress

6 and the National Archives shall allow access by the

7 petitioner to the resources, records, and documents

8 of those entities, for the purpose of conducting re9 search and preparing evidence concerning the status

10 of the petitioner.

11 (b) CONSIDERATION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro13 vided in this subsection, petitions submitted or

14 transferred to the Commission shall be considered

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

16 date of the original filing of each such petition with

17 the Commission (or the Department if the petition

18 is transferred to the Commission pursuant to section

19 5(a) or is an amended petition submitted pursuant

20 to section 6(a)(2)(B)). The Commission shall estab21 lish a priority register that includes petitions that

22 are pending before the Department on the date of

23 enactment of this Act.

24 (2) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—Each petition

25 (that is submitted or transferred to the Commission
40

•S 611 IS

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

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

3 Indian group that meets 1 or more of the require4 ments set forth in section 5(c) shall receive priority

5 consideration over a petition submitted by any other

6 Indian group.

7 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

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

9 receipt of a documented petition by the Commission sub10 mitted or transferred under section 5(a) or submitted to

11 the Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B), the Com12 mission shall set a date for a preliminary hearing. At the

13 preliminary hearing, the petitioner and any other con14 cerned party may provide evidence concerning the status

15 of the petitioner.

16 (b) DETERMINATION.—

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

18 the conclusion of a preliminary hearing under sub19 section (a), the Commission shall make a

20 determination—

21 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgment of

22 the petitioner as an Indian tribe to the peti23 tioner; or

24 (B) that provides that the petitioner

25 should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing.
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1 (2) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—The Com2 mission shall publish in the Federal Register a no3 tice of each determination made under paragraph

4 (1).

5 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

6 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

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

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

9 petitioner should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing,

10 the Commission shall—

11 (A)(i) make available appropriate evi12 dentiary records of the Commission to the peti13 tioner to assist the petitioner in preparing for

14 the adjudicatory hearing; and

15 (ii) include such guidance as the Commis16 sion considers necessary or appropriate to assist

17 the petitioner in preparing for the hearing; and

18 (B) not later than 30 days after the con19 clusion of the preliminary hearing under sub20 section (a), provide a written notification to the

21 petitioner that includes a list of any deficiencies

22 or omissions that the Commission relied on in

23 making a determination under subsection

24 (b)(1)(B).
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1 (2) SUBJECT OF ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

2 The list of deficiencies and omissions provided by

3 the Commission to a petitioner under paragraph

4 (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adjudicatory hear5 ing. The Commission may not make any additions to

6 the list after the Commission issues the list.

7 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

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

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

10 Commission shall afford a petitioner who is subject to sec11 tion 8(b)(1)(B) an adjudicatory hearing. The subject of

12 the adjudicatory hearing shall be the list of deficiencies

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

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

15 States Code.

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

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

18 may require testimony from the acknowledgement and re19 search staff of the Commission or other witnesses. Any

20 such testimony shall be subject to cross-examination by

21 the petitioner.

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

23 under subsection (a), the petitioner may provide such evi24 dence as the petitioner considers appropriate.
43

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1 (d) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later

2 than 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing held

3 under subsection (a), the Commission shall—

4 (1) make a determination concerning the exten5 sion or denial of Federal acknowledgment of the pe6 titioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner;

7 (2) publish the determination of the Commis8 sion under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register;

9 and

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

11 petitioner, and to every other interested party.

12 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

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

14 date that the Commission publishes a determination under

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

16 to the United States District Court for the District of Co17 lumbia.

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

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

20 be eligible for an award of reasonable attorney fees and

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

22 or section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, whichever

23 is applicable.
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1 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.

2 A determination by the Commission under section

3 9(d) that an Indian group is recognized by the Federal

4 Government as an Indian tribe shall not have the effect

5 of depriving or diminishing—

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

7 the reservation of such other tribe as that reserva8 tion existed before the recognition of that Indian

9 group, or as that reservation may exist thereafter;

10 (2) any property right held in trust or recog11 nized by the United States for that other Indian

12 tribe as that property existed before the recognition

13 of that Indian group; or

14 (3) any previously or independently existing

15 claim by a petitioner to any such property right held

16 in trust by the United States for that other Indian

17 tribe before the recognition by the Federal Govern18 ment of that Indian group as an Indian tribe.

19 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

20 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

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

22 upon recognition by the Commission of a petitioner

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

24 shall—

25 (A) be eligible for the services and benefits

26 from the Federal Government that are available
45

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1 to other federally recognized Indian tribes by

2 virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a

3 government-to-government relationship with the

4 United States; and

5 (B) have the responsibilities, obliga6 tions, privileges, and immunities of those

7 Indian tribes.

8 (2) PROGRAMS OF THE BUREAU.—

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

10 Indian group as an Indian tribe by the Commis11 sion under this Act shall not create an imme12 diate entitlement to programs of the Bureau in

13 existence on the date of the recognition.

14 (B) AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAMS.—

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The programs de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall become

17 available to the Indian tribe upon the ap18 propriation of funds.

19 (ii) REQUESTS FOR APPROPRIA20 TIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary

21 of Health and Human Services shall for22 ward budget requests for funding the pro23 grams for the Indian tribe pursuant to the

24 needs determination procedures established

25 under subsection (b).
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1 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION AND BUDGET RE2 QUEST.—

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

4 after an Indian group is recognized by the Commis5 sion as an Indian tribe under this Act, the appro6 priate officials of the Bureau and the Indian Health

7 Service of the Department of Health and Human

8 Services shall consult and develop in cooperation

9 with the Indian tribe, and forward to the Secretary

10 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as

11 appropriate, a determination of the needs of the In12 dian tribe and a recommended budget required to

13 serve the newly recognized Indian tribe.

14 (2) SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUEST.—Upon

15 receipt of the information described in paragraph

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

17 President a recommended budget along with rec18 ommendations, concerning the information received

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

20 budget submitted by the President to the Congress

21 pursuant to section 1108 of title 31, United States

22 Code.
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1 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S

2 ACTIVITIES.

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

4 90 days after the first meeting of the Commission, and

5 annually on or before each January 30 thereafter, the

6 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

7 of all Indian tribes that—

8 (1) are recognized by the Federal Government;

9 and

10 (2) receive services from the Bureau.

11 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—

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

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

14 and annually thereafter, the Commission shall pre15 pare and submit a report to the Committee on In16 dian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on

17 Resources of the House of Representatives that de18 scribes the activities of the Commission.

19 (2) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—Each report sub20 mitted under this subsection shall include, at a min21 imum, for the year that is the subject of the

22 report—

23 (A) the number of petitions pending at the

24 beginning of the year and the names of the pe25 titioners;
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1 (B) the number of petitions received dur2 ing the year and the names of the petitioners;

3 (C) the number of petitions the Commis4 sion approved for acknowledgment during the

5 year and the names of the acknowledged peti6 tioners;

7 (D) the number of petitions the Commis8 sion denied for acknowledgment during the year

9 and the names of the petitioners; and

10 (E) the status of all pending petitions on

11 the date of the report and the names of the pe12 titioners.

13 SEC. 14. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

14 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

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

16 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for

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

18 Act, including any time limitations within which actions

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

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

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

22 provisions of this Act.

23 SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.

24 The Commission may, in accordance with applicable

25 requirements of title 5, United States Code, promulgate
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1 and publish such regulations as may be necessary to carry

2 out this Act.

3 SEC. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

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

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

6 available to Indian groups suggested guidelines for the for7 mat of petitions, including general suggestions and guide8 lines concerning where and how to research information

9 that is required to be included in a petition. The examples

10 included in the guidelines shall not preclude the use of

11 any other appropriate format.

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

13 request, provide suggestions and advice to any petitioner

14 with respect to the research of the petitioner concerning

15 the historical background and Indian identity of that peti16 tioner. The Commission shall not be responsible for con17 ducting research on behalf of the petitioner.

18 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

19 (a) GRANTS.—

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

21 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups

22 seeking Federal recognition as Indian tribes to en23 able the Indian groups to—

24 (A) conduct the research necessary to sub25 stantiate petitions under this Act; and
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•S 611 IS

1 (B) prepare documentation necessary for

2 the submission of a petition under this Act.

3 (2) TREATMENT OF GRANTS.—The grants

4 made under this subsection shall be in addition to

5 any other grants the Secretary of Health and

6 Human Services is authorized to provide under any

7 other provision of law.

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

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

10 of objective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated

11 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

12 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated to the Commission to carry out this Act (other

15 than section 17) such sums as are necessary for each of

16 fiscal years 2001 through 2009.

17 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—To carry out section 17,

18 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department

19 of Health and Human Services for the Administration for

20 Native Americans such sums as are necessary for each of

21 fiscal years 2001 through 2009.

Æ