I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3690 

To establish a Commission on Recognition of Indian Tribes to review and 

act on petitions by Indian groups applying for Federal recognition, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 1, 2009 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself, Mr. RAHALL, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a Commission on Recognition of Indian Tribes 

to review and act on petitions by Indian groups applying 

for Federal recognition, 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, TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Indian Tribal Federal Recognition Administrative Proce6 dures Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Commission on Recognition of Indian Tribes. 

Sec. 5. Documented petitions for recognition. 

Sec. 6. Notice of receipt of documented petition. 

Sec. 7. Processing the documented petition. 

Sec. 8. Preliminary hearing. 

Sec. 9. Adjudicatory hearing. 

Sec. 10. Reconsideration by Commission; final decision. 

Sec. 11. Effect of determinations. 

Sec. 12. Implementation of decisions. 

Sec. 13. Recognition or restoration of Indian tribes. 

Sec. 14. Indian Reorganization Act. 

Sec. 15. Needs determination and budget request. 

Sec. 16. Annual report concerning Commission’s activities. 

Sec. 17. Actions by petitioners for enforcement. 

Sec. 18. Regulations. 

Sec. 19. Guidelines and advice. 

Sec. 20. Assistance to petitioners. 

Sec. 21. Protection of certain privileged information. 

Sec. 22. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

3 (1) To transfer the responsibility for the Fed4 eral acknowledgment process from the Bureau of In5 dian Affairs to an independent Commission on Rec6 ognition of Indian Tribes. 

7 (2) To establish a Commission on Recognition 

8 of Indian Tribes to review and act upon documented 

9 petitions submitted by Indian groups that apply for 

10 Federal recognition. 

11 (3) To establish an administrative procedure 

12 under which petitions for Federal recognition filed 

13 by Indian groups will be considered. 


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1 (4) To provide clear and consistent standards of 

2 administrative review of documented petitions for 

3 Federal acknowledgment. 

4 (5) To clarify evidentiary standards and expe5 dite the administrative review process by providing 

6 adequate resources to process documented petitions. 

7 (6) To ensure that when the Federal Govern8 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, 

9 the Federal Government does so with an internally 

10 consistent legal, factual, and historical basis. 

11 (7) To extend to Indian groups that the Com12 mission determines to be Indian tribes the protec13 tion, services, and benefits available from the Fed14 eral Government pursuant to the Federal trust re15 sponsibility with respect to Indian tribes. 

16 (8) To assure that Indian groups that are de17 termined to be Indian tribes are recognized as hav18 ing the immunities and privileges available to other 

19 federally acknowledged Indian tribes by virtue of 

20 their status as Indian tribes with a government-to21 government relationship with the United States. 

22 (9) To preserve the integrity of the government23 to-government relationship between the United 

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1 suring that only self-governing Indian peoples are 

2 recognized by the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl6 edgment’’ means a determination by the Commission 

7 on Recognition of Indian Tribes that an Indian 

8 group constitutes an Indian tribe with a govern9 ment-to-government relationship with the United 

10 States. 

11 (2) AUTONOMOUS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘autono13 mous’’ means the exercise of political influence 

14 or authority independent of the control of any 

15 other Indian governing entity. 

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

17 a petitioner, the term shall be understood in the 

18 context of the history, geography, culture, and 

19 social organization of the petitioner. 

20 (3) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

21 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department. 

22 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Commission on Recognition of Indian 

24 Tribes established under this Act. 


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1 (5) COMMUNITY.—The term community refers 

2 to a group of related individuals that is distinct from 

3 surrounding communities. A tribal community may 

4 be found to be distinct, even though some of its 

5 members are also members of other tribes. The term 

6 shall be understood in the context of the history, cul7 ture, and social organization of the group, the intra8 tribal marriage patterns of the group, and the geog9 raphy and economy of the region in which the group 

10 resides. 

11 (6) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.—With re12 spect to a period of history of a group, the term 

13 ‘‘continuous’’ or ‘‘continuously’’ means extending 

14 from 1900 to the present without interruption as 

15 demonstrated by evidence of the fact or condition no 

16 less than once every ten years. 

17 (7) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

18 means the Department of the Interior. 

19 (8) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu20 mented petition’’ means the detailed, factual expo21 sition and arguments, including all documentary evi22 dence, necessary to demonstrate that those argu23 ments specifically address the mandatory criteria es24 tablished in this Act. 


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1 (9) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.— 

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

3 refer to the persectioniod dating from 1900. 

4 (10) INDIAN GROUP.—The term ‘‘Indian 

5 group’’ means any Indian band, pueblo, village, or 

6 community that is not acknowledged to be an Indian 

7 tribe by the Federal Government. 

8 (11) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘‘inter9 ested party’’ means any person, organization, or 

10 other entity who can establish a legal, factual, or 

11 property interest in an acknowledgment determina12 tion and who requests an opportunity to submit 

13 comments or evidence or to be kept informed of Fed14 eral actions regarding a specific petitioner. The term 

15 includes the Governor and attorney general of the 

16 State in which a petitioner is located, and may in17 clude, but is not limited to, local governmental units, 

18 and any recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized 

19 Indian groups that might be affected by an acknowl20 edgment determination. 

21 (12) 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 documented petition for Fed4 eral acknowledgment. 

5 (13) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’ 

6 means any group that submits a letter of intent to 

7 the Commission requesting acknowledgment as an 

8 Indian tribe. 

9 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

10 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 (15) TREATY.—The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any 

12 treaty— 

13 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United 

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

15 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe; 

16 (B) negotiated by the United States with, 

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

18 whether or not the treaty was subsequently 

19 ratified; or 

20 (C) made by any government with, or on 

21 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe, prior to 

22 that government’s entry into the United States, 

23 or when the United States acquired jurisdiction 

24 over land and territory by purchase, conquest, 

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1 ernment had entered into treaties with any In2 dian group or tribe without regard to whether 

3 the treaty was expressly acceded to or adopted 

4 by the successor government. 

5 (16) TRIBAL ROLL.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘tribal roll’’ 

7 means a list exclusively of those individuals 

8 who— 

9 (i)(I) have been determined by the 

10 tribe to meet the membership requirements 

11 of the tribe, as set forth in the governing 

12 document of the tribe; or 

13 (II) in the absence of a governing doc14 ument that sets forth those requirements, 

15 have been recognized as members by the 

16 governing body of the tribe; and 

17 (ii) have affirmatively demonstrated 

18 consent to being listed as members of the 

19 tribe. 

20 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The tribal roll shall be 

21 composed principally of persons who are not 

22 members of any recognized Indian tribe, pro23 vided that the Commission shall not deny rec24 ognition to any petitioner if no more than 20 

25 percent of the individuals listed on the tribal 


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1 roll were at the time that the petition was sub2 mitted to either the Secretary or the Commis3 sion enrolled as a member of a federally recog4 nized Indian tribe. 

5 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON RECOGNITION OF INDIAN TRIBES. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com7 mission on Recognition of Indian Tribes. The Commission 

8 shall be an independent establishment (as defined in sec9 tion 104 of title 5, United States Code). 

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (A) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall 

13 consist of 7 members appointed by the Presi14 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the 

15 Senate. 

16 (B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

17 MEMBERSHIP.—In making appointments to the 

18 Commission, the President shall give careful 

19 consideration to— 

20 (i) recommendations received from In21 dian groups and Indian tribes; and 

22 (ii) individuals who have a back23 ground or who have demonstrated exper24 tise and experience in Indian law or policy, 


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1 anthropology, genealogy, or Native Amer2 ican history. 

3 (C) BACKGROUND INFORMATION.—No in4 dividual shall be eligible for any appointment 

5 to, or continue service on the Commission, 

6 who— 

7 (i) has been convicted of a felony; or 

8 (ii) has any financial interest in, or 

9 management responsibility for, any Indian 

10 group, except merely by virtue of member11 ship in such group. 

12 (2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 4 

13 members of the Commission may be members of the 

14 same political party. 

15 (3) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission 

16 shall be appointed for a term of 6 years. 

17 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis18 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission, 

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

20 original appointment was made. Any member ap21 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira22 tion of the term for which the predecessor of the 

23 member was appointed shall be appointed only for 

24 the remainder of that term. A member may serve 


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1 after the expiration of the term of that member until 

2 a successor has taken office. 

3 (5) COMPENSATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

5 Commission shall receive compensation at a 

6 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual 

7 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the 

8 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

9 5, United States Code, for each day, including 

10 travel time, that the member is engaged in the 

11 actual performance of duties authorized by the 

12 Commission. 

13 (B) TRAVEL.—All members of the Com14 mission shall be reimbursed for travel and per 

15 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the 

16 performance of duties of the Commission while 

17 away from their homes or regular places of 

18 business, in accordance with subchapter I of 

19 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

21 of the Commission shall serve on the Commission as 

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

23 member of the Commission may, while serving on 

24 the Commission, be otherwise employed as an officer 

25 or employee of the Federal Government. Service by 


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1 a member who is an employee of the Federal Gov2 ernment at the time of nomination as a member 

3 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 

4 status or privilege. 

5 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—At the time appointments 

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

7 designate a Chairperson of the Commission (referred 

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

9 the appointees. 

10 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.— 

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

12 its first meeting not later than 30 days after the 

13 date on which all members of the Commission have 

14 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate. 

15 (2) QUORUM.—A panel of any 3 members of 

16 the Commission may conduct any proceedings au17 thorized herein, except those authorized under sec18 tion 10 which shall be conducted by no fewer than 

19 5 commissioners. 

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

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

22 may be necessary to establish the procedures of the 

23 Commission and to govern the manner of operations, 

24 organization, and personnel of the Commission. 


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

2 the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia. 

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

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

5 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this 

6 Act. 

7 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.— 

8 (1) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF CHAIR9 PERSON.—Subject to such rules and regulations as 

10 may be adopted by the Commission, the Chairperson 

11 may— 

12 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the com13 pensation (without regard to the provisions of 

14 title 5, United States Code), governing appoint15 ments in the competitive service, and without 

16 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub17 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title, or of any 

18 other provision of law, relating to the number, 

19 classification, and General Schedule rates) of 

20 an Executive Director of the Commission and of 

21 such other personnel as the Chairperson con22 siders advisable to assist in the performance of 

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

24 exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of 

25 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level 


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1 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 

2 of title 5, United States Code; and 

3 (B) procure, as authorized by section 

4 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, tem5 porary and intermittent services to the same ex6 tent as is authorized by law for agencies in the 

7 executive branch, but at rates not to exceed the 

8 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 

9 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule 

10 under section 5316 of that title. 

11 (2) GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF

12 COMMISSION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

14 hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

15 times as the Commission considers appropriate. 

16 (B) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—As the Com17 mission may consider advisable, the Commission 

18 may— 

19 (i) take testimony; 

20 (ii) have printing and binding done; 

21 (iii) enter into contracts and other ar22 rangements, subject to the availability of 

23 funds; 

24 (iv) make expenditures; and 


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1 (v) take other appropriate actions as 

2 authorized by this Act. 

3 (C) OATHS AND AFFIRMATION.—Any 

4 member of the Commission may administer 

5 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing be6 fore the Commission. 

7 (3) INFORMATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

9 secure directly from any officer, department, 

10 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the 

11 Federal Government such information as the 

12 Commission may require to carry out this Act. 

13 Each such officer, department, agency, estab14 lishment, or instrumentality shall furnish, to 

15 the extent permitted by law, such information, 

16 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to 

17 the Commission. 

18 (B) FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND DE19 TAILS.—Upon the request of the Chairperson, 

20 to assist the Commission in carrying out its du21 ties of the department, agency, or instrumen22 tality may— 

23 (i) make any of the facilities and serv24 ices of that department, agency, or instru25 mentality available to the Commission; and 


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1 (ii) detail any of the personnel of that 

2 department, agency, or instrumentality to 

3 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable 

4 basis. 

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

6 United States mails in the same manner and 

7 under the same conditions as other departments 

8 and agencies of the United States. 

9 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro10 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

11 App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

12 (g) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis13 sion shall terminate not later than the date that is 12 

14 years after the date of the first meeting of the Commission 

15 unless such date is otherwise shortened or extended by an 

16 Act of Congress. 

17 (h) APPOINTMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall continue to exer19 cise those authorities vested in the Secretary relating to 

20 the supervision of Indian recognition regulated under part 

21 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations until 

22 such time as the Commission is organized and prescribes 

23 regulations. The Secretary shall provide staff and support 

24 assistance to facilitate an orderly transition to regulation 

25 of recognition of Indian tribes by the Commission. 


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1 SEC. 5. DOCUMENTED PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 (1) LETTERS OF INTENT AND DOCUMENTED

4 PETITIONS.—Subject to subsection (d) and except as 

5 provided in paragraph (3), any Indian group may 

6 submit to the Commission letters of intent and a 

7 documented petition requesting that the Commission 

8 recognize the group as an Indian tribe. 

9 (2) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTED PETITION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

11 other provision of law, not later than 30 days 

12 after publication of formal regulations gov13 erning the operation of the Commission, the 

14 Secretary shall transfer to the Commission all 

15 documented petitions, all administrative files re16 lated thereto, and letters of intent pending be17 fore the Department that request the Secretary 

18 to recognize or acknowledge an Indian group as 

19 an Indian tribe. 

20 (B) CESSATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES

21 OF SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, on the date of the transfer 

23 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the 

24 Department shall cease to have any authority to 

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1 dian tribe under part 83 of title 25, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations, and its successors. 

3 (C) DETERMINATION OF ORDER OF SUB4 MISSION OF TRANSFERRED DOCUMENTED PETI5 TIONS.—Documented petitions transferred to 

6 the Commission under subparagraph (A) shall, 

7 for purposes of this Act, be considered as hav8 ing been submitted to the Commission in the 

9 same order as those documented petitions were 

10 submitted to the Department. 

11 (3) EXCLUSION.—The following groups and en12 tities shall not be eligible to submit a documented 

13 petition for recognition by the Commission under 

14 this Act: 

15 (A) ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO RE16 CEIVE SERVICES FROM THE BUREAU.—Indian 

17 tribes, organized bands, pueblos, communities, 

18 and Alaska Native entities that are recognized 

19 by the Secretary as of the date of enactment of 

20 this Act as eligible to receive services from the 

21 Bureau. 

22 (B) SPLINTER GROUPS, POLITICAL FAC23 TIONS, AND COMMUNITIES.—Splinter groups, 

24 political factions, communities, or groups of any 

25 character that separate from the main body of 


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1 an Indian tribe that, at the time of that separa2 tion, is recognized as an Indian tribe by the 

3 Secretary, unless the group, faction, or commu4 nity is able to establish clearly that the group, 

5 faction, or community has functioned since 

6 1900 as an autonomous Indian tribal entity. 

7 (C) GROUPS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY SUB8 MITTED DOCUMENTED 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 

12 based on the merits of their petition as an In13 dian tribe under regulations prescribed by the 

14 Secretary (other than an Indian group de15 scribed in subsection (d)(1). Nothing in this 

16 subparagraph shall be construed as excluding 

17 any group that Congress has identified as In18 dian, but has not identified as an Indian tribe. 

19 (D) INDIAN GROUPS SUBJECT TO TERMI20 NATION.—Any Indian group whose relationship 

21 with the Federal Government was expressly ter22 minated by an Act of Congress. 

23 (b) DOCUMENTED PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.— 

24 Except as provided in subsection (c), any documented peti25 tion submitted under subsection (a) by an Indian group 


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1 shall be in any readable form that clearly indicates that 

2 the documented petition is a documented petition request3 ing the Commission to recognize the Indian group as an 

4 Indian tribe and that contains detailed, specific evidence 

5 concerning each of the following items: 

6 (1) LIST OF MEMBERS WHO DESCEND FROM

7 HISTORIC TRIBE(S).— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—A list of all then cur9 rent members of the petitioner, including the 

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

11 place of birth, and then current residential ad12 dress of each member, a copy of each available 

13 former list of members based on the criteria de14 fined by the petitioner, and a statement describ15 ing the methods used in preparing those lists. 

16 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 In order for the Commission to consider the 

18 members of the group to be members of an In19 dian tribe for the purposes of the documented 

20 petition, that membership shall be required to 

21 consist of established descendancy from an In22 dian group that existed historically, or from his23 torical Indian groups that combined and func24 tioned as a single autonomous entity. 


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1 (C) EVIDENCE OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 Evidence of tribal membership required by the 

3 Commission for a determination of tribal mem4 bership shall include the following items: 

5 (i) DESCENDANCY ROLLS.— 

6 Descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec7 retary for the petitioner for purposes of 

8 distributing claims money, providing allot9 ments, or other purposes. 

10 (ii) CERTAIN OFFICIAL RECORDS.— 

11 Federal, State, or other official records or 

12 evidence identifying then present members 

13 of the petitioner, or ancestors of then 

14 present members of the petitioner, as being 

15 descendants of a historic tribe or historic 

16 tribes that combined and functioned as a 

17 single autonomous political entity. 

18 (iii) ENROLLMENT RECORDS.— 

19 Church, school, and other similar enroll20 ment records identifying then present 

21 members or ancestors of then present 

22 members as being descendants of a historic 

23 tribe or historic tribes that combined and 

24 functioned as a single autonomous political 

25 entity. 


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1 (iv) AFFIDAVITS OF RECOGNITION.— 

2 Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders, 

3 leaders, or the tribal governing body identi4 fying then present members or ancestors of 

5 then present members as being descend6 ants of 1 or more historic tribes that com7 bined and functioned as a single autono8 mous political entity. 

9 (v) OTHER RECORDS OR EVIDENCE.— 

10 Other records or evidence based upon anal11 ysis by historians, anthropologists, and 

12 genealogists with established expertise on 

13 the petitioner or Indian entities in general, 

14 identifying then present members or ances15 tors of then present members as being de16 scendants of 1 or more historic tribes that 

17 combined and functioned as a single auton18 omous political entity. 

19 (2) EVIDENCE OF COMMUNITY.— 

20 (A) DISTINCT COMMUNITY.—A statement 

21 of facts and an analysis of such facts estab22 lishing that the group comprises a community 

23 of related members distinct from surrounding 

24 communities continuously since 1900. 


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1 (B) EVIDENCE OF DISTINCT COMMU2 NITY.—Evidence that the Commission may rely 

3 upon in determining that the petitioner meets 

4 the distinct community criterion may include 

5 one or more of the following items: 

6 (i) Political structures or processes 

7 limited to the group by which decisions 

8 that affect the group are made, such as 

9 the allocation of resources or the settle10 ment of disputes among members. 

11 (ii) Political disagreements among the 

12 individual members of the group over 

13 group policies, processes, or decisions. 

14 (iii) Significant rates of informal so15 cial interaction, social relationships, such 

16 as marriage or shared economic activity, 

17 among members of the group. 

18 (iv) Cultural patterns among a signifi19 cant portion of the group’s members such 

20 as language, religious beliefs and practices, 

21 or religious organizations. 

22 (v) The majority of the group’s mem23 bers exhibits collateral as well as lineal 

24 kinship ties through generations to the 

25 third degree. 


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1 (vi) Other evidence deemed relevant or 

2 probative by the Commission. 

3 (C) CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF DISTINCT

4 COMMUNITY.—A petitioner shall be considered 

5 to have conclusively established a distinct com6 munity for any period in which it establishes 

7 one of the following: 

(i) Not less than 1 8 ⁄3 of the members 

9 of the group who are married are married 

10 to other members of the group. 

11 (ii) Not less than 50 percent of the 

12 members of the group reside in geo13 graphical area(s) that are exclusively or al14 most exclusively composed of members of 

15 the group. 

16 (iii) The State in which the petitioner 

17 principally resides has continuously since 

18 1900 recognized the group as a self-gov19 erning Indian community or has held a 

20 reservation for the group. 

21 (iv) A continuous line of group lead22 er(s) with a description of the means of se23 lection or acquiescence by a majority of the 

24 group’ s members. 


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

2 then present governing document of the petitioner 

3 that includes the membership criteria of the peti4 tioner. In the absence of a written document, the pe5 titioner shall be required to provide a statement de6 scribing in full the membership criteria of the peti7 tioner and the then current governing procedures of 

8 the petitioner. 

9 (4) PETITIONER BURDEN OF PROOF.—At all 

10 levels of Commission consideration of a petition, and 

11 upon any reconsideration of appellate review of such 

12 petition, the Petitioner shall be considered to have 

13 satisfied any requirement if the evidence submitted, 

14 taken together, establishes a reasonable likelihood of 

15 the validity of the facts establishing the satisfaction 

16 of that requirement. No higher level of proof shall 

17 be required, and conclusive proof of a single fact re18 lating to a requirement shall not be necessary for 

19 the requirement to be considered met. 

20 (c) EXPEDITED DECISION.— 

21 (1) EXPEDITED NEGATIVE.—Within 6 months 

22 of receipt of a documented petition, the Commission 

23 shall, where appropriate, publish a notice of deter24 mination that the petitioner shall not be recognized 

25 upon a determination that the petitioner failed to 


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1 demonstrate Indian ancestry as required by sub2 section (b)(3); 

3 (2) EXPEDITED FAVORABLE.—Within 6 months 

4 of receipt of a documented petition the Commission, 

5 upon the request of the petitioner, shall publish a 

6 notice of determination that the petitioner shall be 

7 acknowledged as an Indian tribe upon the Commis8 sion’s determination that the petitioner has dem9 onstrated that it has comprised a distinct commu10 nity for a time depth of 10 years prior to the date 

11 upon which the petitioner filed a completed petition 

12 before either the Secretary or the Commission, and 

13 any of the following: 

14 (A) Where 90 percent or more of its mem15 bers descend from a tribe recognized by treaty 

16 with the United States. 

17 (B) Where 90 percent or more of its mem18 bers descend from a historic tribe for which the 

19 State in which the petitioner principally resides 

20 has since 1900 recognized a reservation for that 

21 petitioner. 

22 (C) Where 90 percent or more of its mem23 bers descend from a historic tribe and are mem24 bers of a tribe held to constitute an Indian tribe 


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1 under Federal law by a Federal court or a 

2 State court of last resort. 

3 (D) Where 90 percent or more of its mem4 bers descend from a historic tribe that the 

5 United States has at one time unambiguously 

6 acknowledged. 

7 (3) EFFECT OF AN EXPEDITED DETERMINA8 TION.—A noticed expedited determination shall be 

9 deemed a final decision by the Commission, unless 

10 the expedited determination is rebutted as follows: 

11 (A) Within 60 days after the publication of 

12 the notice of expedited determination an inter13 ested party or the petitioner submits comments 

14 on the notice. 

15 (B) Such comments pertain to the basis of 

16 the expedited determination. 

17 (C) In the event such comments are sub18 mitted, the notice of expedited determination 

19 shall not constitute a final decision of the Com20 mission and the petitioner shall be entitled to 

21 an adjudicatory hearing under section 9. 

22 (d) HEARING FOR PREVIOUSLY DENIED GROUPS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Indian groups that have 

24 been denied or refused recognition as an Indian tribe 

25 under regulations prescribed by the Secretary shall 


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1 be entitled to an adjudicatory hearing under section 

2 9 before the Commission, if the Commission deter3 mines that the criteria established by this Act 

4 changes the evaluation of the merits of the Indian 

5 group’s documented petition submitted to the De6 partment. 

7 (2) HEARING RECORD.—For purposes of para8 graph (1), the Commission shall review the adminis9 trative record containing the documented petition 

10 that formed the basis of the determination to the In11 dian group by the Secretary. 

12 (3) TREATMENT OF SECRETARY’S FINAL DE13 TERMINATION.—For purposes of the adjudicatory 

14 hearing under section 9, the Secretary’s final deter15 mination shall be considered a preliminary deter16 mination under section 8(b)(1)(B). 

17 (4) OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO BE

18 CONSIDERED CONCERNING EVIDENCE OF CRI19 TERIA.—A statement and an analysis of facts sub20 mitted under this section may establish that, for any 

21 given period of time for which evidence of criteria is 

22 lacking, such absence of evidence corresponds in 

23 time with official acts of the Federal or relevant 

24 State Government which prohibited or penalized the 

25 expression of Indian identity. For such periods of 


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1 time, the absence of evidence shall not be the basis 

2 for declining to acknowledge the petitioner. 

3 (e) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.— 

4 (1) DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.—No Indian 

5 group may submit a documented petition to the 

6 Commission later than 8 years after the date of the 

7 first meeting of the Commission. 

8 (2) LETTERS OF INTENT.—In the case of a let9 ter of intent, the Commission shall publish in the 

10 Federal Register a notice of such receipt, including 

11 the name, location, and mailing address of the peti12 tioner. A petitioner who has submitted a letter of in13 tent or had a letter of intent transferred to the Com14 mission under section 5 shall be required to submit 

15 a documented petition within 3 years after the date 

16 of the first meeting of the Commission to the Com17 mission. No letters of intent will be accepted by the 

18 Commission later than 3 years after the date of the 

19 first meeting of the Commission. 

20 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

21 (a) PETITIONER.— 

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

23 a documented petition is submitted or transferred to 

24 the Commission under section 5(a), the Commission 

25 shall— 


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1 (A) send an acknowledgment of receipt in 

2 writing to the petitioner; and 

3 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no4 tice of that receipt, including the name, loca5 tion, and mailing address of the petitioner and 

6 such other information that— 

7 (i) identifies the entity that submitted 

8 the documented petition and the date the 

9 documented petition was received by the 

10 Commission; 

11 (ii) indicates where a copy of the doc12 umented petition may be examined; and 

13 (iii) indicates whether the documented 

14 petition is a transferred documented peti15 tion that is subject to the special provi16 sions under paragraph (2). 

17 (2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE TRANS18 FERRED DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a docu20 mented petition that is transferred to the Com21 mission under section 5(a)(4), the notice pro22 vided to the petitioner, shall, in addition to pro23 viding the information specified in paragraph 

24 (1), inform the petitioner whether the docuVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:47 Oct 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3690.IH H3690

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1 mented petition constitutes a documented peti2 tion that meets the requirements 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 120 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) OTHER NOTIFICATION.—In addition to providing 

18 the notification required under subsection (a), the Com19 mission shall notify, in writing, the Governor and attorney 

20 general of, and each federally recognized Indian tribe 

21 within, any 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 documented petition 


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1 (including any amended petition submitted pursuant 

2 to subsection (a)(2)) in a major newspaper of gen3 eral circulation in the town or city located nearest 

4 the location 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 interested parties to 

11 submit factual or legal arguments in support of, 

12 or in opposition to, the documented petition. 

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

14 submission made under subparagraph (A) shall 

15 be provided to the petitioner within 90 days 

16 upon receipt by the Commission. 

17 (C) RESPONSE.—The petitioner shall be 

18 provided an opportunity to respond within 90 

19 days to any submission made under subpara20 graph (A) before a determination on the docu21 mented petition by the Commission. 

22 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

23 (a) REVIEW.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a docu25 mented petition submitted or transferred under secVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:47 Oct 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3690.IH H3690

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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 documented petition, supporting evi8 dence, and the factual statements contained in the 

9 documented petition. 

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

11 under this subsection, the Commission may— 

12 (A) initiate other research for any purpose 

13 relative to analyzing the documented petition 

14 and obtaining additional information about the 

15 status of the petitioner; and 

16 (B) consider such evidence as may be sub17 mitted by interested parties. 

18 (4) ACCESS TO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NA19 TIONAL ARCHIVES.—Upon request by the petitioner, 

20 the appropriate officials of the Library of Congress 

21 and the National Archives shall allow access by the 

22 petitioner to the resources, records, and documents 

23 of those entities, for the purpose of conducting re24 search and preparing evidence concerning the status 

25 of the petitioner. 


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1 (b) CONSIDERATION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro3 vided in this subsection, documented petitions sub4 mitted or transferred to the Commission shall be 

5 considered on a first come, first served basis, deter6 mined by the date of the original filing of each such 

7 documented petition with the Commission (or the 

8 Department if the documented petition is trans9 ferred to the Commission pursuant to section 

10 5(a)(4) or is an amended petition submitted pursu11 ant to section 6(a)(2)(B)). The Commission shall es12 tablish a priority register that includes documented 

13 petitions that are pending before the Department as 

14 of the date of the first meeting of the Commission. 

15 (2) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—Each docu16 mented petition (that is submitted or transferred to 

17 the Commission pursuant to section 5(a) or that is 

18 submitted to the Commission pursuant to section 

19 6(a)(2)(B)) of an Indian group that meets 1 or more 

20 of the requirements set forth in section 5(c) shall re21 ceive priority consideration over a documented peti22 tion submitted by any other Indian group. 

23 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING. 

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

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1 mitted or transferred under section 5(a) or submitted to 

2 the Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B), the Com3 mission shall— 

4 (1) set a date for a preliminary hearing at 

5 which the Commission shall preside which shall in 

6 no instance be held later than 180 days after receipt 

7 of the documented petition, and at which the peti8 tioner and any other interested party may provide 

9 evidence concerning the status of the petitioner; or 

10 (2) publish its expedited decision under section 

11 5(d). 

12 (b) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

13 the conclusion of a preliminary hearing under subsection 

14 (a), the Commission shall make a determination— 

15 (1) to extend Federal acknowledgment of the 

16 petitioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner; or 

17 (2) that the petitioner should proceed to an ad18 judicatory hearing at which the Commission shall 

19 preside. 

20 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

21 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.— 

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

23 determination under subsection (b)(2) that the peti24 tioner should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing, 

25 the Commission shall— 


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1 (A)(i) not later than 30 days after the date 

2 of such determination, make available to the pe3 titioner all records relied upon by the Commis4 sion and its staff in making the preliminary de5 termination to assist the petitioner in preparing 

6 for the adjudicatory hearing; 

7 (ii) include such guidance as the Commis8 sion considers necessary or appropriate to assist 

9 the petitioner in preparing for the hearing; and 

10 (B) not later than 30 days after the con11 clusion of the preliminary hearing under sub12 section (a), provide a written notification to the 

13 petitioner that includes a list of any deficiencies 

14 or omissions that the Commission relied on in 

15 making a determination under subsection 

16 (b)(2). 

17 (2) SUBJECT OF ADJUDICATORY HEARING.— 

18 The list of deficiencies and omissions provided by 

19 the Commission to a petitioner under paragraph 

20 (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adjudicatory hear21 ing. The Commission may not make any additions to 

22 the list after the Commission issues the list. 

23 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING. 

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

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


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1 Commission shall afford a petitioner who is subject to sec2 tion 8(b)(2) an adjudicatory hearing at which the Commis3 sion shall preside. The subject of the adjudicatory hearing 

4 shall be the list of deficiencies and omissions provided 

5 under section 8(c)(1)(B) and shall be conducted pursuant 

6 to sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States 

7 Code. 

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

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

10 shall require testimony from the acknowledgment and re11 search staff of the Commission or other witnesses involved 

12 in the preliminary determination. Any such testimony 

13 shall be subject to cross-examination by the petitioner. 

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

15 under subsection (a), the petitioner may provide such evi16 dence as the petitioner considers appropriate. 

17 (d) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later 

18 than 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing held 

19 under subsection (a), the Commission shall— 

20 (1) make a determination concerning the exten21 sion or denial of Federal acknowledgment of the pe22 titioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner; 

23 (2) publish the determination of the Commis24 sion under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register; 

25 and 


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

2 petitioner, and to every other interested party to 

3 that petitioner. 

4 SEC. 10. RECONSIDERATION BY COMMISSION; FINAL DECI5 SION. 

6 (a) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon publication of a deter8 mination by a Commission panel under section 9(d) 

9 in the Federal Register, or determination under sec10 tion 5(d), the petitioner or any interested party may 

11 file a request for reconsideration with the Commis12 sion. 

13 (2) DEADLINE.—A petitioner’s or interested 

14 party’s request for reconsideration must be received 

15 by the Commission no later than 90 days after the 

16 date of publication of the Commission panel’s deter17 mination under section 9(d) and 30 days under sec18 tion 5(d). The Commission shall dismiss a request 

19 for reconsideration that is not filed by the deadline. 

20 (3) DETERMINATION OF VALID REQUEST.—If a 

21 petitioner’s or interested party’s request for recon22 sideration is timely filed, the Commission shall de23 termine, within 120 days after publication of the 

24 Commission panel’s final determination in the Fed25 eral Register under section 9(d), and 90 days under 


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1 section 5(d), whether the request alleges any of the 

2 grounds in subsection (d) and shall notify the peti3 tioner and interested parties of it reconsidered deter4 mination. 

5 (4) FINAL DECISION.—If no request for recon6 sideration has been received, the Commission panel’s 

7 decision under section 9(d) and section 5(d) shall be 

8 final 90 days after publication of the final deter9 mination in the Federal Register. 

10 (b) DETAILED STATEMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The petitioner’s or inter12 ested party’s request for reconsideration shall con13 tain a detailed statement of the grounds for the re14 quest. 

15 (2) STATEMENT CONSIDERED OPENING

16 BRIEF.—The detailed statement of grounds for re17 consideration filed by a petitioner or interested par18 ties shall be considered the appellant’s opening brief. 

19 (3) COPIES.—The party or parties requesting 

20 the reconsideration shall mail copies of the request 

21 to the petitioner and all other interested parties. 

22 (c) REVIEW.—The Commission shall review all re23 quests for reconsideration that are timely filed and that 

24 allege any of the following: 


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1 (1) That there is new evidence that could affect 

2 the determination. 

3 (2) That a substantial portion of the evidence 

4 relied upon in the Commission panel’s determination 

5 was unreliable or was of little probative value. 

6 (3) That petitioner’s or the Commission panel’s 

7 research appears inadequate or incomplete in some 

8 material respect. 

9 (4) That there are reasonable alternative inter10 pretations, not previously considered, of the evidence 

11 used for the determination under section 9(d) or 

12 under section 5(d), that would substantially affect 

13 the determination that the petitioner meets or does 

14 not meet one or more of the criteria in section 

15 5(b)(1) to (3) or is eligible for an expedited decision 

16 under section 5(c). 

17 (d) COMMISSION OVERSIGHT OF REQUEST FOR RE18 CONSIDERATION.— 

19 (1) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW.—The Commission 

20 shall have authority to review determinations of a 

21 Commission panel made pursuant to section 9(d) 

22 and section 5(d). 

23 (2) PROCEDURES FOR FULL AND FAIR EVALUA24 TION.—The Commission may establish such proce25 dures as it deems appropriate to provide a full and 


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1 fair evaluation of a request for reconsideration under 

2 this section to the extent they are not inconsistent 

3 with this Act. 

4 (3) EXPERTS.—The Commission, at its discre5 tion, may request experts not associated with the 

6 Commission, any panel of the Commission, the peti7 tioner, or interested parties to provide comments, 

8 recommendations, or technical advice concerning the 

9 determination, the administrative record, or mate10 rials filed by the petitioner or interested parties. The 

11 Commission may also request, at its discretion, com12 ments or technical assistance from the Commission 

13 panel concerning the final determination under sec14 tion 9(b) or under section 5(d) and the record used 

15 for either determination. 

16 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD.—For purposes 

17 of review by the Commission, the administrative 

18 record shall consist of all appropriate documents 

19 held by the Commission relevant to the determina20 tion involved in the request for reconsideration. The 

21 Commission panel shall designate and make avail22 able to the Commission copies of critical documents 

23 central to the portions of the determination under a 

24 request for reconsideration. The Commission panel 

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1 trative record, to which the Commission shall have 

2 unrestricted access. 

3 (5) PANEL’S DETERMINATION AFFIRMED.—The 

4 Commission shall affirm the Commission panel’s de5 termination if the Commission finds that the peti6 tioner or interested party has failed to establish, by 

7 a preponderance of the evidence, at least one of the 

8 grounds under subsection (c). 

9 (6) PANEL’S DETERMINATION VACATED.—The 

10 Commission shall vacate the Commission panel’s de11 termination and remand it to the Commission panel 

12 for further work and reconsideration if the Commis13 sion finds that the petitioner or an interested party 

14 has established, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

15 one or more of the grounds under subsectukion (c). 

16 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS. 

17 A determination by the Commission under section 

18 9(d) that an Indian group is recognized by the Federal 

19 Government as an Indian tribe shall not have the effect 

20 of depriving or diminishing— 

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

22 the reservation of such other tribe as that reserva23 tion existed before the recognition of that Indian 

24 group, or as that reservation may exist thereafter; 


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1 (2) any property right held in trust or recog2 nized by the United States for any other Indian 

3 tribe as that property existed before the recognition 

4 of that Indian group; or 

5 (3) any previously or independently existing 

6 claim by a petitioner to any such property right held 

7 in trust by the United States for any other Indian 

8 tribe before the recognition by the Federal Govern9 ment of that Indian group as an Indian tribe. 

10 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS. 

11 Upon recognition by the Commission of a petitioner 

12 as an Indian tribe under this Act, the Indian tribe shall— 

13 (1) be eligible for the services and benefits from 

14 the Federal Government that are available to other 

15 federally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their 

16 status as Indian tribes with a government-to-govern17 ment relationships with the United States; 

18 (2) have the responsibilities, obligations, privi19 leges, and immunities of those Indian tribes; and 

20 (3) be included on the list of federally recog21 nized tribes under the Federally Recognized Indian 

22 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a et seq.; 

23 Public Law 103–454) (as amended by section 12 of 

24 this Act). 


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1 SEC. 13. RECOGNITION OR RESTORATION OF INDIAN 

2 TRIBES. 

3 The Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

4 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a et seq.; Public Law 103–454) is 

5 amended by striking section 103 and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 103. RECOGNITION AND RESTORATION OF INDIAN 

8 TRIBES. 

9 ‘‘Indian tribes may be recognized or restored by— 

10 ‘‘(1) Federal law; 

11 ‘‘(2) the Commission on Recognition of Indian 

12 Tribes; 

13 ‘‘(3) reorganization under the Indian Reorga14 nization Act or the Alaska Indian Reorganization 

15 Act; and 

16 ‘‘(4) any final decision of a United States 

17 court.’’. 

18 SEC. 14. INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT. 

19 The Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.; 

20 popularly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), is 

21 applicable to all tribes recognized by the Commission, 

22 without regard to whether such tribe was under Federal 

23 jurisdiction as of June 18, 1934. 

24 SEC. 15. NEEDS DETERMINATION AND BUDGET REQUEST. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after an 

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1 dian tribe under this Act, the appropriate officials of the 

2 Bureau and the Indian Health Service of the Department 

3 of Health and Human Services shall consult and develop 

4 in cooperation with the Indian tribe, and forward to the 

5 Secretary or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

6 as appropriate, a determination of the needs of the Indian 

7 tribe and a recommended budget required to serve the 

8 newly recognized Indian tribe. 

9 (b) SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUEST.—Upon re10 ceipt of the information described in paragraph (1), the 

11 appropriate Secretary shall submit to the President a rec12 ommended budget along with recommendations, con13 cerning the information received under paragraph (1), for 

14 inclusion in the annual budget submitted by the President 

15 to the Congress pursuant to section 1108 of title 31, 

16 United States Code. 

17 SEC. 16. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC18 TIVITIES. 

19 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

21 is 1 year after the date of the first meeting of the 

22 Commission, and annually thereafter, the Commis23 sion shall prepare and submit a report to the Com24 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Com25 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of RepVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:47 Oct 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3690.IH H3690

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1 resentatives that describes the activities of the Com2 mission. 

3 (2) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—Each report sub4 mitted under this subsection shall include, at a min5 imum, for the year that is the subject of the re6 port— 

7 (A) the number of documented petitions 

8 pending at the beginning of the year and the 

9 names of the petitioners; 

10 (B) the number of documented persons re11 ceived during the year and the names of peti12 tioners; 

13 (C) the number of documented petitions 

14 the Commission approved for acknowledgment 

15 during the year and the names of the acknowl16 edged petitioners; 

17 (D) the number of documented petitions 

18 the Commission denied for acknowledgment 

19 during the year and the names of the peti20 tioners; and 

21 (E) the status of all pending documented 

22 petitions on the date of the report and the 

23 names of petitioners. 


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1 SEC. 17. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT. 

2 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district 

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

4 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for 

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

6 Act, including any time limitations within which actions 

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

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

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

10 provisions of this Act. 

11 SEC. 18. REGULATIONS. 

12 The Commission may, in accordance with applicable 

13 requirements of title 5, United States Code, promulgate 

14 and publish such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

15 out this Act. 

16 SEC. 19. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE. 

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

18 date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Commis19 sion shall make available to Indian groups suggested 

20 guidelines for the format of documented petitions, includ21 ing general suggestions and guidelines concerning where 

22 and how to research information that is required to be 

23 included in a documented petition. The examples included 

24 in the guidelines shall not preclude the use of any other 

25 appropriate format. 


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

2 request, provide suggestions and advice to any petitioner 

3 with respect to the research of the petitioner concerning 

4 the historical background and Indian identity of that peti5 tioner. The Commission shall not be responsible for con6 ducting research on behalf of the petitioner. 

7 SEC. 20. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS. 

8 (a) GRANTS.— 

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

10 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups 

11 seeking Federal recognition as Indian tribes to en12 able the Indian groups to— 

13 (A) conduct the research necessary to sub14 stantiate documented petitions under this Act; 

15 and 

16 (B) prepare documentation necessary for 

17 the submission of a documented petition under 

18 this Act. 

19 (2) TREATMENT OF GRANTS.—The grants 

20 made under this subsection shall be in addition to 

21 any other grants the Secretary of Health and 

22 Human Services is authorized to provide under any 

23 other provision of law. 

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

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


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1 of objective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated 

2 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

3 SEC. 21. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN PRIVILEGED INFORMA4 TION. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the 

6 effective date of this Act, when responding to any requests 

7 for information on petitions and related materials filed by 

8 a group seeking Federal recognition as an Indian tribe 

9 pursuant to part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal 

10 Regulations, including petitions and related materials 

11 transferred to the Commission from the Department 

12 under section 5(a)(2), as well as related materials located 

13 within the Department that have yet to be transferred to 

14 the Commission, the Department and the Commission 

15 shall exclude materials identified by the petitioning group 

16 as information related to religious practices or sacred 

17 sites, and which the group is forbidden to disclose except 

18 for the limited purpose of Department and Commission 

19 review. 

20 SEC. 22. 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) such sums as are necessary for each of 

24 fiscal years 2010 through 2018. 


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•HR 3690 IH

1 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to 

2 be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human 

3 Services to carry out section 17 such sums as are nec4 essary for each fiscal years 2010 through 2018. 

Æ 


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