I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 464 

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to 

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2005 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

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 Tribal Federal 

5 Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

8 (1) To remove the Federal acknowledgment 

9 process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and 
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1 transfer the responsibility for the process to an inde2 pendent Commission on Indian Recognition. 

3 (2) To establish a Commission on Indian Rec4 ognition to review and act upon documented peti5 tions submitted by Indian groups that apply for 

6 Federal recognition. 

7 (3) To establish an administrative procedure 

8 under which petitions for Federal recognition filed 

9 by Indian groups will be considered. 

10 (4) To provide clear and consistent standards of 

11 administrative review of documented petitions for 

12 Federal acknowledgment. 

13 (5) To clarify evidentiary standards and expe14 dite the administrative review process by providing 

15 adequate resources to process documented petitions. 

16 (6) To ensure that when the Federal Govern17 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, 

18 the Federal Government does so with a consistent 

19 legal, factual, and historical basis. 

20 (7) To extend to Indian groups that are deter21 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services, 

22 and benefits available from the Federal Government 

23 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility with re24 spect to Indian tribes. 
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1 (8) To extend to Indian groups that are deter2 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi3 leges available to other federally acknowledged In4 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes 

5 with a government-to-government relationship with 

6 the United States. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl10 edgment’’ means a determination by the Commission 

11 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group con12 stitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-gov13 ernment relationship with the United States. 

14 (2) AUTONOMOUS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘autono16 mous’’ means the exercise of political influence 

17 or authority independent of the control of any 

18 other Indian governing entity. 

19 (B) CONTEXT OFTERM.—With respect to 

20 a petitioner, the term shall be understood in the 

21 context of the history, geography, culture, and 

22 social organization of the petitioner. 

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

24 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department. 
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1 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Commission on Indian Recognition estab3 lished under section 4. 

4 (5) COMMUNITY.— 

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

6 means any group of people, living within a rea7 sonable territory, that is able to demonstrate 

8 that 

9 (i) consistent interactions and signifi10 cant social relationships exist within the 

11 membership; and 

12 (ii) the members of that group are 

13 differentiated from and identified as dis14 tinct from nonmembers. 

15 (B) CONTEXT OFTERM.—The term shall 

16 be understood in the context of the history, cul17 ture, and social organization of the group, tak18 ing into account the geography of the region in 

19 which the group resides. 

20 (6) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.—With re21 spect to a period of history of a group, the term 

22 ‘‘continuous’’ or ‘‘continuously’’ means extending 

23 from 1900 throughout the history of the group to 

24 the present substantially without interruption. 
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1 (7) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of the Interior. 

3 (8) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu4 mented petition’’ means the detailed, factual expo5 sition and arguments, including all documentary evi6 dence, necessary to demonstrate that those argu7 ments specifically address the mandatory criteria es8 tablished in section 5. 

9 (9) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.— 

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

11 refer to the period dating from 1900. 

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

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

14 community that is not acknowledged to be an Indian 

15 tribe. 

16 (11) INTERESTED PARTIES.—The term ‘‘inter17 ested parties’’ means any person, organization, or 

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

19 property interest in an acknowledgement determina20 tion and who requests an opportunity to submit 

21 comments or evidence or to be kept informed of Fed22 eral actions regarding a specific petitioner. The term 

23 includes the government and attorney general of the 

24 State in which a petitioner is located, and may in25 clude, but is not limited to, local governmental units, 
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1 and any recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized 

2 Indian groups that might be affected by an acknowl3 edgement determination. 

4 (12) LETTER OFINTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of 

5 intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution 

6 that— 

7 (A) is dated and signed by the governing 

8 body of an Indian group; 

9 (B) is submitted to the Commission; and 

10 (C) indicates the intent of the Indian 

11 group to submit a documented petition for Fed12 eral acknowledgment. 

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

14 means any group that submits a letter of intent to 

15 the Commission requesting acknowledgment. 

16 (14) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘political in18 fluence or authority’’ means a tribal council, 

19 leadership, internal process, or other mecha20 nism that a group has used as a means of— 

21 (i) influencing or controlling the be22 havior of its members in a significant man23 ner; 

24 (ii) making decisions for the group 

25 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 OFTERM.—The term shall 

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

7 (15) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 

8 means the re-extension of acknowledgment to any 

9 previously acknowledged tribe with respect to which 

10 the acknowledged status may have been abrogated or 

11 diminished by reason of administrative action by the 

12 Executive Branch or legislation enacted by Congress 

13 expressly terminating that status. 

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

15 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 (17) TREATY.—The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any 

17 treaty— 

18 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United 

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

20 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe; 

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

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

23 the Federal Government or the colonial govern24 ment which was the predecessor to the United 

25 States Government subsequently acquired terri-
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1 tory by purchase, conquest, annexation, or ces2 sion; or 

3 (C) negotiated by the United States with, 

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

5 whether or not the treaty was subsequently 

6 ratified. 

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

8 means a list exclusively of those individuals who— 

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

10 meet the membership requirements of the tribe, 

11 as set forth in the governing document of the 

12 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 (B) have affirmatively demonstrated con18 sent to being listed as members of the tribe. 

19 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com21 mission on Indian Recognition. The Commission shall be 

22 an independent establishment, as defined in section 104 

23 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.— 
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1 (A) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall 

2 consist of 3 members appointed by the Presi3 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the 

4 Senate. 

5 (B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

6 MEMBERSHIP.—In making appointments to the 

7 Commission, the President shall give careful 

8 consideration to— 

9 (i) recommendations received from In10 dian groups and Indian tribes; and 

11 (ii) individuals who have a back12 ground or who have demonstrated exper13 tise and experience in Indian law or policy, 

14 anthropology, genealogy, or Native Amer15 ican history. 

16 (C) BACKGROUND INFORMATION.—No in17 dividual shall be eligible for any appointment 

18 to, or continue service on the Commission, 

19 who— 

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

21 (ii) has any financial interest in, or 

22 management responsibility for, any Indian 

23 group. 
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1 (2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 2 

2 members of the Commission may be members of the 

3 same political party. 

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

5 shall be appointed for a term of 6 years. 

6 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis7 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission, 

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

9 original appointment was made. Any member ap10 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira11 tion of the term for which the predecessor of the 

12 member was appointed shall be appointed only for 

13 the remainder of that term. A member may serve 

14 after the expiration of the term of that member until 

15 a successor has taken office. 

16 (5) COMPENSATION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

18 Commission shall receive compensation at a 

19 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual 

20 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the 

21 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

22 5, United States Code, for each day, including 

23 travel time, that the member is engaged in the 

24 actual performance of duties authorized by the 

25 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 OFCHAIR19 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 

25 times as the Commission considers appropriate. 
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1 (B) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—As the Com2 mission may consider advisable, the Commission 

3 may— 

4 (i) take testimony; 

5 (ii) have printing and binding done; 

6 (iii) enter into contracts and other ar7 rangements, subject to the availability of 

8 funds; 

9 (iv) make expenditures; and 

10 (v) take other actions. 

11 (C) OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS.—Any 

12 member of the Commission may administer 

13 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing be14 fore the Commission. 

15 (3) INFORMATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

17 secure directly from any officer, department, 

18 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the 

19 Federal Government such information as the 

20 Commission may require to carry out this Act. 

21 Each such officer, department, agency, estab22 lishment, or instrumentality shall furnish, to 

23 the extent permitted by law, such information, 

24 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to 
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1 the Commission, upon the request of the Chair2 person. 

3 (B) FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND DE4 TAILS.—Upon the request of the Chairperson, 

5 to assist the Commission in carrying out the 

6 duties of the Commission under this section, 

7 the head of any Federal department, agency, or 

8 instrumentality may— 

9 (i) make any of the facilities and serv10 ices of that department, agency, or instru11 mentality available to the Commission; and 

12 (ii) detail any of the personnel of that 

13 department, agency, or instrumentality to 

14 the Commission, on a non-reimbursable 

15 basis. 

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

17 United States mails in the same manner and 

18 under the same conditions as other departments 

19 and agencies of the United States. 

20 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro21 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

22 App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

23 (g) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis24 sion shall terminate on the date that is 12 years after the 

25 date of the first meeting of the Commission. 
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1 (h) APPOINTMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall continue to exer3 cise those authorities vested in the Secretary relating to 

4 supervision of Indian recognition regulated under part 83 

5 of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations until such 

6 time as the Commission is organized and prescribes regu7 lations. The Secretary shall provide staff and support as8 sistance to facilitate an orderly transition to regulation of 

9 Indian recognition by the Commission. 

10 SEC. 5. DOCUMENTED PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) LETTERS OFINTENT AND DOCUMENTED

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

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

15 submit to the Commission letters of intent and a 

16 documented petition requesting that the Commission 

17 recognize the group as an Indian tribe. 

18 (2) HEARING.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Indian groups that 

20 have been denied or refused recognition as an 

21 Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by the 

22 Secretary shall be entitled to an adjudicatory 

23 hearing under section 9 before the Commission, 

24 if the Commission determines that the criteria 

25 established by this Act changes the merits of 
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1 the Indian group’s documented petition sub2 mitted to the Department. 

3 (B) HEARING RECORD.—For purposes of 

4 subparagraph (A), the Commission shall review 

5 the administrative record containing the docu6 mented petition that formed the basis of the de7 termination to the Indian group by the Sec8 retary. 

9 (C) TREATMENT OFSECRETARY’S FINAL

10 DETERMINATION.—For purposes of the adju11 dicatory hearing, the Secretary’s final deter12 mination shall be considered a preliminary de13 termination under section 8(b)(1)(B). 

14 (D) OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO

15 BE CONSIDERED CONCERNING EVIDENCE OF

16 CRITERIA.—A statement and an analysis of 

17 facts submitted under this section may establish 

18 that, for any given period of time for which evi19 dence of criteria is lacking, such absence of evi20 dence corresponds in time with official acts of 

21 the Federal or relevant State Government 

22 which prohibited or penalized the expression of 

23 Indian identity. For such periods of time, the 

24 absence of evidence shall not be the basis for 

25 declining to acknowledge the petitioner. 
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1 (3) EXCLUSION.—The following groups and en2 tities shall not be eligible to submit a documented 

3 petition for recognition by the Commission under 

4 this Act: 

5 (A) CERTAIN ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGI6 BLE TO RECEIVE SERVICES FROM THE BU7 REAU.—Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos, 

8 communities, and Alaska Native entities that 

9 are recognized by the Secretary as of the date 

10 of enactment of this Act as eligible to receive 

11 services from the Bureau. 

12 (B) CERTAIN SPLINTER GROUPS, POLIT13 ICAL FACTIONS, AND COMMUNITIES.—Splinter 

14 groups, political factions, communities, or 

15 groups of any character that separate from the 

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

17 of that separation, is recognized as an Indian 

18 tribe by the Secretary, unless the group, fac19 tion, or community is able to establish clearly 

20 that the group, faction, or community has func21 tioned throughout history until the date of the 

22 documented petition as an autonomous Indian 

23 tribal entity. 

24 (C) CERTAIN GROUPS THAT HAVE PRE25 VIOUSLY SUBMITTED DOCUMENTED PETI-
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1 TIONS.—Groups, or successors in interest of 

2 groups, that before the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, have petitioned for and been denied or 

4 refused recognition based on the merits of their 

5 petition as an Indian tribe under regulations 

6 prescribed by the Secretary (other than an In7 dian group described in paragraph (2)(A)). 

8 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con9 strued as excluding any group that Congress 

10 has identified as Indian, but has not identified 

11 as an Indian tribe. 

12 (D) INDIAN GROUPS SUBJECT TO TERMI13 NATION.—Any Indian group whose relationship 

14 with the Federal Government was expressly ter15 minated by an Act of Congress. 

16 (4) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTED PETITION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

18 other provision of law, not later than 30 days 

19 after the date on which all of the members of 

20 the Commission have been appointed and con21 firmed by the Senate under section 4(b), the 

22 Secretary shall transfer to the Commission all 

23 documented petitions and letters of intent pend24 ing before the Department that request the Sec-
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1 retary to recognize or acknowledge an Indian 

2 group as an Indian tribe. 

3 (B) CESSATION OFCERTAIN AUTHORITIES

4 OFSECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law, on the date of the transfer 

6 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the 

7 Department shall cease to have any authority to 

8 recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Fed9 eral Government, any Indian group as an In10 dian tribe. 

11 (C) DETERMINATION OFORDER OFSUB12 MISSION OFTRANSFERRED DOCUMENTED PETI13 TIONS.—Documented petitions transferred to 

14 the Commission under subparagraph (A) shall, 

15 for purposes of this Act, be considered as hav16 ing been submitted to the Commission in the 

17 same order as those documented petitions were 

18 submitted to the Department. 

19 (b) DOCUMENTED PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.— 

20 Except as provided in subsection (c), any documented peti21 tion submitted under subsection (a) by an Indian group 

22 shall be in any readable form that clearly indicates that 

23 the documented petition is a documented petition request24 ing the Commission to recognize the Indian group as an 
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1 Indian tribe and that contains detailed, specific evidence 

2 concerning each of the following items: 

3 (1) STATEMENT OFFACTS.—A statement of 

4 facts and an analysis of such facts establishing that 

5 the petitioner has been identified as an American In6 dian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 

7 1900. Evidence that the character of the group as 

8 an Indian entity has from time to time been denied 

9 shall not be considered to be conclusive evidence that 

10 this criterion has not been met. Evidence that the 

11 Commission may rely on in determining the Indian 

12 identity of a group may include any 1 or more of the 

13 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 OFPETITIONER 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 OFPETITIONER WITH

24 A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OFA 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 OFCERTAIN 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 OFIDENTIFICA2 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 OFCOMMUNITY.— 

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

8 and an analysis of such facts establishing that 

9 a predominant portion of the membership of the 

10 petitioner— 

11 (i) comprises a community distinct 

12 from those communities surrounding that 

13 community; and 

14 (ii) has existed as a community from 

15 historical times to the present. 

16 (B) EVIDENCE.—Evidence that the Com17 mission may rely on in determining that the pe18 titioner meets the criteria described in clauses 

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

20 or more of the following items: 

21 (i) MARRIAGES.—Significant rates of 

22 marriage within the group, or, as may be 

23 culturally required, patterned out-mar24 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 re6 ligious 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 criteria set 

15 forth in paragraph (3). 

16 (x) EXTENDED KINSHIP TIES.—Not 

17 less than 50 percent of the tribal members 

18 exhibit collateral kinship ties through gen19 erations to the third degree. 

20 (C) CRITERIA FOR SUFFICIENT EVI21 DENCE.—The Commission shall consider the 

22 petitioner to have provided sufficient evidence 

23 of community at a given point in time if the pe24 titioner has provided evidence that dem25 onstrates any one of the following: 
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1 (i) RESIDENCE OFMEMBERS.—More 

2 than 50 percent of the members of the 

3 group of the petitioner reside in a par4 ticular geographical area exclusively or al5 most exclusively composed of members of 

6 the group, and the balance of the group 

7 maintains consistent social interaction with 

8 some members of the community. 

9 (ii) MARRIAGES.—Not less than 1/3 of 

10 the marriages of the group are between 

11 members of the group. 

12 (iii) DISTINCT CULTURAL PAT13 TERNS.—Not less than 50 percent of the 

14 members of the group maintain distinct 

15 cultural patterns including language, kin16 ship, or religious organizations, or religious 

17 beliefs or practices. 

18 (iv) COMMUNITY SOCIAL INSTITU19 TIONS.—Distinct community social institu20 tions encompassing 50 percent of the mem21 bers of the group, such as kinship organi22 zations, formal or informal economic co23 operation, or religious organizations. 

24 (v) APPLICABILITY OFCRITERIA.— 

25 The group has met the criterion in para-
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1 graph (3) using evidence described in para2 graph (3)(B). 

3 (3) AUTONOMOUS ENTITY.— 

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

5 and an analysis of such facts establishing that 

6 the petitioner has maintained political influence 

7 or authority over its members as an autono8 mous entity from historical times until the time 

9 of the documented petition. The Commission 

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

11 determining whether a petitioner meets the cri12 terion described in the preceding sentence: 

13 (i) MOBILIZATION OFMEMBERS.— 

14 The group is capable of mobilizing signifi15 cant numbers of members and significant 

16 resources from its members for group pur17 poses. 

18 (ii) ISSUES OFPERSONAL IMPOR19 TANCE.—Most of the membership of the 

20 group consider issues acted upon or taken 

21 by group leaders or governing bodies to be 

22 of personal importance. 

23 (iii) POLITICAL PROCESS.—There is 

24 widespread knowledge, communication, and 
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1 involvement in political processes by most 

2 of the members of the group. 

3 (iv) LEVEL OFAPPLICATION OFCRI4 TERIA.—The group meets the criterion de5 scribed in paragraph (2) at more than a 

6 minimal level. 

7 (v) INTRAGROUP CONFLICTS.—There 

8 are intragroup conflicts which show con9 troversy over valued group goals, prop10 erties, policies, processes, or decisions. 

11 (vi) CONTINUOUS LINE OFGROUP

12 LEADERS.—A continuous line of group 

13 leaders with a description of the means of 

14 selection or acquiescence by a majority of 

15 the group’s members. 

16 (B) EVIDENCE OFEXERCISE OFPOLITICAL

17 INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—The Commission 

18 shall consider that a petitioner has provided 

19 sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exercise 

20 of political influence or authority at a given 

21 point in time by demonstrating that group lead22 ers or other mechanisms exist or have existed 

23 that accomplish the following: 

24 (i) ALLOCATION OFGROUP RE25 SOURCES.—Allocate group resources such 
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1 as land, residence rights, or similar re2 sources on a consistent basis. 

3 (ii) SETTLEMENT OFDISPUTES.—Set4 tle disputes between members or subgroups 

5 such as clans or lineages by mediation or 

6 other means on a regular basis. 

7 (iii) INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOR OF IN8 DIVIDUAL MEMBERS.—Exert strong influ9 ence on the behavior of individual mem10 bers, such as the establishment or mainte11 nance of norms and the enforcement of 

12 sanctions to direct or control behavior. 

13 (iv) ECONOMIC SUBSISTENCE ACTIVI14 TIES.—Organize or influence economic 

15 subsistence activities among the members, 

16 including shared or cooperative labor. 

17 (C) TEMPORALITY OF SUFFICIENCY OF

18 EVIDENCE.—A group that has met the require19 ments of paragraph (2)(C) at any point in time 

20 shall be considered to have provided sufficient 

21 evidence to meet the criterion described in sub22 paragraph (A) at that point in time. 

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

24 then present governing document of the petitioner 

25 that includes the membership criteria of the peti-
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1 tioner. In the absence of a written document, the pe2 titioner shall be required to provide a statement de3 scribing in full the membership criteria of the peti4 tioner and the then current governing procedures of 

5 the petitioner. 

6 (5) LIST OFMEMBERS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A list of all then cur8 rent members of the petitioner, including the 

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

10 place of birth, and then current residential ad11 dress of each member, a copy of each available 

12 former list of members based on the criteria de13 fined by the petitioner, and a statement describ14 ing the methods used in preparing those lists. 

15 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.— 

16 In order for the Commission to consider the 

17 members of the group to be members of an In18 dian tribe for the purposes of the documented 

19 petition, that membership shall be required to 

20 consist of established descendancy from an In21 dian group that existed historically, or from his22 torical Indian groups that combined and func23 tioned as a single autonomous entity. 

24 (C) EVIDENCE OFTRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.— 

25 Evidence of tribal membership required by the 
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1 Commission for a determination of tribal mem2 bership shall include the following items: 

3 (i) DESCENDANCY ROLLS.— 

4 Descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec5 retary for the petitioner for purposes of 

6 distributing claims money, providing allot7 ments, or other purposes. 

8 (ii) CERTAIN OFFICIAL RECORDS.— 

9 Federal, State, or other official records or 

10 evidence identifying then present members 

11 of the petitioner, or ancestors of then 

12 present members of the petitioner, as being 

13 descendants of a historic tribe or historic 

14 tribes that combined and functioned as a 

15 single autonomous political entity. 

16 (iii) ENROLLMENT RECORDS.— 

17 Church, school, and other similar enroll18 ment records identifying then present 

19 members or ancestors of then present 

20 members as being descendants of a historic 

21 tribe or historic tribes that combined and 

22 functioned as a single autonomous political 

23 entity. 

24 (iv) AFFIDAVITS OF RECOGNITION.— 

25 Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders, 
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1 leaders, or the tribal governing body identi2 fying then present members or ancestors of 

3 then present members as being descend4 ants of 1 or more historic tribes that com5 bined and functioned as a single autono6 mous political entity. 

7 (v) OTHER RECORDS OR EVIDENCE.— 

8 Other records or evidence based upon first9 hand experience of historians, anthropolo10 gists, and genealogists with established ex11 pertise on the petitioner or Indian entities 

12 in general, identifying then present mem13 bers or ancestors of then present members 

14 as being descendants of 1 or more historic 

15 tribes that combined and functioned as a 

16 single autonomous political entity. 

17 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—A documented petition from an 

18 Indian group that is able to demonstrate by a preponder19 ance of the evidence that the group was, or is the suc20 cessor in interest to, a— 

21 (1) party to a treaty or treaties; 

22 (2) group acknowledged by any agency of the 

23 Federal Government as eligible to participate under 

24 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as 
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1 the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (48 Stat. 984 et 

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

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

4 States took into trust lands, or which the Federal 

5 Government has treated as having collective rights 

6 in tribal lands or funds; or 

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

8 an Act of Congress or Executive order, 

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

10 section only with respect to the period beginning on the 

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

12 (2), (3), or (4) and ending on the date of submission of 

13 the documented petition. 

14 (d) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.— 

15 (1) DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.—No Indian 

16 group may submit a documented petition to the 

17 Commission after 8 years after the date of the first 

18 meeting of the Commission. 

19 (2) LETTERS OFINTENT.—In the case of a let20 ter of intent, the Commission shall publish in the 

21 Federal Register a notice of such receipt, including 

22 the name, location, and mailing address of the peti23 tioner. A petitioner who has submitted a letter of in24 tent or had a letter of intent transferred to the Com25 mission under section 5 shall be required to submit 
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1 a documented petition within 3 years after the date 

2 of the first meeting of the Commission to the Com3 mission. No letters of intent will be accepted by the 

4 Commission after 3 years after the date of the first 

5 meeting of the Commission. 

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

7 (a) PETITIONER.— 

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

9 a documented petition is submitted or transferred to 

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

11 shall— 

12 (A) send an acknowledgement of receipt in 

13 writing to the petitioner; and 

14 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no15 tice of that receipt, including the name, loca16 tion, and mailing address of the petitioner and 

17 such other information that— 

18 (i) identifies the entity that submitted 

19 the documented petition and the date the 

20 documented petition was received by the 

21 Commission; 

22 (ii) indicates where a copy of the doc23 umented petition may be examined; and 

24 (iii) indicates whether the documented 

25 petition is a transferred documented peti-
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1 tion that is subject to the special provi2 sions under paragraph (2). 

3 (2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TRANSFERRED

4 DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a docu6 mented petition that is transferred to the Com7 mission under section 5(a)(4), the notice pro8 vided to the petitioner, shall, in addition to pro9 viding the information specified in paragraph 

10 (1), inform the petitioner whether the docu11 mented petition constitutes a documented peti12 tion that meets the requirements of section 5. 

13 (B) AMENDED PETITIONS.—If the petition 

14 described in subparagraph (A) is not a docu15 mented petition, the Commission shall notify 

16 the petitioner that the petitioner may, not later 

17 than 120 days after the date of the notice, sub18 mit to the Commission an amended petition 

19 that is a documented petition for review under 

20 section 7. 

21 (C) EFFECT OF AMENDED PETITION.—To 

22 the extent practicable, the submission of an 

23 amended petition by a petitioner by the date 

24 specified in this paragraph shall not affect the 
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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 documented petition 

12 (including any amended petition submitted pursuant 

13 to subsection (a)(2)) in a major newspaper of gen14 eral circulation in the town or city located nearest 

15 the location 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 involved 

22 with the petitioners to submit factual or legal 

23 arguments in support of, or in opposition to, 

24 the documented petition. 
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1 (B) COPY TO PETITIONER.—A copy of any 

2 submission made under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 be provided to the petitioner within 90 days 

4 upon receipt by the Commission. 

5 (C) RESPONSE.—The petitioner shall be 

6 provided an opportunity to respond within 90 

7 days to any submission made under subpara8 graph (A) before a determination on the docu9 mented petition by the Commission. 

10 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

11 (a) REVIEW.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a docu13 mented petition submitted or transferred under sec14 tion 5(a) or submitted under section 6(a)(2)(B), the 

15 Commission shall conduct a review to determine 

16 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as 

17 an Indian tribe. 

18 (2) CONTENT OFREVIEW.—The review con19 ducted under paragraph (1) shall include consider20 ation of the documented petition, supporting evi21 dence, and the factual statements contained in the 

22 documented petition. 

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

24 under this subsection, the Commission may— 
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1 (A) initiate other research for any purpose 

2 relative to analyzing the documented petition 

3 and obtaining additional information about the 

4 status of the petitioner; and 

5 (B) consider such evidence as may be sub6 mitted by interested parties. 

7 (4) ACCESS TO LIBRARY OFCONGRESS AND NA8 TIONAL ARCHIVES.—Upon request by the petitioner, 

9 the appropriate officials of the Library of Congress 

10 and the National Archives shall allow access by the 

11 petitioner to the resources, records, and documents 

12 of those entities, for the purpose of conducting re13 search and preparing evidence concerning the status 

14 of the petitioner. 

15 (b) CONSIDERATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro17 vided in this subsection, documented petitions sub18 mitted or transferred to the Commission shall be 

19 considered on a first come, first served basis, deter20 mined by the date of the original filing of each such 

21 documented petition with the Commission (or the 

22 Department if the documented petition is trans23 ferred to the Commission pursuant to section 

24 5(a)(4) or is an amended petition submitted pursu25 ant to section 6(a)(2)(B)). The Commission shall es-
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1 tablish a priority register that includes documented 

2 petitions that are pending before the Department as 

3 of the date of the first meeting of the Commission. 

4 (2) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—Each docu5 mented petition (that is submitted or transferred to 

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

7 submitted to the Commission pursuant to section 

8 6(a)(2)(B)) of an Indian group that meets 1 or more 

9 of the requirements set forth in section 5(c) shall re10 ceive priority consideration over a documented peti11 tion submitted by any other Indian group. 

12 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING. 

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

14 receipt of a documented petition by the Commission sub15 mitted or transferred under section 5(a) or submitted to 

16 the Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B), the Com17 mission shall set a date for a preliminary hearing, which 

18 shall in no instance be held later than 180 days after re19 ceipt of the documented petition. At the preliminary hear20 ing, the petitioner and any other interested party may pro21 vide evidence concerning the status of the petitioner. 

22 (b) DETERMINATION.— 

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

24 the conclusion of a preliminary hearing under sub-
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1 section (a), the Commission shall make a determina2 tion— 

3 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgment of 

4 the petitioner as an Indian tribe to the peti5 tioner; or 

6 (B) that the petitioner should proceed to 

7 an adjudicatory hearing. 

8 (2) NOTICE OFDETERMINATION.—The Com9 mission shall publish in the Federal Register a no10 tice of each determination made under paragraph 

11 (1). 

12 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

13 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.— 

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

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

16 petitioner should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing, 

17 the Commission shall— 

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

19 of such determination, make available appro20 priate evidentiary records of the Commission to 

21 the petitioner to assist the petitioner in pre22 paring for the adjudicatory hearing; and 

23 (ii) include such guidance as the Com24 mission considers necessary or appropriate 
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1 to assist the petitioner in preparing for the 

2 hearing; and 

3 (B) not later than 30 days after the con4 clusion of the preliminary hearing under sub5 section (a), provide a written notification to the 

6 petitioner that includes a list of any deficiencies 

7 or omissions that the Commission relied on in 

8 making a determination under subsection 

9 (b)(1)(B). 

10 (2) SUBJECT OFADJUDICATORY HEARING.— 

11 The list of deficiencies and omissions provided by 

12 the Commission to a petitioner under paragraph 

13 (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adjudicatory hear14 ing. The Commission may not make any additions to 

15 the list after the Commission issues the list. 

16 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING. 

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

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

19 Commission shall afford a petitioner who is subject to sec20 tion 8(b)(1)(B) an adjudicatory hearing. The subject of 

21 the adjudicatory hearing shall be the list of deficiencies 

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

23 be conducted pursuant to sections 554, 556, and 557 of 

24 title 5, United States Code. 
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1 (b) TESTIMONY FROM STAFF OF COMMISSION.—In 

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

3 shall require testimony from the acknowledgement and re4 search staff of the Commission or other witnesses involved 

5 in the preliminary determination. Any such testimony 

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

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

8 under subsection (a), the petitioner may provide such evi9 dence as the petitioner considers appropriate. 

10 (d) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later 

11 than 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing held 

12 under subsection (a), the Commission shall— 

13 (1) make a determination concerning the exten14 sion or denial of Federal acknowledgment of the pe15 titioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner; 

16 (2) publish the determination of the Commis17 sion under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register; 

18 and 

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

20 petitioner, and to every other interested party. 

21 SEC. 10. APPEALS. 

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

23 date that the Commission publishes a determination under 

24 section 9(d), the petitioner may appeal the determination 
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1 to the United States District Court for the District of Co2 lumbia. 

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

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

5 be eligible for an award of reasonable attorney fees and 

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

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

8 is applicable. 

9 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS. 

10 A determination by the Commission under section 

11 9(d) that an Indian group is recognized by the Federal 

12 Government as an Indian tribe shall not have the effect 

13 of depriving or diminishing— 

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

15 the reservation of such other tribe as that reserva16 tion existed before the recognition of that Indian 

17 group, or as that reservation may exist thereafter; 

18 (2) any property right held in trust or recog19 nized by the United States for that other Indian 

20 tribe as that property existed before the recognition 

21 of that Indian group; or 

22 (3) any previously or independently existing 

23 claim by a petitioner to any such property right held 

24 in trust by the United States for that other Indian 
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1 tribe before the recognition by the Federal Govern2 ment of that Indian group as an Indian tribe. 

3 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS. 

4 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

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

6 upon recognition by the Commission of a petitioner 

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

8 shall— 

9 (A) be eligible for the services and benefits 

10 from the Federal Government that are available 

11 to other federally recognized Indian tribes by 

12 virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a 

13 government-to-government relationship with the 

14 United States; and 

15 (B) have the responsibilities, obligations, 

16 privileges, and immunities of those Indian 

17 tribes. 

18 (2) PROGRAMS OFTHE BUREAU.— 

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

20 Indian group as an Indian tribe by the Commis21 sion under this Act shall not create an imme22 diate entitlement to programs of the Bureau in 

23 existence on the date of the recognition. 

24 (B) AVAILABILITY OFPROGRAMS.— 
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The programs de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall become 

3 available to the Indian tribe upon the ap4 propriation of funds. 

5 (ii) REQUESTS FOR APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary 

7 of Health and Human Services shall for8 ward budget requests for funding the pro9 grams for the Indian tribe pursuant to the 

10 needs determination procedures established 

11 under subsection (b). 

12 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION AND BUDGET RE13 QUEST.— 

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

15 after an Indian group is recognized by the Commis16 sion as an Indian tribe under this Act, the appro17 priate officials of the Bureau and the Indian Health 

18 Service of the Department of Health and Human 

19 Services shall consult and develop in cooperation 

20 with the Indian tribe, and forward to the Secretary 

21 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as 

22 appropriate, a determination of the needs of the In23 dian tribe and a recommended budget required to 

24 serve the newly recognized Indian tribe. 
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1 (2) SUBMISSION OFBUDGET REQUEST.—Upon 

2 receipt of the information described in paragraph 

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

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

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

7 budget submitted by the President to the Congress 

8 pursuant to section 1108 of title 31, United States 

9 Code. 

10 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC11 TIVITIES. 

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

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

14 annually on or before each January 30 thereafter, the 

15 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list 

16 of all Indian tribes that— 

17 (1) are recognized by the Federal Government; 

18 and 

19 (2) receive services from the Bureau. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

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

23 Commission, and annually thereafter, the Commis24 sion shall prepare and submit a report to the Com25 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
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•HR 464 IH 

1 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives 

2 that describes the activities of the Commission. 

3 (2) CONTENT OFREPORTS.—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 petitions 

11 received during the year and the names of the 

12 petitioners; 

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 the petitioners. 
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1 SEC. 14. 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. 15. 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. 16. 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. 17. 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 OFGRANTS.—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. 18. 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)(4), 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. 19. 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 2006 through 2015. 
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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 of fiscal years 2006 through 2015. 

Æ