II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2270

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 40 acres of land

on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana, to Lame Deer

High School District No. 6, Rosebud County, Montana, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 1 (legislative day, JUNE 7), 1994

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

to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 40

acres of land on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana, to Lame Deer High School District No.

6, Rosebud County, Montana, 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. DEFINITIONS.

4 As used in this Act:

5 (1) SCHOOL DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘School Dis6 trict’’ means the Lame Deer High School District

7 No. 6., Rosebud County, Montana.
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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Interior.

3 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the

4 Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

5 SEC. 2. NORTHERN CHEYENNE LAND TRANSFER.

6 (a) CONVEYANCE OF LANDS.—Notwithstanding any

7 other provision of law, the Secretary shall convey by pat8 ent to the School District all right, title, and interest of

9 the United States and the Tribe in the lands described

10 in subsection (b) for use by the School District only for

11 the purposes of constructing and operating on the lands

12 a public high school and related facilities.

13 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LANDS.—

14 (1) GENERAL LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—The lands

15 described in this paragraph are within the Northern

Cheyenne Indian Reservation, as follows: The W1 16 ⁄2

of SE1⁄4 and the E1⁄2 of SW1 17 ⁄4 of section 10, town18 ship 3 south, range 41 east, M.P.M.

19 (2) NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION.—Such lands

20 may be described as follows: Beginning at the south

1 21 ⁄4 corner of such section 10, thence south 89 de22 grees 56 minutes west 393.31 feet, on and along the

23 south line of such section 10 to the true point of be24 ginning, thence south 89 degrees 56 minutes west

25 500 feet, on and along such section line, thence
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1 north 00 degrees 00 minutes east, 575.0 feet, thence

2 north 54 degrees 9 minutes 22 seconds east,

3 2,382.26 feet, thence south 23 degrees 44 minutes

4 21 seconds east, 622.56 feet, thence south 51 de5 grees 14 minutes 40 seconds west, 2,177.19 feet, to

6 the true point of beginning, containing in all 40.0

7 acres, more or less.

8 SEC. 3. PATENT.

9 The patent issued by the Secretary under this Act

10 shall be issued subject to the following conditions:

11 (1) Title to all coal and other minerals, includ12 ing oil, gas, and other natural deposits, within the

13 lands described in section 2(b) shall remain with the

14 Secretary to be held in trust for the Tribe, as pro15 vided in Public Law 90–424 (82 Stat. 424).

16 (2) The lands described in section 2(b) con17 veyed to the School District may be used only by the

18 School District and only for the purposes of con19 structing and operating on the lands a public high

20 school and related facilities.

21 (3) If, on the termination of the 8-year period

22 beginning on the date of issuance of the patent,

23 classes have not commenced in a permanent public

24 high school facility established on the lands de25 scribed in section 2(b) conveyed to the School Dis-
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1 trict, or if such classes commence at the facility dur2 ing such period, but the facility subsequently perma3 nently ceases operating as a public high school—

4 (A) all right, title, and interest to the lands

5 described in section 2(b) conveyed to the School

6 District, free and clear of all liens and encum7 brances, shall automatically revert to the Sec8 retary to be held in trust for the Tribe; and

9 (B) the Secretary shall void the patent and

10 the patent shall have no further force or effect.

11 (4)(A) At any time after the conclusion of any

12 litigation pending as of the date of enactment of this

13 Act (including any trial and, if any, appellate pro14 ceedings) that challenges the decision made by the

15 Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of

16 Montana on November 9, 1993, granting the peti17 tion to create the School District, and with the prior

18 approval of the Superintendent of Public Instruc19 tion—

20 (i) the Tribe shall have the right to request

21 the Secretary to void the patent in accordance

22 with subparagraph (C); and

23 (ii) if the Tribe makes such request and

24 meets the requirements of subparagraph (C),

25 the Tribe may enter into a lease with the
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1 School District pursuant to the Act of August

2 9, 1995 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; (25 U.S.C.

3 415(a))—

4 (I) covering the lands described in

5 section 2(b);

6 (II) of a term of 25 years, with a

7 right to renew for an additional 25-year

8 period; and

9 (III) under which the lands described

10 in section 2(b) shall be leased rent free to

11 the School District for the exclusive pur12 pose of constructing and operating a public

13 high school and related facilities on such

14 lands.

15 (B) Any lease entered into pursuant to sub16 paragraph (A) shall, notwithstanding subparagraph

17 (A)(II), terminate upon the termination of the pe18 riod specified in paragraph (3) if, by such date,

19 classes have not commenced in a permanent public

20 high school facility established on the lands de21 scribed in section 2(b) conveyed to the School Dis22 trict, or if, during such period, such classes com23 mence at the facility, but the facility subsequently

24 permanently ceases operating as a public high

25 school.
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1 (C) If the Tribe seeks and obtains approval of

2 the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the

3 State of Montana, the Tribe may enter into a lease,

4 if the lease is signed by the Tribe and approved by

5 the Secretary. Such lease shall comply with the re6 quirements of this paragraph. At such time as the

7 Tribe enters into a lease under this paragraph, the

8 Secretary shall void the patent, and, subject to the

9 leasehold interest offered to the School District, title

10 to the lands described in section 2(b), free and clear

11 of all liens and encumbrances, shall automatically re12 vert to the Secretary in trust for the Tribe.

13 (D) The Tribe may at any time irrevocably re14 linquish the right of the Tribe to enter into a lease

15 under this paragraph by resolution of the Northern

16 Cheyenne Tribal Council that explicitly provides for

17 the relinquishment of the right.

18 SEC. 4. EFFECT OF ACCEPTANCE OF PATENT.

19 Upon the acceptance by the School District of a pat20 ent issued by the Secretary under this Act, the School Dis21 trict, and any party who may subsequently acquire any

22 right, title, or interest in the lands described in section

23 2(b) by or through the School District, shall be subject
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1 to the terms and conditions set forth in paragraphs (1)

2 through (4) of section 3.

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