I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 671

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 25, 1995

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. MILLER of California, and Mr. DEFAZIO) 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 Federal Rec5 ognition Administrative Procedures Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to establish an administrative procedure to

9 extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups;
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1 (2) to extend to Indian groups which are deter2 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services,

3 and benefits available from the Federal Government

4 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility;

5 (3) to extend to Indian groups which are deter6 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi7 leges available to other federally-acknowledged In8 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes

9 with a government-to-government relationship with

10 the United States;

11 (4) to ensure that when the Federal govern12 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, it

13 does so with a consistent legal, factual and historical

14 basis;

15 (5) to establish a commission which will act in

16 a supporting role to petitioning groups applying for

17 recognition;

18 (6) to provide clear and consistent standards of

19 administrative review of documented petitions for

20 Federal acknowledgment;

21 (7) to clarify evidentiary standards and expedite

22 the administrative review process by providing ade23 quate resources to process petitions; and

24 (8) to remove the Federal acknowledgment

25 process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and in-
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1 vest it in an independent Commission on Indian

2 Recognition.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘aboriginal group’’ means any In6 dian group or tribe that is presently located in Can7 ada or the United States or Mexico and consists of

8 individuals who are descendants of the people who

9 inhabited the area now constituting those two coun10 tries prior to their first sustained contact with Euro11 Americans.

12 (2) The term ‘‘acknowledgment’’ or ‘‘acknowl13 edged’’ means a determination by the Commission

14 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group con15 stitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-gov16 ernment relationship with the United States, and

17 whose members are recognized as eligible for the

18 special programs and services provided by the

19 United States to Indians because of their status

20 as Indians.

21 (3) The term ‘‘autonomous’’ means the exercise

22 of political influence or authority independent of the

23 control of any other Indian governing entity. Auton24 omous must be understood in the context of the his-
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1 tory, geography, culture and social organization of

2 the petitioner.

3 (4) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

4 Indian Affairs.

5 (5) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Com6 mission on Indian Recognition established pursuant

7 to section 4.

8 (6) The term ‘‘community’’ means any group of

9 people, living within a reasonable territorial propin10 quity, which can demonstrate that consistent inter11 actions and significant social relationships exist

12 within its membership and that its members are dif13 ferentiated from and identified as distinct from

14 nonmembers. ‘‘Community’’ must be understood in

15 the context of the history, culture and social organi16 zation of the group, taking into account the geog17 raphy of the region in which they reside.

18 (7) The term ‘‘continuously’’ or ‘‘continuous’’

19 means extending from the first sustained contact

20 with Euro-Americans throughout the group’s history

21 to the present substantially without interruption.

22 (8) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart23 ment of the Interior.

24 (9) The term ‘‘documented petition’’ means the

25 detailed, factual exposition and arguments, including
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1 all documentary evidence, necessary to demonstrate

2 that these arguments specifically address the manda3 tory criteria established in section 5.

4 (10) The term ‘‘historically’’, ‘‘historical’’ or

5 ‘‘history’’ means dating from the first sustained con6 tact with Euro-Americans.

7 (11) The term ‘‘Indian group’’ or ‘‘group’’

8 means any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawai9 ian tribe, band, pueblo, village or community within

10 the United States that the Secretary of the Interior

11 does not acknowledge to be an Indian tribe.

12 (12) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ or ‘‘tribe’’ means

13 any Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian

14 tribe, band, pueblo, village or community within the

15 United States that the Secretary of the Interior

16 presently acknowledges to be an Indian tribe.

17 (13) The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to

18 the United States in that at least part of the peti19 tioner’s traditional territory at the time of first sus20 tained contact with Euro-Americans extended into

21 what is now the United States.

22 (14) The term ‘‘letter of intent’’ means an un23 documented letter or resolution which is dated and

24 signed by the governing body of an Indian group

25 and submitted to the Commission and indicates the
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1 group’s intent to submit a petition for Federal ac2 knowledgment as an Indian tribe.

3 (15) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

4 means an individual who is recognized by an Indian

5 group as meeting its membership criteria and who

6 consents in writing to being listed as a member of

7 that group.

8 (16) The term ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’

9 means an individual who meets the membership re10 quirements of the tribe as set forth in its governing

11 document or, in the absence of a governing docu12 ment which sets out these requirements, has been

13 recognized as a member collectively by those persons

14 comprising the tribal governing body; and has con15 sistently maintained tribal relations with the tribe or

16 is listed on the tribal membership rolls as a member,

17 if such rolls are kept.

18 (17) The term ‘‘petition’’ means a petition for

19 acknowledgment submitted or transferred to the

20 Commission pursuant to section 5 of this Act.

21 (18) The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means any group

22 which has submitted a letter of intent to the Com23 mission requesting acknowledgment that it is an In24 dian tribe.
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1 (19) The term ‘‘political influence or authority’’

2 means a tribal council, leadership, internal process

3 or other mechanism which the group has used as a

4 means of influencing or controlling the behavior of

5 its members in significant respects, or making deci6 sions for the group which substantially affect its

7 members, or representing the group in dealing with

8 non-members in matters of consequence to the

9 group. ‘‘Political influence or authority’’ is to be un10 derstood in the context of the history, culture and

11 social organization of the group.

12 (20) The term ‘‘previous Federal acknowledg13 ment’’ means any action by the Federal government

14 the character of which is clearly premised on identi15 fication of a tribal political entity and clearly indi16 cates the recognition of a government-to-government

17 relationship between that entity and the Federal

18 government.

19 (21) The term ‘‘restoration’’ means the

20 reextension of acknowledgment to any previously ac21 knowledged tribe which may have had its acknowl22 edged status abrogated or diminished by reason of

23 congressional legislation expressly terminating that

24 status.
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1 (22) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

2 of the Interior.

3 (23) The term ‘‘sustained contact’’ means the

4 period of earliest sustained Euro-American settle5 ment or governmental presence in the local area in

6 which the tribe or tribes from which the petitioner

7 claims descent was located historically.

8 (24) The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any treaty—

9 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

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

11 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

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

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

14 government the United States subsequently ac15 quired territory by purchase, conquest, annex16 ation, or cession; or

17 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

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

19 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

20 ratified.

21 (25) The term ‘‘tribal relations’’ means partici22 pation by an individual in a political and social rela23 tionship with an Indian tribe.

24 (26) The term ‘‘tribal roll’’ means a list exclu25 sively of those individuals who have been determined
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1 by the tribe to meet the tribe’s membership require2 ments as set forth in its governing document or, in

3 the absence of a governing document setting forth

4 those requirements, have been recognized as mem5 bers by the tribe’s governing body. In either case,

6 those individuals on a tribal roll must have affirma7 tively demonstrated consent to being listed as

8 members.

9 (27) The term ‘‘United States’’ means the 48

10 contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii; and does not

11 include territories or possessions.

12 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an

14 independent commission, the Commission on Indian

15 Recognition.

16 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1)(A) The Commission shall

17 consist of three members appointed by the President, by

18 and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

19 (B) In making appointments to the Commission, the

20 President shall give careful consideration to—

21 (i) recommendations received from Indian

22 tribes;

23 (ii) individuals who have a background in In24 dian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or his25 tory; and
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1 (iii) individuals who, at the time of nomination,

2 are employed by the United States Government and

3 would be eligible to participate through the Intergov4 ernmental Personnel Exchange Act.

5 (2) No more than two members of the Commission

6 may be members of the same political party.

7 (3)(A) Each member of the Commission shall be ap8 pointed for a term of four years, except as provided in

9 subparagraph (B).

10 (B) As designated by the President at the time of

11 appointment, of the members first appointed—

12 (i) one shall be appointed for a term of two

13 years;

14 (ii) one shall be appointed for a term of three

15 years; and

16 (iii) one shall be appointed for a term of four

17 years.

18 (4) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

19 its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which

20 the original appointment was made. Any member ap21 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration

22 of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap23 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that

24 term. A member may serve after the expiration of that

25 member’s term until a successor has taken office.
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1 (5)(A) Each member of the Commission not other2 wise employed by the United States Government shall re3 ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

4 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of

5 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

6 United States Code, for each day, including traveltime,

7 such member is engaged in the actual performance of du8 ties authorized by the Commission.

9 (B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem10 ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em11 ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the

12 Commission without additional compensation, but such

13 service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

14 status or privilege.

15 (C) All members of the Commission shall be reim16 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex17 penses during the performance of duties of the Commis18 sion while away from home or their regular place of busi19 ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of

20 title 5, United States Code.

21 (6) At the time appointments are made under para22 graph (1), the President shall designate one of such ap23 pointees as Chairman of the Commission.

24 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) The Commis25 sion shall hold its first meeting no later than 30 days after
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1 the date on which all members of the Commission have

2 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

3 (2) Two members of the Commission shall constitute

4 a quorum for the transaction of business.

5 (3) The Commission may adopt such rules (consistent

6 with the provisions of this Act) as may be necessary to

7 establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its

8 operations, organization, and personnel.

9 (4) The principal office of the Commission shall be

10 in the District of Columbia.

11 (d) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry out the

12 duties assigned to the Commission by this Act, and shall

13 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

14 Act.

15 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—(1) Subject to such

16 rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Commis17 sion, the Chairman of the Commission is authorized to—

18 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa19 tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,

20 United States Code, governing appointments in the

21 competitive service, and without regard to the provi22 sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

23 of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat24 ing to the number, classification, and General

25 Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the
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1 Commission and of such other personnel as the

2 Chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform3 ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not

4 to exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the

5 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

6 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,

7 United States Code; and

8 (B) procure, as authorized by section 3109(b)

9 of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter10 mittent services to the same extent as is authorized

11 by law for agencies in the executive branch, but at

12 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

13 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu14 tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.

15 (2) The Commission is authorized to—

16 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such

17 times;

18 (B) take such testimony;

19 (C) have such printing and binding done;

20 (D) enter into such contracts and other ar21 rangements, subject to the availability of funds;

22 (E) make such expenditures; and

23 (F) take such other actions,
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1 as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of

2 the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

3 witnesses appearing before the Commission.

4 (3)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di5 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish6 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such

7 information as the Commission may require for the pur8 pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen9 cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di10 rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in11 formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

12 the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman of

13 the Commission.

14 (B) Upon the request of the Chairman of the Com15 mission, the head of any Federal department, agency, or

16 instrumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities

17 and services of such department, agency, or instrumental18 ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per19 sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to

20 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the

21 Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.

22 (C) The Commission may use the United States mails

23 in the same manner and under the same conditions as

24 other departments and agencies of the United States.
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1 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro2 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not

3 apply to the Commission.

4 SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Any Indian group may submit

6 to the Commission a petition requesting that the Commis7 sion recognize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe.

8 (2) The provisions of this Act do not apply to the

9 following groups or entities, which shall not be eligible for

10 recognition under this Act—

11 (A) Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,

12 communities, and Alaska Native entities which are

13 recognized by the Secretary as of the date of enact14 ment of this Act as eligible to receive services from

15 the Bureau;

16 (B) splinter groups, political factions, commu17 nities, or groups of any character which separate

18 from the main body of an Indian tribe that, at the

19 time of such separation, is recognized as being an

20 Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear21 ly established that the group, faction, or community

22 has functioned throughout history until the date of

23 such petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity;

24 (C) groups, or successors in interest of groups,

25 that prior to the date of enactment of this Act, have
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1 petitioned for and been denied or refused recognition

2 as an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by

3 the Secretary;

4 (D) any Indian group whose relationship with

5 the Federal Government was expressly terminated

6 by an Act of Congress; and

7 (E) any Indian group that, in any action in a

8 United States court to which the group was a party,

9 has previously attempted to establish its status as

10 an Indian tribe or a successor-in-interest to an In11 dian tribe that was a party to a treaty with the

12 United States, and—

13 (i) was determined by such court not to be

14 an Indian tribe; or

15 (ii) was determined by such court not to be

16 a successor-in-interest to an Indian tribe that

17 was a party to a treaty with the United States;

18 or

19 (iii) was the subject of findings of fact by

20 such court which, if made by the Commission,

21 would show that the group was incapable of es22 tablishing one or more of the criteria set forth

23 in this section.

24 (3)(A) No later than 30 days after the date on which

25 all of the members of the Commission have been appointed
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1 and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer

2 to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart3 ment and not then under active consideration that request

4 the Secretary, or the Federal Government, to recognize

5 or acknowledge an Indian group as an Indian tribe, except

6 those groups whose petitions are under active consider7 ation at the time of the transfer.

8 (B) On the date of such transfer, the Secretary and

9 the Department shall cease to have any authority to recog10 nize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal government,

11 any Indian group as an Indian tribe, except those groups

12 under active consideration whose petitions have been re13 tained by the Department pursuant to subparagraph (A)

14 of this paragraph.

15 (C) Petitions transferred to the Commission under

16 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall, for purposes of

17 this Act, be considered as having been submitted to the

18 Commission in the same order as they were submitted to

19 the Department.

20 (b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro21 vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub22 section (a) by an Indian group shall be in any readable

23 form which clearly indicates that it is a petition requesting

24 the Commission to recognize that the Indian group is an
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1 Indian tribe and which contains detailed, specific evidence

2 as to each of the following:

3 (1) A statement of facts establishing that the

4 petitioner has been identified as an American Indian

5 entity on a substantially continuous basis since

6 1871. Evidence that the group’s character as an In7 dian entity has from time to time been denied shall

8 not be considered to be conclusive evidence that this

9 criterion has not been met. Evidence to be relied

10 upon in determining a group’s Indian identity may

11 include one or a combination of the following, as well

12 as other evidence of identification by other than the

13 petitioner itself or its members:

14 (A) Identification of the petitioner as an

15 Indian entity by Federal authorities.

16 (B) Relationships of the petitioner with

17 State governments based on identification of

18 the petitioner as an Indian entity.

19 (C) Dealings of the petitioner with a coun20 ty, parish, or other local government in a rela21 tionship based on the Indian identity of the pe22 titioner.

23 (D) Identification of the petitioner as an

24 Indian entity by records in private or public ar25 chives, courthouses, churches, or schools.
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1 (E) Identification of the petitioner as an

2 Indian entity by anthropologists, historians, or

3 other scholars.

4 (F) Identification of the petitioner as an

5 Indian entity in newspapers, books, or similar

6 media.

7 (G) Identification of the petitioner as an

8 Indian entity by other Indian tribes or by na9 tional, regional, or state Indian organizations.

10 (H) Identification of the petitioner as an

11 Indian entity by foreign governments or inter12 national organizations.

13 (2)(A) A statement of facts establishing that a

14 predominant portion of the membership of the peti15 tioner comprises a community distinct from those

16 surrounding it and has existed as a community from

17 historical times to the present. Evidence to be relied

18 upon in determining that the petitioner meets this

19 criterion may include one or a combination of the

20 following:

21 (i) Significant rates of marriage within the

22 group, or, as may be culturally required, pat23 terned out-marriages with other Indian popu24 lations.
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1 (ii) Significant social relationships connect2 ing individual members.

3 (iii) Significant rates of informal social

4 interaction which exist broadly among the mem5 bers of a group.

6 (iv) A significant degree of shared or coop7 erative labor or other economic activity among

8 the membership.

9 (v) Evidence of strong patterns of discrimi10 nation or other social distinctions by non11 members.

12 (vi) Shared sacred or secular ritual activity

13 encompassing most of the group.

14 (vii) Cultural patterns shared among a sig15 nificant portion of the group that are different

16 from those of the non-Indian populations with

17 whom it interacts. These patterns must func18 tion as more than a symbolic identification of

19 the group as Indian, and may include, but are

20 not limited to, language, kinship or religious or21 ganizations, or religious beliefs and practices.

22 (viii) The persistence of a named, collective

23 Indian identity continuously over a period of

24 more than 50 years, notwithstanding changes in

25 name.
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1 (ix) A demonstration of historical political

2 influence pursuant to the criterion set forth in

3 paragraph (3).

4 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have

5 provided sufficient evidence of community at a given

6 point in time if evidence is provided demonstrating

7 any one of the following:

8 (i) More than 50 percent of the members

9 reside in a particular geographical area exclu10 sively or almost exclusively composed of mem11 bers of the group, and the balance of the group

12 maintains consistent social interaction with

13 some members of the community.

14 (ii) At least 50 percent of the marriages of

15 the group are between members of the group.

16 (iii) At least 50 percent of the group mem17 bers maintain distinct cultural patterns such as,

18 but not limited to, language, kinship or reli19 gious organizations, or religious beliefs or prac20 tices.

21 (iv) There are distinct community social

22 institutions encompassing a substantial portion

23 of the members, such as kinship organizations,

24 formal or informal economic cooperation, or re25 ligious organizations; or
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1 (v) The group has met the criterion in

2 paragraph (3) using evidence described in para3 graph (3)(B).

4 (3)(A) A statement of facts establishing that

5 the petitioner has maintained political influence or

6 authority over its members as an autonomous entity

7 from historical times until the present. Evidence to

8 be relied upon in determining that the petitioner

9 meets this criterion may include one or a combina10 tion of the following:

11 (i) The group is able to mobilize significant

12 numbers of members and significant resources

13 from its members for group purposes.

14 (ii) Most of the membership considers is15 sues acted upon or taken by group leaders or

16 governing bodies to be of personal importance.

17 (iii) There is a widespread knowledge, com18 munication and involvement in political proc19 esses by most of the group’s members.

20 (iv) The group meets the criterion in para21 graph (2) at more than a minimal level.

22 (v) There are intragroup conflicts which

23 show controversy over valued group goals, prop24 erties, policies, processes or decisions.
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1 (B) A petitioner shall be considered to have

2 provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exer3 cise of political influence or authority at a given

4 point in time by demonstrating that group leaders or

5 other mechanisms exist or existed which:

6 (i) Allocate group resources such as land,

7 residence rights or the like on a consistent

8 basis.

9 (ii) Settle disputes between members or

10 subgroups such as clans or moieties by medi11 ation or other means on a regular basis.

12 (iii) Exert strong influence on the behavior

13 of individual members, such as the establish14 ment or maintenance of norms and the enforce15 ment of sanctions to direct or control behavior.

16 (iv) Organize or influence economic sub17 sistence activities among the members, includ18 ing shared or cooperative labor.

19 (C) A group that has met the requirements in

20 paragraph (2)(B) at a given point in time shall be

21 considered to have provided sufficient evidence to

22 meet this criterion at that same point in time.

23 (4) A copy of the petitioner’s present governing

24 document including its membership criteria. In the

25 absence of a written document, the petitioner must
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1 provide a statement describing in full its member2 ship criteria and current governing procedures.

3 (5) A list of all current members of the peti4 tioner including each member’s full name (and maid5 en name, if any), date and place of birth, and cur6 rent residential address, as well as a copy of each

7 available former list of members based on the peti8 tioner’s own defined criteria, and a statement de9 scribing the methods used in preparing those lists.

10 The membership must consist of individuals who

11 have established descendancy from an Indian group

12 which existed historically or from historical Indian

13 groups which combined and functioned as a single

14 autonomous entity. Evidence of tribal membership

15 required by the Commission includes (but is not lim16 ited to)—

17 (A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec18 retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib19 uting claims money, providing allotments, or

20 other purposes;

21 (B) State, Federal, or other official records

22 or evidence identifying present members of the

23 petitioner, or ancestors of present members of

24 the petitioner, as being descendants of a his25 toric tribe or historic tribes that combined and
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1 functioned as a single autonomous political

2 entity;

3 (C) church, school, and other similar en4 rollment records identifying present members or

5 ancestors of present members as being descend6 ants of a historic tribe or historic tribes that

7 combined and functioned as a single autono8 mous political entity;

9 (D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el10 ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body iden11 tifying present members or ancestors of present

12 members as being descendants of a historic

13 tribe or historic tribes that combined and func14 tioned as a single autonomous political entity;

15 and

16 (E) other records or evidence identifying

17 present members or ancestors of present mem18 bers as being descendants of a historic tribe or

19 historic tribes that combined and functioned as

20 a single autonomous political entity.

21 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—A petition from an Indian group

22 which can demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence

23 that it was, or is the successor in interest to, a—

24 (1) party to a treaty or treaties;
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1 (2) group acknowledged by any agency of the

2 Federal Government as eligible to participate in the

3 Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461

4 et seq.);

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

6 States took into trust land or lands, or which the

7 Federal government has treated as having collective

8 rights in tribal lands or funds; or

9 (4) group has been denominated a tribe by Act

10 of Congress or Executive Order,

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

12 section only from the date of that Federal action to the

13 present.

14 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

15 (a) PETITIONER.—Within 30 days after a petition is

16 submitted or transferred to the Commission under section

17 5(a), the Commission shall send an acknowledgement of

18 receipt in writing to the petitioner and shall have pub19 lished in the Federal Register a notice of such receipt, in20 cluding the name, location, and mailing address of the pe21 titioner and such other information that will identify the

22 entity who submitted the petition and the date the petition

23 was received by the Commission. The notice shall also in24 dicate where a copy of the petition may be examined.
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1 (b) OTHERS.—The Commission shall also notify, in

2 writing, the Governor and attorney general of, and each

3 recognized Indian tribe within, any State in which a peti4 tioner resides.

5 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

6 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—The Commission shall pub7 lish the notice of receipt of the petition in a major news8 paper of general circulation in the town or city nearest

9 the location of the petitioner. The notice shall include, in

10 addition to the information described in subsection (a), no11 tice of opportunity for other parties to submit factual or

12 legal arguments in support of or in opposition to, the peti13 tion. Such submissions shall be provided to the petitioner

14 upon receipt by the Commission. The petitioner shall be

15 provided an opportunity to respond to such submissions

16 prior to a determination on the petition by the

17 Commission.

18 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.

19 (a) REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of a documented peti20 tion, the Commission shall conduct a review to determine

21 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an

22 Indian tribe.

23 (2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall

24 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

25 and the factual statements contained in the petition.
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1 (3) The Commission may also initiate other research

2 for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob3 taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta4 tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit5 ted by other parties.

6 (4) Upon request by the petitioner, the Library of

7 Congress and the National Archives shall each allow ac8 cess to the petitioner to its resources, records, and docu9 ments, for the purpose of conducting research and prepar10 ing evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

11 (b) CONSIDERATION.—(1) Except as otherwise pro12 vided in this subsection, petitions shall be considered on

13 a first come, first served basis, determined by the date

14 of the original filing of the petition with the Commission,

15 or the Department if the petition is one transferred to the

16 Commission pursuant to section 5(a). The Commission

17 shall establish a priority register including those petitions

18 pending before the Department on the date of enactment

19 of this Act.

20 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission

21 by Indian groups that meet one or more of the require22 ments set forth in section 5(c) shall receive priority consid23 eration over petitions submitted by any other Indian

24 group.
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1 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the receipt

3 of a petition by the Commission, the Commission shall set

4 a date for a preliminary hearing. At the preliminary hear5 ing, the petitioner and any other concerned party may pro6 vide evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

7 (b) DETERMINATION.—(1) Within 30 days after the

8 conclusion of the preliminary hearing under subsection

9 (a), the Commission shall make a determination either—

10 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgement to the

11 petitioner; or

12 (B) that the petitioner proceed to an adjudica13 tory hearing.

14 (2) The Commission shall publish the determination

15 in the Federal Register.

16 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

17 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—(1) If the Commission

18 determines under subsection (b) that the petitioner pro19 ceed to an adjudicatory hearing, the Commission shall—

20 (A) make available its appropriate evidentiary

21 records to the petitioner to assist the petitioner in

22 preparing for the adjudicatory hearing, and shall

23 also include such guidance as the Commission con24 siders necessary or appropriate to assist the peti25 tioner in preparing for the hearing; and
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1 (B) within 30 days after the conclusion of the

2 preliminary hearing under subsection (a), notify the

3 petitioner in writing, which notice shall include a list

4 of any deficiencies or omissions on which the Com5 mission relied in making its determination.

6 (2) The list of deficiencies and omissions provided

7 under paragraph (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adju8 dicatory hearing. The Commission may not add to this list

9 once it is issued.

10 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days after the conclu12 sion of the preliminary hearing, the Commission shall af13 ford the petitioner described in section 8(b)(1)(B) an adju14 dicatory hearing. The hearing shall be on the list of defi15 ciencies and omissions provided under section 8(c)(1)(B)

16 and shall be conducted pursuant to section 554 of title

17 5, United States Code.

18 (b) TESTIMONY FROM STAFF OF COMMISSION.—The

19 Commission may require testimony from its acknowledge20 ment and research staff or other witnesses. Any such testi21 mony shall be subject to cross-examination by the peti22 tioner.

23 (c) EVIDENCE BY PETITIONER.—The petitioner may

24 provide such evidence as the petitioner deems appropriate.
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1 (d) DECISION BY COMMISSION.—Within 60 days

2 after the end of the hearing held under subsection (a),

3 the Commission shall—

4 (1) make a determination as to the extension or

5 denial of Federal acknowledgment to the petitioner;

6 (2) publish its determination under paragraph

7 (1) in the Federal Register; and

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

9 petitioner, and to every other interested party.

10 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the date the

12 Commission’s decision is published under section 9(d), the

13 petitioner may appeal the determination to the United

14 States District Court for the District of Columbia.

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

16 the appeal described in subsection (a), it shall be eligible

17 for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs under

18 the provisions of section 504 of title 5, United States

19 Code, or section 2412 of title 28 of such Code, as the case

20 may be.

21 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.

22 A determination by the Commission that an Indian

23 group is recognized by the Federal Government as an In24 dian tribe shall not have the effect of—
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1 (1) depriving or diminishing the right of any

2 other Indian tribe to govern its reservation as such

3 reservation existed prior to the recognition of such

4 Indian group, or as the same may exist thereafter;

5 (2) depriving or diminishing any property right

6 held in trust or recognized by the United States for

7 such other Indian tribe as it existed prior to the rec8 ognition of such Indian group; or

9 (3) depriving or diminishing any previously or

10 independently existing claim by a petitioner to any

11 such property right held in trust by the United

12 States for such other Indian tribe prior to the rec13 ognition of such Indian group.

14 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

15 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—(1)

16 Subject to paragraph (2), upon recognition by the Com17 mission that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian

18 tribe shall be eligible for the services and benefits from

19 the Federal Government that are available to other feder20 ally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their status as

21 Indian tribes with a government-to-government relation22 ship with the United States, as well as having the respon23 sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec24 ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au-
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1 thority of Congress and the United States to which other

2 federally recognized tribes are subject.

3 (2) Recognition of the Indian tribe under this Act

4 does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro5 grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail6 able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap7 propriations shall follow a determination under subsection

8 (b) of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.

9 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months

10 after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap11 propriate area offices of the Bureau and the Indian Health

12 Service shall consult and develop in cooperation with the

13 Indian tribe, and forward to the respective Secretary, a

14 determination of the needs of the Indian tribe and a rec15 ommended budget required to serve the newly recognized

16 Indian tribe. The recommended budget shall be considered

17 along with recommendations by the appropriate Secretary

18 in the budget-request process.

19 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC20 TIVITIES.

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

22 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and

23 annually on or before every January 30 thereafter, the

24 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

25 of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the Federal
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1 Government and receiving services from the Bureau of In2 dian Affairs.

3 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning one year after the

4 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

5 the Commission shall submit a report to the Committee

6 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and

7 to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate a report

8 on its activities, which shall include at a minimum the fol9 lowing:

10 (1) The number of petitions pending at the be11 ginning of the year and the names of the petitioners.

12 (2) The number of petitions received during the

13 year and the names of the petitioners.

14 (3) The number of petitions the Commission

15 approved for acknowledgment and the names of the

16 acknowledged petitioners.

17 (4) The number of petitions the Commission

18 denied for acknowledgment and the names of the pe19 titioners.

20 (5) The status of all pending petitions and the

21 names of the petitioners.

22 SEC. 14. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

23 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

24 court of the United States for the district in which the

25 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for
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1 District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this Act,

2 including any time limitations within which actions are re3 quired to be taken, or decisions made, under this Act and

4 the district court shall issue such orders (including writs

5 of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce the provi6 sions of this Act.

7 SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.

8 The Commission is authorized to prescribe such regu9 lations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions

10 and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must be

11 published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,

12 United States Code.

13 SEC. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

14 (a) GUIDELINES.—No later than 90 days after the

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make

16 available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions,

17 including general suggestions and guidelines on where and

18 how to research required information, but such examples

19 shall not preclude the use of any other format.

20 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re21 quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to

22 any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori23 cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall

24 not be responsible for the actual research on behalf of the

25 petitioner.
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1 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

2 (a) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary of Health and

3 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek4 ing Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups to—

5 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan6 tiate petitions under this Act; and

7 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

8 submission of a petition under this Act.

9 (2) The grants made under this subsection shall be

10 in addition to any other grants the Secretary of Health

11 and Human Services is authorized to provide under any

12 other provision of law.

13 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under

14 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob15 jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

17 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying

20 out the provisions of this Act (other than section 15 17),

21 $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1996 and $1,500,000 for each

22 of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.

23 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to

24 be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri25 cans of the Department of Health and Human Services
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1 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section

2 17, $3,000,000 for each fiscal year.

Æ

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