II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2102

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent land base within

its aboriginal homeland, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 24, 2000

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mrs. BOXER) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent

land base within its aboriginal homeland, 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 ‘‘Timbisha Shoshone

5 Homeland Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Since time immemorial, the Timbisha Sho9 shone Tribe has lived in portions of California and
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1 Nevada. The Tribe’s ancestral homeland includes the

2 area that now comprises Death Valley National Park

3 and other areas of California and Nevada now ad4 ministered by the Bureau of Land Management.

5 (2) Since 1936, the Tribe has lived and gov6 erned the affairs of the Tribe on approximately 40

7 acres of land near Furnace Creek in the Park.

8 (3) The Tribe achieved Federal recognition in

9 1983 but does not have a land base within the

10 Tribe’s ancestral homeland.

11 (4) Since the Tribe commenced use and occu12 pancy of the Furnace Creek area, the Tribe’s mem13 bership has grown. Tribal members have a desire

14 and need for housing, government and administra15 tive facilities, cultural facilities, and sustainable eco16 nomic development to provide decent, safe, and

17 healthy conditions for themselves and their families.

18 (5) The interests of both the Tribe and the Na19 tional Park Service would be enhanced by recog20 nizing their coexistence on the same land and by es21 tablishing partnerships for compatible land uses and

22 for the interpretation of the Tribe’s history and cul23 ture for visitors to the Park.

24 (6) The interests of both the Tribe and the

25 United States would be enhanced by the establish-
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1 ment of a land base for the Tribe and by further de2 lineation of the rights and obligations of each with

3 respect to the Furnace Creek area and to the Park

4 as a whole.

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

6 Consistent with the recommendations of the report

7 required by section 705(b) of the California Desert Protec8 tion Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–433; 108 Stat. 4498),

9 the purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to provide in trust to the Tribe land on

11 which the Tribe can live permanently and govern the

12 Tribe’s affairs in a modern community within the

13 ancestral homeland of the Tribe outside and within

14 the Park;

15 (2) to formally recognize the contributions by

16 the Tribe to the history, culture, and ecology of the

17 Park and surrounding area;

18 (3) to ensure that the resources within the Park

19 are protected and enhanced by—

20 (A) cooperative activities within the Tribe’s

21 ancestral homeland; and

22 (B) partnerships between the Tribe and

23 the National Park Service and partnerships in24 volving the Bureau of Land Management;
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1 (4) to ensure that such activities are not in

2 derogation of the purposes and values for which the

3 Park was established;

4 (5) to provide opportunities for a richer visitor

5 experience at the Park through direct interactions

6 between visitors and the Tribe including guided

7 tours, interpretation, and the establishment of a

8 tribal museum and cultural center;

9 (6) to provide appropriate opportunities for eco10 nomically viable and ecologically sustainable visitor11 related development, by the Tribe within the Park,

12 that is not in derogation of the purposes and values

13 for which the Park was established; and

14 (7) to provide trust lands for the Tribe in 4

15 separate parcels of land that is now managed by the

16 Bureau of Land Management and authorize the pur17 chase of 2 parcels now held in private ownership to

18 be taken into trust for the Tribe.

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act:

21 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means Death

22 Valley National Park, including any additions to

23 that Park.
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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Interior or the designee of the

3 Secretary.

4 (3) TRIBAL.—The term ‘‘tribal’’ means of or

5 pertaining to the Tribe.

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

7 Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, a tribe of American Indi8 ans recognized by the United States pursuant to

9 part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or

10 any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).

11 (5) TRUST LANDS.—The term ‘‘trust lands’’

12 means those lands taken into trust pursuant to this

13 Act.

14 SEC. 5. TRIBAL RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY ON THE TIMBISHA

15 SHOSHONE HOMELAND.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

17 (existing on the date of enactment of this Act), all right,

18 title, and interest of the United States in and to the lands,

19 including improvements and appurtenances, described in

20 subsection (b) are declared to be held in trust by the

21 United States for the benefit of the Tribe. All maps re22 ferred to in subsection (b) shall be on file and available

23 for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Na24 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
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1 (b) PARK LANDS AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE2 MENT LANDS DESCRIBED.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following lands shall be

4 held in trust for the Tribe pursuant to subsection

5 (a):

6 (A) Furnace Creek, Death Valley National

7 Park, California, an area of approximately 300

8 acres for community development, residential

9 development, historic restoration, and visitor-re10 lated economic development, as generally de11 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Community Devel12 opment at Furnace Creek, Death Valley Na13 tional Park’’, numbered Map #1 and dated De14 cember 3, 1999. This area shall include a 25-

15 acre, nondevelopment zone at the north end of

16 the area and an Adobe Restoration zone con17 taining several historic adobe homes, which

18 shall be managed by the Tribe as a tribal his19 toric district.

20 (B) Death Valley Junction, California, an

21 area of approximately 1,000 acres, as generally

22 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Death Valley

23 Junction, California’’, numbered Map #2 and

24 dated December 3, 1999.
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1 (C) Centennial, California, an area of ap2 proximately 640 acres, as generally depicted on

3 the map entitled ‘‘Centennial, California’’, num4 bered Map #3 and dated December 3, 1999.

5 (D) Scotty’s Junction, Nevada, an area of

6 approximately 2,800 acres, as generally de7 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Scotty’s Junction,

8 Nevada’’, numbered Map #4 and dated Decem9 ber 3, 1999.

10 (E) Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel, an

11 area of approximately 2,800 acres, as generally

12 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Lida, Nevada,

13 Community Parcel’’, numbered Map #5 and

14 dated December 3, 1999.

15 (2) LIMITATIONS ON FURNACE CREEK AREA

16 DEVELOPMENT.—

17 (A) DEVELOPMENT.—Recognizing the mu18 tual interests and responsibilities of the Tribe

19 and the National Park Service in and for the

20 conservation and protection of the resources in

21 the area described in paragraph (1), develop22 ment in the area shall be limited to—

23 (i) for purposes of community and

24 residential development—
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1 (I) a maximum of 50 single-fam2 ily residences; and

3 (II) a tribal community center

4 with space for tribal offices, recreation

5 facilities, a multipurpose room and

6 kitchen, and senior and youth facili7 ties;

8 (ii) for purposes of economic

9 development—

10 (I) a small-to-moderate desert

11 inn; and

12 (II) a tribal museum and cultural

13 center with a gift shop; and

14 (iii) the infrastructure necessary to

15 support the level of development described

16 in clauses (i) and (ii).

17 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the

18 provisions of subparagraph (A)(ii), the National

19 Park Service and the Tribe are authorized to

20 negotiate mutually agreed upon, visitor-related

21 economic development in lieu of the develop22 ment set forth in that subparagraph if such al23 ternative development will have no greater envi24 ronmental impact than the development set

25 forth in that subparagraph.
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1 (C) RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The Tribe shall have

2 a right-of-way for ingress and egress on High3 way 190 in California.

4 (3) LIMITATIONS ON IMPACT ON MINING

5 CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as

6 terminating any valid mining claim existing on the

7 date of enactment of this Act on the land described

8 in paragraph (1)(E). Any person with such an exist9 ing mining claim shall have all the rights incident to

10 mining claims, including the rights of ingress and

11 egress on the land described in paragraph (1)(E).

12 Any person with such an existing mining claim shall

13 have the right to occupy and use so much of the sur14 face of the land as is required for all purposes rea15 sonably necessary to mine and remove the minerals

16 from the land, including the removal of timber for

17 mining purposes. Such a mining claim shall termi18 nate when the claim is determined to be invalid or

19 is abandoned.

20 (c) LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—Not later than 1 year

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

22 file a legal description of the areas described in subsection

23 (b) with the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep24 resentatives and with the Committee on Indian Affairs

25 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
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1 the Senate. Such legal description shall have the same

2 force and effect as if the information contained in the de3 scription were included in that subsection except that the

4 Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in

5 such legal description and in the maps referred to in the

6 legal description. The legal description shall be on file and

7 available for public inspection in the offices of the Na8 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

9 (d) ADDITIONAL TRUST RESOURCES.—The Sec10 retary may purchase from willing sellers the following par11 cels and appurtenant water rights, or the water rights sep12 arately, to be taken into trust for the Tribe:

13 (1) Indian Rancheria Site, California, an area

14 of approximately 120 acres, as generally depicted on

15 the map entitled ‘‘Indian Rancheria Site, California’’

16 numbered ll and dated lllll.

17 (2) Lida Ranch, Nevada, an area of approxi18 mately 2,340 acres, as generally depicted on the

19 map entitled ‘‘Lida Ranch’’ numbered ll and

20 dated lllll, or another parcel mutually

21 agreed upon by the Secretary and the Tribe.

22 (e) SPECIAL USE AREAS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Park Service

24 and the Bureau of Land Management are authorized

25 to designate the areas described in this subsection as
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1 nonexclusive special use areas for the Tribe, subject

2 to other Federal law. Members of the Tribe are au3 thorized to use these areas for low impact, eco4 logically sustainable, traditional practices pursuant

5 to a jointly established management plan mutually

6 agreed upon by the Tribe, and by the National Park

7 Service or the Bureau of Land Management, as ap8 propriate. All maps referred to in paragraph (4)

9 shall be on file and available for public inspection in

10 the offices of the National Park Service and Bureau

11 of Land Management.

12 (2) RECOGNITION OF THE HISTORY AND CUL13 TURE OF THE TRIBE.—In the special use areas, in

14 recognition of the significant contributions the Tribe

15 has made to the history, ecology, and culture of the

16 Park and to ensure that the visitor experience in the

17 Park will be enhanced by the increased and contin18 ued presence of the Tribe, the Secretary shall permit

19 the Tribe’s continued use of Park resources for tra20 ditional tribal purposes, practices, and activities.

21 (3) RESOURCE USE BY THE TRIBE.—In the

22 special use areas, any use of Park resources by the

23 Tribe for traditional purposes, practices, and activi24 ties shall not be in derogation of purposes and val25 ues for which the Park was established.
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1 (4) SPECIFIC AREAS.—The following areas are

2 designated special use areas pursuant to paragraph

3 (1):

4 (A) MESQUITE USE AREA.—The area gen5 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Mesquite

6 Use Area’’ numbered ll and dated

7 lllll. The Tribe may use this area for

8 processing mesquite using traditional plant

9 management techniques such as thinning, prun10 ing, harvesting, removing excess sand, and re11 moving exotic species. The National Park Serv12 ice may limit and condition, but not to prohibit

13 entirely, public use of this area or parts of this

14 area, in consultation with the Tribe. This area

15 shall be managed in accordance with the jointly

16 established management plan referred to in

17 paragraph (1).

18 (B) BUFFER AREA.—An area of approxi19 mately ll acres, as generally depicted on the

20 map entitled ‘‘Buffer Area’’ numbered ll

21 and dated lllll. The National Park

22 Service shall restrict visitor use of this area to

23 protect the privacy of the Tribe and to provide

24 an opportunity for the Tribe to conduct commu-
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1 nity affairs without undue disruption from the

2 public.

3 (C) TIMBISHA SHOSHONE NATURAL AND

4 CULTURAL PRESERVATION AREA.—An area that

5 primarily consists of Park lands and also a

6 small portion of Bureau of Land Management

7 land in California, as generally depicted on the

8 map entitled ‘‘Timbisha Shoshone Natural and

9 Cultural Preservation Area’’ numbered ll

10 and dated lllll.

11 (5) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—With respect to

12 the Timbisha Shoshone Natural and Cultural Pres13 ervation Area designated in paragraph (4)(C)—

14 (A) the Tribe may establish and maintain

15 a tribal resource management field office, ga16 rage, and storage area, all within the area of

17 the existing ranger station at Wildrose (existing

18 as of the date of enactment of this Act);

19 (B) the Tribe also may use traditional

20 camps for tribal members at Wildrose and

21 Hunter Mountain in accordance with the jointly

22 established management plan referred to in

23 paragraph (1);
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1 (C) the area shall be depicted on maps of

2 the Park and Bureau of Land Management

3 that are provided for general visitor use;

4 (D) the National Park Service and the Bu5 reau of Land Management shall accommodate

6 access by the Tribe to and use by the Tribe

7 of—

8 (i) the area (including portions de9 scribed in subparagraph (E)) for tradi10 tional cultural and religious activities, in a

11 manner consistent with the purpose and

12 intent of Public Law 95–341 (commonly

13 known as the ‘‘American Indian Religious

14 Freedom Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 1996 et seq.);

15 and

16 (ii) areas designated as wilderness (in17 cluding portions described in subparagraph

18 (E)), in a manner consistent with the pur19 pose and intent of the Wilderness Act (16

20 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and

21 (E)(i) on the request of the Tribe, the Na22 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land

23 Management shall temporarily close to the gen24 eral public, 1 or more specific portions of the

25 area in order to protect the privacy of tribal
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1 members engaging in traditional cultural and

2 religious activities in those portions; and

3 (ii) any such closure shall be made in a

4 manner that affects the smallest practicable

5 area for the minimum period necessary for the

6 purposes described in clause (i).

7 (f) ACCESS AND USE.—Members of the Tribe shall

8 have the right to enter and use the Park without payment

9 of any fee for admission into the Park.

10 (g) ADMINISTRATION.—The trust lands shall con11 stitute the Timbisha Shoshone Reservation and shall be

12 administered pursuant to the laws and regulations appli13 cable to other Indian trust lands, except as otherwise pro14 vided in this Act.

15 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.

16 (a) GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT AGREE17 MENTS.—In order to fulfill the purposes of this Act and

18 to establish cooperative partnerships for purposes of this

19 Act, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Man20 agement, and the Tribe shall enter into government-to21 government consultations and shall develop protocols to

22 review planned development in the Park. The National

23 Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are

24 authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

25 Tribe for the purpose of providing training on the inter-
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1 pretation, management, protection, and preservation of

2 the natural and cultural resources of the areas designated

3 for special uses by the Tribe in section 5(e)(4).

4 (b) STANDARDS.—The National Park Service and the

5 Tribe shall develop mutually agreed upon standards for

6 size, impact, and design for use in planning, resource pro7 tection, and development of the Furnace Creek area and

8 for the facilities at Wildrose. The standards shall be based

9 on standards for recognized best practices for environ10 mental sustainability and shall not be less restrictive than

11 the environmental standards applied within the National

12 Park System at any given time. Development in the area

13 shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the stand14 ards, which shall be reviewed periodically and revised as

15 necessary.

16 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

17 (a) TRIBAL EMPLOYMENT.—In employing individuals

18 to perform any construction, maintenance, interpretation,

19 or other service in the Park, the Secretary shall, insofar

20 as practicable, give first preference to qualified members

21 of the Tribe.

22 (b) GAMING.—Gaming as defined and regulated by

23 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et

24 seq.) shall be prohibited on trust lands within the Park.
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1 (c) INITIAL RESERVATION.—Lands taken into trust

2 for the Tribe pursuant to section 5(a) shall be considered

3 to be the Tribe’s initial reservation for purposes of section

4 20(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

5 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)(ii)).

6 (d) TRIBAL JURISDICTION OVER TRUST LANDS.—All

7 trust lands located within California shall be exempt from

8 section 1162 of title 18, United States Code, and section

9 1360 of title 28, United States Code, commencing 3 years

10 after the date of enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

13 this Act such sums as may be necessary.

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