In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

October 23, 2000.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1508) entitled ‘‘An Act to provide technical and legal assistance to tribal justice systems and members of Indian tribes, and for

other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Tribal Justice

3 Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds and declares that—

6 (1) there is a government-to-government relation7 ship between the United States and Indian tribes;

8 (2) Indian tribes are sovereign entities and are

9 responsible for exercising governmental authority over

10 Indian lands;

11 (3) the rate of violent crime committed in Indian

12 country is approximately twice the rate of violent

13 crime committed in the United States as a whole;
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1 (4) in any community, a high rate of violent

2 crime is a major obstacle to investment, job creation

3 and economic growth;

4 (5) tribal justice systems are an essential part of

5 tribal governments and serve as important forums for

6 ensuring the health and safety and the political integ7 rity of tribal governments;

8 (6) Congress and the Federal courts have repeat9 edly recognized tribal justice systems as the most ap10 propriate forums for the adjudication of disputes af11 fecting personal and property rights on Native lands;

12 (7) enhancing tribal court systems and improv13 ing access to those systems serves the dual Federal

14 goals of tribal political self-determination and eco15 nomic self-sufficiency;

16 (8) there is both inadequate funding and an in17 adequate coordinating mechanism to meet the tech18 nical and legal assistance needs of tribal justice sys19 tems and this lack of adequate technical and legal as20 sistance funding impairs their operation;

21 (9) tribal court membership organizations have

22 served a critical role in providing training and tech23 nical assistance for development and enhancement of

24 tribal justice systems;
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1 (10) Indian legal services programs, as funded

2 partially through the Legal Services Corporation,

3 have an established record of providing cost effective

4 legal assistance to Indian people in tribal court fo5 rums, and also contribute significantly to the develop6 ment of tribal courts and tribal jurisprudence; and

7 (11) the provision of adequate technical assist8 ance to tribal courts and legal assistance to both indi9 viduals and tribal courts is an essential element in

10 the development of strong tribal court systems.

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

12 The purposes of this Act are as follows:

13 (1) to carry out the responsibility of the United

14 States to Indian tribes and members of Indian tribes

15 by ensuring access to quality technical and legal as16 sistance.

17 (2) To strengthen and improve the capacity of

18 tribal court systems that address civil and criminal

19 causes of action under the jurisdiction of Indian

20 tribes.

21 (3) To strengthen tribal governments and the

22 economies of Indian tribes through the enhancement

23 and, where appropriate, development of tribal court

24 systems for the administration of justice in Indian
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1 country by providing technical and legal assistance

2 services.

3 (4) To encourage collaborative efforts between na4 tional or regional membership organizations and as5 sociations whose membership consists of judicial sys6 tem personnel within tribal justice systems; non-profit

7 entities which provide legal assistance services for In8 dian tribes, members of Indian tribes, and/or tribal

9 justice systems.

10 (5) To assist in the development of tribal judicial

11 systems by supplementing prior Congressional efforts

12 such as the Indian Tribal Justice Act (Public Law

13 103–176).

14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

15 For purposes of this Act:

16 (1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Attorney

17 General’’ means the Attorney General of the United

18 States.

19 (2) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian lands’’

20 shall include lands within the definition of ‘‘Indian

21 country’’, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151; or ‘‘Indian

22 reservations’’, as defined in section 3(d) of the Indian

23 Financing Act of 1974, 25 U.S.C. 1452(d), or section

24 4(10) of the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C.

25 1903(10). For purposes of the preceding sentence, such
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1 section 3(d) of the Indian Financing Act shall be ap2 plied by treating the term ‘‘former Indian reserva3 tions in Oklahoma’’ as including only lands which

4 are within the jurisdictional area of an Oklahoma In5 dian Tribe (as determined by the Secretary of Inte6 rior) and are recognized by such Secretary as eligible

7 for trust land status under 25 CFR part 151 (as in

8 effect on the date of enactment of this sentence).

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

10 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or

11 other organized group or community which admin12 isters justice or plans to administer justice under its

13 inherent authority or the authority of the United

14 States and which is recognized as eligible for the spe15 cial programs and services provided by the United

16 States to Indian tribes because of their status as Indi17 ans.

18 (4) JUDICIAL PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘judicial

19 personnel’’ means any judge, magistrate, court coun20 selor, court clerk, court administrator, bailiff, proba21 tion officer, officer of the court, dispute resolution

22 facilitator, or other official, employee, or volunteer

23 within the tribal judicial system.

24 (5) NON-PROFIT ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘non-prof25 it entity’’ or ‘‘non-profit entities’’ has the meaning
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1 given that term in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal

2 Revenue Code.

3 (6) OFFICE OF TRIBAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘Of4 fice of Tribal Justice’’ means the Office of Tribal Jus5 tice in the United States Department of Justice.

6 (7) TRIBAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘tribal

7 court’’, ‘‘tribal court system’’, or ‘‘tribal justice sys8 tem’’ means the entire judicial branch, and employees

9 thereof, of an Indian tribe, including, but not limited

10 to, traditional methods and fora for dispute resolu11 tion, trial courts, appellate courts, including inter12 tribal appellate courts, alternative dispute resolution

13 systems, and circuit rider systems, established by in14 herent tribunal authority whether or not they con15 stitute a court of record.

16 TITLE I—TRAINING AND TECH17 NICAL ASSISTANCE, CIVIL

18 AND CRIMINAL LEGAL ASSIST19 ANCE GRANTS

20 SEC. 101. TRIBAL JUSTICE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL AS21 SISTANCE GRANTS.

22 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Attor23 ney General, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Jus24 tice, shall award grants to national or regional membership

25 organizations and associations whose membership consists
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1 of judicial system personnel within tribal justice systems

2 which submit an application to the Attorney General in

3 such form and manner as the Attorney General may pre4 scribe to provide training and technical assistance for the

5 development, enrichment, enhancement of tribal justice sys6 tems, or other purposes consistent with this Act.

7 SEC. 102. TRIBAL CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

8 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Attor9 ney General, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Jus10 tice, shall award grants to non-profit entities, as defined

11 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which

12 provide legal assistance services for Indian tribes, members

13 of Indian tribes, or tribal justice systems pursuant to fed14 eral poverty guidelines that submit an application to the

15 Attorney General in such form and manner as the Attorney

16 General may prescribe for the provision of civil legal assist17 ance to members of Indian tribes and tribal justice systems,

18 and/or other purposes consistent with this Act.

19 SEC. 103. TRIBAL CRIMINAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

20 Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Attor21 ney General, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Jus22 tice, shall award grants to non-profit entities, as defined

23 by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which

24 provide legal assistance services for Indian tribes, members

25 of Indian tribes, or tribal justice systems pursuant to fed-
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1 eral poverty guidelines that submit an application to the

2 Attorney General in such form and manner as the Attorney

3 General may prescribe for the provision of criminal legal

4 assistance to members of Indian tribes and tribal justice

5 systems, and/or other purposes consistent with this Act.

6 Funding under this title may apply to programs, proce7 dures, or proceedings involving adult criminal actions, ju8 venile delinquency actions, and/or guardian-ad-litem ap9 pointments arising out of criminal or delinquency acts.

10 SEC. 104. NO OFFSET.

11 No Federal agency shall offset funds made available

12 pursuant to this Act for Indian tribal court membership

13 organizations or Indian legal services organizations against

14 other funds otherwise available for use in connection with

15 technical or legal assistance to tribal justice systems or

16 members of Indian tribes.

17 SEC. 105. TRIBAL AUTHORITY.

18 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

19 (1) encroach upon or diminish in any way the

20 inherent sovereign authority of each tribal govern21 ment to determine the role of the tribal justice system

22 within the tribal government or to enact and enforce

23 tribal laws;

24 (2) diminish in any way the authority of tribal

25 governments to appoint personnel;
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1 (3) impair the rights of each tribal government

2 to determine the nature of its own legal system or the

3 appointment of authority within the tribal govern4 ment;

5 (4) alter in any way any tribal traditional dis6 pute resolution fora;

7 (5) imply that any tribal justice system is an in8 strumentality of the United States; or

9 (6) diminish the trust responsibility of the

10 United States to Indian tribal governments and trib11 al justice systems of such governments.

12 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 For purposes of carrying out the activities under this

14 title, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as

15 are necessary for fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

16 TITLE II—INDIAN TRIBAL

17 COURTS

18 SEC. 201. GRANTS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may award

20 grants and provide technical assistance to Indian tribes to

21 enable such tribes to carry out programs to support—

22 (1) the development, enhancement, and con23 tinuing operation of tribal justice systems; and

24 (2) the development and implementation of—

25 (A) tribal codes and sentencing guidelines;
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1 (B) inter-tribal courts and appellate sys2 tems;

3 (C) tribal probation services, diversion pro4 grams, and alternative sentencing provisions;

5 (D) tribal juvenile services and multi-dis6 ciplinary protocols for child physical and sexual

7 abuse; and

8 (E) traditional tribal judicial practices,

9 traditional tribal justice systems, and traditional

10 methods of dispute resolution.

11 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the

12 Attorney General may consult with the Office of Tribal Jus13 tice and any other appropriate tribal or Federal officials.

14 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General may pro15 mulgate such regulations and guidelines as may be nec16 essary to carry out this title.

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For pur18 poses of carrying out the activities under this section, there

19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec20 essary for fiscal years 2000 through 2004.

21 SEC. 202. TRIBAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS.

22 Section 201 of the Indian Tribal Justice Act (25

23 U.S.C. 3621) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘1994, 1995,

2 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘2000 through 2007’’;

4 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘1994, 1995,

5 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘2000 through 2007’’;

7 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘1994, 1995,

8 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘2000 through 2007’’; and

10 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘1994, 1995,

11 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘2000 through 2007’’.

13 TITLE III—TECHNICAL AMEND14 MENTS TO ALASKA NATIVE

15 CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT

16 SEC. 301. ALASKA NATIVE VETERANS.

17 Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

18 (43 U.S.C. 1629g) is amended as follows:

19 (1) Subsection (a)(3)(I)(4) is amended by strik20 ing ‘‘and Reindeer’’ and inserting ‘‘or’’.

21 (2) Subsection (a)(4)(B) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting ‘‘; or’’.

23 (3) Subsection (b)(1)(B)(i) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘June 2, 1971’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31,

25 1971’’.
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1 (4) Subsection (b)(2) is amended by striking the

2 matter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting the

3 following:

4 ‘‘(2) The personal representative or special adminis5 trator, appointed in an Alaska State court proceeding of

6 the estate of a decedent who was eligible under subsection

7 (b)(1)(A) may, for the benefit of the heirs, select an allot8 ment if the decedent was a veteran who served in South

9 East Asia at any time during the period beginning August

10 5, 1964, and ending December 31, 1971, and during that

11 period the decedent—’’.

12 SEC. 302. LEVIES ON SETTLEMENT TRUST INTERESTS.

13 Section 39(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

14 Act (43 U.S.C. 1629e(c)) is amended by adding at the end

15 the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(8) A beneficiary’s interest in a settlement trust and

17 the distributions thereon shall be subject to creditor action

18 (including without limitation, levy attachment, pledge, lien,

19 judgment execution, assignment, and the insolvency and

20 bankruptcy laws) only to the extent that Settlement Com21 mon Stock and the distributions thereon are subject to such

22 creditor action under section 7(h) of this Act.’’.
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1 TITLE IV—NATIONAL LEADER2 SHIP SYMPOSIUM FOR AMER3 ICAN INDIAN, ALASKAN NA4 TIVE, AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN

5 YOUTH

6 SEC. 401. ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

7 SYMPOSIUM FOR AMERICAN INDIAN, ALAS8 KAN NATIVE, AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN YOUTH.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated to the Secretary of Education for the Washington

11 Workshops Foundation $2,200,000 for administration of a

12 national leadership symposium for American Indian, Alas13 kan Native, and Native Hawaiian youth on the traditions

14 and values of American democracy.

15 (b) CONTENT OF SYMPOSIUM.—The symposium ad16 ministered under subsection (a) shall—

17 (1) be comprised of youth seminar programs

18 which study the workings and practices of American

19 national government in Washington, DC, to be held

20 in conjunction with the opening of the Smithsonian

21 National Museum of the American Indian; and

22 (2) envision the participation and enhancement

23 of American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Ha24 waiian youth in the American political process by
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1 interfacing in the first-hand operations of the United

2 States Government.

Attest:

Clerk.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1508

AMENDMENT