II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2665

To establish a streamlined process to enable the Navajo Nation to lease

trust lands without having to obtain the approval of the Secretary of

the Interior of individual leases, except leases for exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 25, 2000

Mr. KYL (for himself and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To establish a streamlined process to enable the Navajo

Nation to lease trust lands without having to obtain

the approval of the Secretary of the Interior of individual

leases, except leases for exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources.

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 ‘‘Navajo Nation Trust

5 Land Leasing Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF

2 PURPOSES.

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Recognizing the special relationship

4 between the United States and the Navajo nation and its

5 members, and the Federal responsibility to the Navajo

6 people, Congress finds that—

7 (1) the third clause of section 8, Article I of the

8 United States Constitution provides that ‘‘The Con9 gress shall have Power...to regulate Commerce...with

10 Indian tribes’’, and, through this and other constitu11 tional authority, Congress has plenary power over

12 Indian affairs;

13 (2) Congress, through statutes, treaties, and

14 the general course of dealing with Indian tribes, has

15 assumed the responsibility for the protection and

16 preservation of Indian tribes and their resources;

17 (3) the United States has a trust obligation to

18 guard and preserve the sovereignty of Indian tribes

19 in order to foster strong tribal governments, Indian

20 self-determination, and economic self-sufficiency;

21 (4) pursuant to the first section of the Act of

22 August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415), Congress conferred

23 upon the Secretary of the Interior the power to pro24 mulgate regulations governing tribal leases and to

25 approve tribal leases for tribes according to regula26 tions promulgated by the Secretary;
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1 (5) the Secretary of the Interior has promul2 gated the regulations described in paragraph (4) at

3 part 162 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations;

4 (6) the requirement that the Secretary approve

5 leases for the development of Navajo trust lands has

6 added a level of review and regulation that does not

7 apply to the development of non-Indian land; and

8 (7) in the global economy of the 21st Century,

9 it is crucial that individual leases of Navajo trust

10 lands not be subject to Secretarial approval and that

11 the Navajo Nation be able to make immediate deci12 sions over the use of Navajo trust lands.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol14 lows:

15 (1) To establish a streamlined process for the

16 Navajo Nation to lease trust lands without having to

17 obtain the approval of the Secretary of the Interior

18 of individual leases, except leases for exploration, de19 velopment, or extraction of any mineral resources.

20 (2) To authorize the Navajo nation, pursuant to

21 tribal regulations, which must be approved by the

22 Secretary, to lease Navajo trust lands without the

23 approval of the Secretary of the Interior of the indi24 vidual leases, except leases for exploration, develop25 ment, or extraction of any mineral resources.
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1 (3) To revitalize the distressed Navajo Reserva2 tion by promoting political self-determination, and

3 encouraging economic self-sufficiency, including eco4 nomic development that increases productivity and

5 the standard of living for members of the Navajo

6 Nation.

7 (4) To maintain, strengthen, and protect the

8 Navajo Nation’s leasing power over Navajo trust

9 lands.

10 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

11 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

12 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of

13 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist14 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).

15 (2) NAVAJO NATION.—The term ‘‘Navajo Na16 tion’’ means the Navajo Nation government that is

17 in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.

18 (3) TRIBAL REGULATIONS.—The term ‘‘tribal

19 regulations’’ means the Navajo Nation regulations

20 as enacted by the Navajo Nation Council or its

21 standing committees and approved by the Secretary.

22 SEC. 3. LEASE OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO

23 NATION.

24 The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25

25 U.S.C. 415) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (d)—

2 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

3 the end;

4 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe5 riod and inserting a semicolon; and

6 (C) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘individually owned Navajo In8 dian allotted lands’ means Navajo Indian allotted

9 land that is owned by 1 or more individuals located

10 within the Navajo Nation;

11 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Navajo Nation’ means the Nav12 ajo Nation government that is in existence on the

13 date of enactment of this Act;

14 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary

15 of the Interior; and

16 ‘‘(6) the term ‘tribal regulations’ means the

17 Navajo Nation regulations as enacted by the Navajo

18 Nation Council or its standing committees and ap19 proved by the Secretary.’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(e)(1) Any leases by the Navajo Nation for purposes

22 authorized under subsection (a), except a lease for the ex23 ploration, development, or extraction of any mineral re24 sources, shall not require the approval of the Secretary

25 if the term of the lease does not exceed 75 years (including
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1 options to renew), and the lease is executed under tribal

2 regulations that are approved by the Secretary under this

3 subsection.

4 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individually

5 owned Navajo Indian allotted land located within the Nav6 ajo Nation.

7 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall have the authority to ap8 prove or disapprove tribal regulations required under

9 paragraph (1). The Secretary shall not have approval au10 thority over individual leases of Navajo trust lands, except

11 for the exploration, development, or extraction of any min12 eral resources. The Secretary shall perform the duties of

13 the Secretary under this subsection in the best interest

14 of the Navajo Nation.

15 ‘‘(4) If the Navajo Nation has executed a lease pursu16 ant to tribal regulations required under paragraph (1), the

17 United states shall not be liable for losses sustained by

18 any party to such lease, including the Navajo Nation, ex19 cept that—

20 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall continue to have a

21 trust obligation to ensure that the rights of the Nav22 ajo Nation are protected in the event of a violation

23 of the terms of any lease by any other party to such

24 lease, including the right to cancel the lease if re25 quested by the Navajo Nation; and
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1 ‘‘(B) nothing in this subsection shall be con2 strued to absolve the United States from any re3 sponsibility to the Navajo Nation, including respon4 sibilities that derive from the trust relationship and

5 from any treaties, Executive Orders, or agreements

6 between the United States and the Navajo Nation,

7 except as otherwise specifically provided in this sub8 section.’’.

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