II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1702

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow shareholder

common stock to be transferred to adopted Alaska Native children and

their descendants, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 6, 1999

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

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow

shareholder common stock to be transferred to adopted

Alaska Native children and their descendants, 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; REFERENCE.

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

5 ‘‘Alaska Native Claims Technical Amendments Act of

6 1999’’.

7 (b) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act a section or

8 other provision is amended or repealed, such amendment
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1 or repeal shall be considered to be made to that section

2 or other provision of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

3 Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.).

4 SEC. 2. COMMON STOCK TO ADOPTED-OUT DESCENDANTS.

5 Section 7(h)(1)(C)(iii) of the Act (43 U.S.C.

6 1606(h)(1)(C)(iii)) is amended by inserting before the pe7 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, notwithstanding an adop8 tion, relinquishment, or termination of parental rights

9 that may have altered or severed the legal relationship be10 tween the gift donor and recipient’’.

11 SEC. 3. RELATION TO CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.

12 Section 29(g) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(g)) is

13 amended—

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(g)’’; and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new

16 paragraph:

17 ‘‘(2) Any corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole

18 proprietorship, trust, or affiliate with which a Native Cor19 poration or its affiliate engages in one or more commercial

20 transactions that exceed a total of $20,000 in a calendar

21 year shall, when in the course and scope of such commer22 cial transaction, be within the class of entities excluded

23 from the definition of ‘employer’ by section 701(b)(1) of

24 Public Law 88–352 (78 Stat. 253).’’.
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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF SETTLEMENT TRUST.

2 Section 3(t)(2) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(t)(2)) is

3 amended by striking ‘‘sole’’ and all that follows through

4 ‘‘Stock’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit of shareholders, Natives,

5 and descendants of Natives,’’.

6 SEC. 5. ALASKA NATIVE VETERANS.

7 Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

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

9 (1) In subsection (a)(1), insert ‘‘amended’’

10 after ‘‘promulgation of’’.

11 (2) In subsection (a)(1), strike ‘‘subsection (b)’’

12 and insert ‘‘subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)’’;

13 (3) In subsection (a)(1), insert ‘‘and may sub14 mit an application for an allotment to the Secretary

15 in accordance with the provisions of this section’’

16 after ‘‘December 18, 1971’’.

17 (4) Strike subsection (a)(2) and insert the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(2) Allotments may be selected only from—

20 ‘‘(A) lands that were vacant, unappropri21 ated, and unreserved on the date when the per22 son eligible for the allotment first used and oc23 cupied those lands;

24 ‘‘(B) lands in the National Petroleum Re25 serve-Alaska which the person eligible for the

26 allotment used and occupied;
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1 ‘‘(C) lands that were not vacant, unappro2 priated, and unreserved on the date when the

3 person eligible for the allotment first used and

4 occupied those lands, but which, prior to De5 cember 18, 1971, became vacant, unappropri6 ated, and unreserved during the time that the

7 person eligible for the allotment used and occu8 pied those lands; or

9 ‘‘(D) lands that were not vacant, unappro10 priated, and unreserved on the date when the

11 person eligible for the allotment first used and

12 occupied those lands, but which became vacant,

13 unappropriated, and unreserved after December

14 18, 1971, and remain vacant, unappropriated,

15 and unreserved.’’.

16 (5) In subsection (a)(3)(B), insert ‘‘, and not

17 relinquished’’ after ‘‘provision of law’’.

18 (6) In subsection (a)(3)(C), strike ‘‘Village or

19 Regional’’ and insert ‘‘Regional, Village, Urban, or

20 Group’’.

21 (7) In subsection (a)(3)(C), insert ‘‘, and not

22 relinquished’’ after ‘‘Corporation’’.

23 (8) In subsection (a)(3)(E), insert ‘‘Federal’’

24 after ‘‘acquired’’.
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1 (9) In subsection (a)(3)(I), strike ‘‘, including

2 but not limited to the following’’ and all that follows

3 through ‘‘Cemetery sites’’.

4 (10) In subsection (a)(4), insert ‘‘described in

5 subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)’’ after ‘‘A person’’.

6 (11) In subsection (a)(4)(B), strike ‘‘(C)’’ after

7 ‘‘section 11(a)(1)’’.

8 (12) In subsection (a)(4)(B), strike ‘‘Park;

9 and’’ and insert ‘‘Park; or’’.

10 (13) In subsection (a)(4)(C), insert ‘‘, or lands

11 withdrawn solely under section 17(d)(1) of this Act’’

12 after ‘‘lands’’.

13 (14) In subsection (b)(1), strike ‘‘A person’’

14 and insert ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (3), a

15 person’’.

16 (15) In subsection (b)(1)(B), strike ‘‘January

17 1, 1969 and December 31, 1971’’ and all that fol18 lows through ‘‘December 3, 1971’’, and insert ‘‘Au19 gust 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, and served on active

20 duty for at least 6 months’’.

21 (16) In subsection (b)(2), insert ‘‘(as defined

22 pursuant to State law)’’ after ‘‘personal representa23 tive’’.

24 (17) In subsection (b)(2), strike ‘‘who was’’ and

25 insert ‘‘which decedent would have been’’.
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1 (18) In subsection (b)(2), strike ‘‘subsection

2 (b)(1)’’ and insert ‘‘paragraph (1),’’.

3 (19) In subsection (b)(2), strike ‘‘if, during’’

4 and all that follows through ‘‘prisoner of war.’’ and

5 insert ‘‘under this section.’’.

6 (20) In subsection (b)(3)—

7 (A) insert ‘‘previously applied for the same

8 allotment,’’ after ‘‘No person who received an

9 allotment,’’;

10 (B) insert ‘‘application’’ after ‘‘pending al11 lotment’’;

12 (C) strike ‘‘receive’’ and insert ‘‘apply for’’;

13 and

14 (D) insert before the period ‘‘, other than

15 a person acting in the capacity of a personal

16 representative of an estate selecting an allot17 ment pursuant to paragraph (2)’’.

18 (21) In subsection (e)—

19 (A) strike ‘‘of this section’’ and insert ‘‘of

20 the Alaska Native Claims Technical Amend21 ments Act of 1999’’;

22 (B) strike ‘‘of the Interior’’ after ‘‘Sec23 retary’’;

24 (C) insert ‘‘amended’’ after ‘‘Alaska Native

25 groups’’; and
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1 (D) insert ‘‘as amended’’ after ‘‘rules to

2 carry out this section’’.

3 (22) Add at the end the following new sub4 section:

5 ‘‘(f) APPROVAL OF ALLOTMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing

7 rights, and except as otherwise provided in this sub8 section, within 18 months after close of the applica9 tion period, the Secretary shall approve said applica10 tion and issue a deed in accordance with the Act of

11 May 17, 1906, which shall be subject to the same

12 terms, conditions, and protections provided for such

13 deeds.

14 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of an allot15 ment application, but in any event, not later than 90

16 days after the close of the application period, the

17 Secretary shall notify the State and all interested

18 parties of the application and the land description

19 contained therein, and any such party shall have 12

20 months following the close of the application period

21 in which to file with the Secretary a protest as pro22 vided in paragraph (3).

23 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF PROTEST.—Paragraph (1)

24 shall not apply and the Native allotment application

25 shall be adjudicated pursuant to the requirements of
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1 the Act of May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 34 Stat.

2 197), this Act, and other applicable law, if, pursuant

3 to paragraph (2)—

4 ‘‘(A) a Native Corporation files a protest

5 with the Secretary stating that the applicant is

6 not entitled to the land described in the allot7 ment application, and said land is withdrawn

8 for selection by or has been conveyed to the Na9 tive Corporation pursuant to this Act;

10 ‘‘(B) the State files a protest with the Sec11 retary stating that the land described in the al12 lotment application is necessary for access to

13 lands owned by the United States, the State of

14 Alaska, or a political subdivision of the State of

15 Alaska, to resources located thereon, or to a

16 public body of water regularly employed for

17 transportation purposes, and the protest states

18 with specificity the facts upon which the conclu19 sions concerning access are based and that no

20 reasonable alternative for access exists;

21 ‘‘(C) a person or entity files a protest with

22 the Secretary stating that the applicant is not

23 entitled to the land described in the allotment

24 application and that said land is the situs of
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1 improvements claimed by the person or entity;

2 or

3 ‘‘(D) a person who resides in the vicinity

4 of the land described in the allotment applica5 tion files a protest with the Secretary stating

6 that the land described in the allotment applica7 tion is land subject to communal use.

8 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL PROCEDURE.—Upon expiration

9 of the 18 months following the close of the applica10 tion period pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the Sec11 retary shall—

12 ‘‘(A) if no protest is timely filed, approve

13 the application pursuant to paragraph (1); or

14 ‘‘(B) if a protest is timely filed, adjudicate

15 the legal sufficiency of any such protest, and—

16 ‘‘(i) if the protest is legally insuffi17 cient, approve the application; or

18 ‘‘(ii) if the protest is valid, issue a de19 cision that closes the application and that

20 is final for the Secretary.’’.

21 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

22 RESTRICTIONS.

23 Section 22(g) of the Act is amended by striking ‘‘Not24 withstanding’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of such Ref25 uge.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. ELIM NATIVE CORPORATION LAND RESTORATION.

2 The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.

3 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new section:

5 ‘‘ELIM NATIVE CORPORATION LAND RESTORATION

6 ‘‘SEC. 42. (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

7 ‘‘(1) approximately 350,000 acres of land were

8 withdrawn by Executive Orders in 1917 for the use

9 of the United States Bureau of Education and of

10 the Natives of Indigenous Alaskan race;

11 ‘‘(2) these lands comprised the Norton Bay

12 Reservation (later referred to as Norton Bay Native

13 Reserve) and were set aside for the benefit of the

14 Native inhabitants of the Eskimo Village of Elim,

15 Alaska;

16 ‘‘(3) in 1929, an Executive Order deleted

17 50,000 acres of land from the Norton Bay Reserva18 tion, without the informed consent of the Native

19 residents living on the Reservation, and the people

20 of Elim believe this deletion violated the Act of

21 March 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1347);

22 ‘‘(4) there appears to have been only minimal

23 consultation conducted by the United States Govern24 ment with the inhabitants of Elim prior to this dele25 tion of lands;
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1 ‘‘(5) the lands were deleted from the Reserva2 tion for the benefit of others;

3 ‘‘(6) the deleted lands were not offered to be re4 stored to the original Reservation when lands com5 prising the Reservation were made available to the

6 Native inhabitants of Elim under section 19(b) of

7 this Act at the time of passage of this Act;

8 ‘‘(7) the failure to replace these lands has been

9 and continues to be a source of deep concern to the

10 indigenous people of Elim;

11 ‘‘(8) until this matter is dealt with equitably, it

12 will continue to be a source of great frustration and

13 sense of loss among the shareholders of the Elim

14 Native Corporation and their descendants; and

15 ‘‘(9) in light of the above, to replace the lands

16 deleted in 1929 from the Norton Bay Reservation,

17 which was established for the benefit of the inhab18 itants of the Village of Elim, 50,000 acres of land

19 should be conveyed to the Elim Native Corporation.

20 ‘‘(b) WITHDRAWAL AND AVAILABILITY FOR SELEC21 TION.—The lands described in subsection (c) are with22 drawn, subject to valid existing rights, from all forms of

23 appropriation or disposition under the public land laws,

24 including the mining and mineral leasing laws, for a period
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1 of 2 years from the date of enactment of this section, for

2 selection by the Elim Native Corporation.

3 ‘‘(c) LANDS DESCRIBED.—The lands described in

4 this section are within the boundary of a parcel of land

5 in the vicinity of Elim, Alaska, more particularly depicted

6 and designated ‘Temporary Withdrawal Area’ on the map

7 dated August 1, 1999, and entitled Land Withdrawal Elim

8 Native Corporation Land Restoration.

9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION TO SELECT AND RECEIVE

10 TITLE TO LANDS; RESERVATION OF EASEMENT.—The

11 Elim Native Corporation is authorized to select and re12 ceive title to 50,000 acres of lands within the boundary

13 of the lands described in subsection (c) to replace the

14 lands deleted from the original Norton Bay Reservation.

15 The Secretary is authorized and directed to receive and

16 adjudicate a selection application filed by the Elim Native

17 Corporation, and to convey the surface and subsurface es18 tate in the selected lands to the Elim Native Corporation

19 subject to the following rules, conditions, and limitations:

20 ‘‘(1) The Elim Native Corporation shall have 2

21 years from the date of the enactment of the Alaska

22 Native Claims Technical Amendments Act of 1999

23 in which to file its selection of no more than 60,000

24 acres of land from the area described in subsection

25 (c). The selection application shall be filed with the
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1 Bureau of Land Management, shall describe a single

2 tract adjacent to U.S. Survey No. 2548, Alaska, and

3 shall be reasonably compact, contiguous, and in

4 whole sections except when separated by unavailable

5 land or when the remaining entitlement is less than

6 a whole section. The Elim Native Corporation shall

7 prioritize its selections made pursuant to this section

8 at the time such selections are filed, and such

9 prioritization shall be irrevocable. Any lands selected

10 shall remain withdrawn until conveyed or full entitle11 ment has been achieved.

12 ‘‘(2) The selection filed by the Elim Native Cor13 poration pursuant to this section shall be subject to

14 valid existing rights and may not supersede prior se15 lections of the State of Alaska, any Native corpora16 tion, or valid entries of any private individual unless

17 such selection or entry is relinquished prior to any

18 selection by the Elim Native Corporation. Any lands

19 held within the exterior boundaries of lands con20 veyed to the Elim Native Corporation shall have all

21 rights of ingress and egress to be vested in the

22 inholder and the inholder’s agents, employees, co23 venturers, licensees, or subsequent grantees, and

24 such easements shall be reserved in the conveyance

25 to the Elim Native Corporation.
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1 ‘‘(3) The Bureau of Land Management shall re2 serve easements to the United States for the benefit

3 of the public pursuant to section 17(b) of this Act

4 in the conveyance to the Elim Native Corporation.

5 ‘‘(4) The Bureau of Land Management may re6 serve an easement for the Iditarod National Historic

7 Trail in the conveyance to the Elim Native Corpora8 tion.

9 ‘‘(e) FINALITY OF SELECTIONS.—Selection by the

10 Elim Native Corporation of lands under subsection (d)

11 and final conveyance of those lands to Elim Native Cor12 poration shall constitute full satisfaction of any claim of

13 entitlement of the Elim Native Corporation—

14 ‘‘(1) with respect to its land entitlements under

15 section 19(b); and

16 ‘‘(2) with respect to the extinguishment of the

17 Norton Bay Reservation (as withdrawn by Executive

18 Order No. 2508, dated January 3, 1917, as amend19 ed by Executive Order No. 2525, dated February 6,

20 1917).’’.

21 SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINA22 TION.

23 The Act is further amended by adding after the sec24 tion added by section 7 of this Act, the following new sec25 tion:
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1 ‘‘CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINATION

2 ‘‘SEC. 43. Notwithstanding section 107 of the Com3 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

4 Liability Act of 1980, or any other provision of law, no

5 person acquiring any interest in land under this Act shall

6 be liable for the costs of removal or remedial action, any

7 damages, or any third party liability arising out of or as

8 a result of any contamination on that land at the time

9 that such land was acquired under this Act unless such

10 person was directly responsible for such contamination.’’.

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