I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1175

To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 22, 2001

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself and Mr. MCINTYRE) 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 Tribal Federal

5 Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are as follows:

8 (1) To remove the Federal acknowledgment

9 process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and
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1 transfer the responsibility for the process to an inde2 pendent Commission on Indian Recognition.

3 (2) To establish a Commission on Indian Rec4 ognition to review and act upon documented peti5 tions submitted by Indian groups that apply for

6 Federal recognition.

7 (3) To establish an administrative procedure

8 under which petitions for Federal recognition filed

9 by Indian groups will be considered.

10 (4) To provide clear and consistent standards of

11 administrative review of documented petitions for

12 Federal acknowledgment.

13 (5) To clarify evidentiary standards and expe14 dite the administrative review process by providing

15 adequate resources to process documented petitions.

16 (6) To ensure that when the Federal Govern17 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe,

18 the Federal Government does so with a consistent

19 legal, factual, and historical basis.

20 (7) To extend to Indian groups that are deter21 mined to be Indian tribes the protection, services,

22 and benefits available from the Federal Government

23 pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility with re24 spect to Indian tribes.
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1 (8) To extend to Indian groups that are deter2 mined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privi3 leges available to other federally acknowledged In4 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes

5 with a government-to-government relationship with

6 the United States.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act:

9 (1) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl10 edgment’’ means a determination by the Commission

11 on Indian Recognition that an Indian group con12 stitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-gov13 ernment relationship with the United States.

14 (2) AUTONOMOUS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘autono16 mous’’ means the exercise of political influence

17 or authority independent of the control of any

18 other Indian governing entity.

19 (B) CONTEXT OFTERM.—With respect to

20 a petitioner, the term shall be understood in the

21 context of the history, geography, culture, and

22 social organization of the petitioner.

23 (3) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the

24 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department.
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1 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

2 means the Commission on Indian Recognition estab3 lished under section 4.

4 (5) COMMUNITY.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘community’’

6 means any group of people, living within a rea7 sonable territory, that is able to demonstrate

8 that—

9 (i) consistent interactions and signifi10 cant social relationships exist within the

11 membership; and

12 (ii) the members of that group are

13 differentiated from and identified as dis14 tinct from nonmembers.

15 (B) CONTEXT OFTERM.—The term shall

16 be understood in the context of the history, cul17 ture, and social organization of the group, tak18 ing into account the geography of the region in

19 which the group resides.

20 (6) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.—With re21 spect to a period of history of a group, the term

22 ‘‘continuous’’ or ‘‘continuously’’ means extending

23 from 1900 throughout the history of the group to

24 the present substantially without interruption.
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1 (7) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’

2 means the Department of the Interior.

3 (8) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu4 mented petition’’ means the detailed, factual expo5 sition and arguments, including all documentary evi6 dence, necessary to demonstrate that those argu7 ments specifically address the mandatory criteria es8 tablished in section 5.

9 (9) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.—

10 The terms ‘‘historically’’, ‘‘historical’’, and ‘‘history’’

11 refer to the period dating from 1900.

12 (10) INDIAN GROUP.—The term ‘‘Indian

13 group’’ means any Indian band, pueblo, village, or

14 community that is not acknowledged to be an Indian

15 tribe.

16 (11) INTERESTED PARTIES.—The term ‘‘inter17 ested parties’’ means any person, organization, or

18 other entity who can establish a legal, factual, or

19 property interest in an acknowledgement determina20 tion and who requests an opportunity to submit

21 comments or evidence or to be kept informed of Fed22 eral actions regarding a specific petitioner. The term

23 includes the government and attorney general of the

24 State in which a petitioner is located, and may in25 clude, but is not limited to, local governmental units,
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1 and any recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized

2 Indian groups that might be affected by an acknowl3 edgement determination.

4 (12) LETTER OFINTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of

5 intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution

6 that—

7 (A) is dated and signed by the governing

8 body of an Indian group;

9 (B) is submitted to the Commission; and

10 (C) indicates the intent of the Indian

11 group to submit a documented petition for Fed12 eral acknowledgment.

13 (13) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’

14 means any group that submits a letter of intent to

15 the Commission requesting acknowledgment.

16 (14) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘political in18 fluence or authority’’ means a tribal council,

19 leadership, internal process, or other mecha20 nism that a group has used as a means of—

21 (i) influencing or controlling the be22 havior of its members in a significant man23 ner;

24 (ii) making decisions for the group

25 which substantially affect its members; or
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1 (iii) representing the group in dealing

2 with nonmembers in matters of con3 sequence to the group.

4 (B) CONTEXT OFTERM.—The term shall

5 be understood in the context of the history, cul6 ture, and social organization of the group.

7 (15) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’

8 means the reextension of acknowledgment to any

9 previously acknowledged tribe with respect to which

10 the acknowledged status may have been abrogated or

11 diminished by reason of administrative action by the

12 Executive Branch or legislation enacted by Congress

13 expressly terminating that status.

14 (16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

15 means the Secretary of the Interior.

16 (17) TREATY.—The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any

17 treaty—

18 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United

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

20 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;

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

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

23 the Federal Government or the colonial govern24 ment which was the predecessor to the United

25 States Government subsequently acquired terri-
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1 tory by purchase, conquest, annexation, or ces2 sion; or

3 (C) negotiated by the United States with,

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

5 whether or not the treaty was subsequently

6 ratified.

7 (18) TRIBAL ROLL.—The term ‘‘tribal roll’’

8 means a list exclusively of those individuals who—

9 (A)(i) have been determined by the tribe to

10 meet the membership requirements of the tribe,

11 as set forth in the governing document of the

12 tribe; or

13 (ii) in the absence of a governing document

14 that sets forth those requirements, have been

15 recognized as members by the governing body

16 of the tribe; and

17 (B) have affirmatively demonstrated con18 sent to being listed as members of the tribe.

19 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com21 mission on Indian Recognition. The Commission shall be

22 an independent establishment, as defined in section 104

23 of title 5, United States Code.

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (A) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall

2 consist of 3 members appointed by the Presi3 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the

4 Senate.

5 (B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

6 MEMBERSHIP.—In making appointments to the

7 Commission, the President shall give careful

8 consideration to—

9 (i) recommendations received from In10 dian groups and Indian tribes; and

11 (ii) individuals who have a back12 ground or who have demonstrated exper13 tise and experience in Indian law or policy,

14 anthropology, genealogy, or Native Amer15 ican history.

16 (C) BACKGROUND INFORMATION.—No in17 dividual shall be eligible for any appointment

18 to, or continue service on the Commission,

19 who—

20 (i) has been convicted of a felony; or

21 (ii) has any financial interest in, or

22 management responsibility for, any Indian

23 group.
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1 (2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 2

2 members of the Commission may be members of the

3 same political party.

4 (3) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission

5 shall be appointed for a term of 6 years.

6 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis7 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission,

8 but shall be filled in the same manner in which the

9 original appointment was made. Any member ap10 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira11 tion of the term for which the predecessor of the

12 member was appointed shall be appointed only for

13 the remainder of that term. A member may serve

14 after the expiration of the term of that member until

15 a successor has taken office.

16 (5) COMPENSATION.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the

18 Commission shall receive compensation at a

19 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual

20 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

21 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title

22 5, United States Code, for each day, including

23 traveltime, that the member is engaged in the

24 actual performance of duties authorized by the

25 Commission.
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1 (B) TRAVEL.—All members of the Com2 mission shall be reimbursed for travel and per

3 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the

4 performance of duties of the Commission while

5 away from their homes or regular places of

6 business, in accordance with subchapter I of

7 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

8 (6) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—Each member

9 of the Commission shall serve on the Commission as

10 a full-time employee of the Federal Government. No

11 member of the Commission may, while serving on

12 the Commission, be otherwise employed as an officer

13 or employee of the Federal Government. Service by

14 a member who is an employee of the Federal Gov15 ernment at the time of nomination as a member

16 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

17 status or privilege.

18 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—At the time appointments

19 are made under paragraph (1), the President shall

20 designate a Chairperson of the Commission (referred

21 to in this section as the ‘‘Chairperson’’) from among

22 the appointees.

23 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall hold

25 its first meeting not later than 30 days after the
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1 date on which all members of the Commission have

2 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.

3 (2) QUORUM.—Two members of the Commis4 sion shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of

5 business.

6 (3) RULES.—The Commission may adopt such

7 rules (consistent with the provisions of this Act) as

8 may be necessary to establish the procedures of the

9 Commission and to govern the manner of operations,

10 organization, and personnel of the Commission.

11 (4) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The principal office of

12 the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia.

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

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

15 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this

16 Act.

17 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—

18 (1) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OFCHAIR19 PERSON.—Subject to such rules and regulations as

20 may be adopted by the Commission, the Chairperson

21 may—

22 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the com23 pensation (without regard to the provisions of

24 title 5, United States Code, governing appoint25 ments in the competitive service, and without
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1 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub2 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title, or of

3 any other provision of law, relating to the num4 ber, classification, and General Schedule rates)

5 of an Executive Director of the Commission and

6 of such other personnel as the Chairperson con7 siders advisable to assist in the performance of

8 the duties of the Commission, at a rate not to

9 exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

10 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level

11 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316

12 of title 5, United States Code; and

13 (B) procure, as authorized by section

14 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, tem15 porary and intermittent services to the same ex16 tent as is authorized by law for agencies in the

17 executive branch, but at rates not to exceed the

18 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay

19 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule

20 under section 5316 of that title.

21 (2) GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF

22 COMMISSION.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may

24 hold such hearings and sit and act at such
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1 times as the Commission considers to be appro2 priate.

3 (B) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—As the Com4 mission may consider advisable, the Commission

5 may—

6 (i) take testimony;

7 (ii) have printing and binding done;

8 (iii) enter into contracts and other ar9 rangements, subject to the availability of

10 funds;

11 (iv) make expenditures; and

12 (v) take other actions.

13 (C) OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS.—Any

14 member of the Commission may administer

15 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing be16 fore the Commission.

17 (3) INFORMATION.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may

19 secure directly from any officer, department,

20 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the

21 Federal Government such information as the

22 Commission may require to carry out this Act.

23 Each such officer, department, agency, estab24 lishment, or instrumentality shall furnish, to

25 the extent permitted by law, such information,
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1 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to

2 the Commission, upon the request of the Chair3 person.

4 (B) FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND DE5 TAILS.—Upon the request of the Chairperson,

6 to assist the Commission in carrying out the

7 duties of the Commission under this section,

8 the head of any Federal department, agency, or

9 instrumentality may—

10 (i) make any of the facilities and serv11 ices of that department, agency, or instru12 mentality available to the Commission; and

13 (ii) detail any of the personnel of that

14 department, agency, or instrumentality to

15 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable

16 basis.

17 (C) MAILS.—The Commission may use the

18 United States mails in the same manner and

19 under the same conditions as other departments

20 and agencies of the United States.

21 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro22 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

23 App.) shall not apply to the Commission.
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1 (g) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis2 sion shall terminate on the date that is 12 years after the

3 date of the first meeting of the Commission.

4 (h) APPOINTMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other

5 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall continue to exer6 cise those authorities vested in the Secretary relating to

7 supervision of Indian recognition regulated under part 83

8 of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations until such

9 time as the Commission is organized and prescribes regu10 lations. The Secretary shall provide staff and support as11 sistance to facilitate an orderly transition to regulation of

12 Indian recognition by the Commission.

13 SEC. 5. DOCUMENTED PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—

15 (1) LETTERS OFINTENT AND DOCUMENTED

16 PETITIONS.—Subject to subsection (d) and except as

17 provided in paragraph (3), any Indian group may

18 submit to the Commission letters of intent and a

19 documented petition requesting that the Commission

20 recognize the group as an Indian tribe.

21 (2) HEARING.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Indian groups that

23 have been denied or refused recognition as an

24 Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by the

25 Secretary shall be entitled to an adjudicatory
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1 hearing under section 9 before the Commission,

2 if the Commission determines that the criteria

3 established by this Act changes the merits of

4 the Indian group’s documented petition sub5 mitted to the Department.

6 (B) HEARING RECORD.—For purposes of

7 subparagraph (A), the Commission shall review

8 the administrative record containing the docu9 mented petition that formed the basis of the de10 termination to the Indian group by the Sec11 retary.

12 (C) TREATMENT OFSECRETARY’S FINAL

13 DETERMINATION.—For purposes of the adju14 dicatory hearing, the Secretary’s final deter15 mination shall be considered a preliminary de16 termination under section 8(b)(1)(B).

17 (D) OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO

18 BE CONSIDERED CONCERNING EVIDENCE OF

19 CRITERIA.—A statement and an analysis of

20 facts submitted under this section may establish

21 that, for any given period of time for which evi22 dence of criteria is lacking, such absence of evi23 dence corresponds in time with official acts of

24 the Federal or relevant State Government

25 which prohibited or penalized the expression of
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1 Indian identity. For such periods of time, the

2 absence of evidence shall not be the basis for

3 declining to acknowledge the petitioner.

4 (3) EXCLUSION.—The following groups and en5 tities shall not be eligible to submit a documented

6 petition for recognition by the Commission under

7 this Act:

8 (A) CERTAIN ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGI9 BLE TO RECEIVE SERVICES FROM THE BU10 REAU.—Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,

11 communities, and Alaska Native entities that

12 are recognized by the Secretary as of the date

13 of enactment of this Act as eligible to receive

14 services from the Bureau.

15 (B) CERTAIN SPLINTER GROUPS, POLIT16 ICAL FACTIONS, AND COMMUNITIES.—Splinter

17 groups, political factions, communities, or

18 groups of any character that separate from the

19 main body of an Indian tribe that, at the time

20 of that separation, is recognized as an Indian

21 tribe by the Secretary, unless the group, fac22 tion, or community is able to establish clearly

23 that the group, faction, or community has func24 tioned throughout history until the date of the
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1 documented petition as an autonomous Indian

2 tribal entity.

3 (C) CERTAIN GROUPS THAT HAVE PRE4 VIOUSLY SUBMITTED DOCUMENTED PETI5 TIONS.—Groups, or successors in interest of

6 groups, that before the date of enactment of

7 this Act, have petitioned for and been denied or

8 refused recognition based on the merits of their

9 petition as an Indian tribe under regulations

10 prescribed by the Secretary (other than an In11 dian group described in paragraph (2)(A)).

12 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con13 strued as excluding any group that Congress

14 has identified as Indian, but has not identified

15 as an Indian tribe.

16 (D) INDIAN GROUPS SUBJECT TO TERMI17 NATION.—Any Indian group whose relationship

18 with the Federal Government was expressly ter19 minated by an Act of Congress.

20 (4) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTED PETITION.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

22 other provision of law, not later than 30 days

23 after the date on which all of the members of

24 the Commission have been appointed and con25 firmed by the Senate under section 4(b), the
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1 Secretary shall transfer to the Commission all

2 documented petitions and letters of intent pend3 ing before the Department that request the Sec4 retary to recognize or acknowledge an Indian

5 group as an Indian tribe.

6 (B) CESSATION OFCERTAIN AUTHORITIES

7 OFSECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any other

8 provision of law, on the date of the transfer

9 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the

10 Department shall cease to have any authority to

11 recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Fed12 eral Government, any Indian group as an In13 dian tribe.

14 (C) DETERMINATION OFORDER OFSUB15 MISSION OFTRANSFERRED DOCUMENTED PETI16 TIONS.—Documented petitions transferred to

17 the Commission under subparagraph (A) shall,

18 for purposes of this Act, be considered as hav19 ing been submitted to the Commission in the

20 same order as those documented petitions were

21 submitted to the Department.

22 (b) DOCUMENTED PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—

23 Except as provided in subsection (c), any documented peti24 tion submitted under subsection (a) by an Indian group

25 shall be in any readable form that clearly indicates that
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1 the documented petition is a documented petition request2 ing the Commission to recognize the Indian group as an

3 Indian tribe and that contains detailed, specific evidence

4 concerning each of the following items:

5 (1) STATEMENT OFFACTS.—A statement of

6 facts and an analysis of such facts establishing that

7 the petitioner has been identified as an American In8 dian entity on a substantially continuous basis since

9 1900. Evidence that the character of the group as

10 an Indian entity has from time to time been denied

11 shall not be considered to be conclusive evidence that

12 this criterion has not been met. Evidence that the

13 Commission may rely on in determining the Indian

14 identity of a group may include any 1 or more of the

15 following items:

16 (A) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER.—An

17 identification of the petitioner as an Indian en18 tity by any department, agency, or instrumen19 tality of the Federal Government.

20 (B) RELATIONSHIP OFPETITIONER WITH

21 STATE GOVERNMENT.—A relationship between

22 the petitioner and any State government, based

23 on an identification of the petitioner as an In24 dian entity.
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1 (C) RELATIONSHIP OFPETITIONER WITH

2 A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OFA STATE.—Deal3 ings of the petitioner with a county or political

4 subdivision of a State in a relationship based on

5 the Indian identity of the petitioner.

6 (D) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER ON

7 THE BASIS OFCERTAIN RECORDS.—An identi8 fication of the petitioner as an Indian entity by

9 records in a private or public archive, court10 house, church, or school.

11 (E) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

12 CERTAIN EXPERTS.—An identification of the

13 petitioner as an Indian entity by an anthropolo14 gist, historian, or other scholar.

15 (F) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

16 CERTAIN MEDIA.—An identification of the peti17 tioner as an Indian entity in a newspaper, book,

18 or similar medium.

19 (G) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY

20 ANOTHER INDIAN TRIBE OR ORGANIZATION.—

21 An identification of the petitioner as an Indian

22 entity by another Indian tribe or by a national,

23 regional, or State Indian organization.

24 (H) IDENTIFICATION OF PETITIONER BY A

25 FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OR INTERNATIONAL OR-
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1 GANIZATION.—An identification of the peti2 tioner as an Indian entity by a foreign govern3 ment or an international organization.

4 (I) OTHER EVIDENCE OFIDENTIFICA5 TION.—Such other evidence of identification as

6 may be provided by a person or entity other

7 than the petitioner or a member of the member8 ship of the petitioner.

9 (2) EVIDENCE OFCOMMUNITY.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A statement of facts

11 and an analysis of such facts establishing that

12 a predominant portion of the membership of the

13 petitioner—

14 (i) comprises a community distinct

15 from those communities surrounding that

16 community; and

17 (ii) has existed as a community from

18 historical times to the present.

19 (B) EVIDENCE.—Evidence that the Com20 mission may rely on in determining that the pe21 titioner meets the criteria described in clauses

22 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) may include 1

23 or more of the following items:

24 (i) MARRIAGES.—Significant rates of

25 marriage within the group, or, as may be
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1 culturally required, patterned out-mar2 riages with other Indian populations.

3 (ii) SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.—Signifi4 cant social relationships connecting indi5 vidual members.

6 (iii) SOCIAL INTERACTION.—Signifi7 cant rates of informal social interaction

8 which exist broadly among the members of

9 a group.

10 (iv) SHARED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.—A

11 significant degree of shared or cooperative

12 labor or other economic activity among the

13 membership.

14 (v) DISCRIMINATION OR OTHER SO15 CIAL DISTINCTIONS.—Evidence of strong

16 patterns of discrimination or other social

17 distinctions by nonmembers.

18 (vi) SHARED RITUAL ACTIVITY.—

19 Shared sacred or secular ritual activity en20 compassing most of the group.

21 (vii) CULTURAL PATTERNS.—Cultural

22 patterns that—

23 (I) are shared among a signifi24 cant portion of the group that are dif25 ferent from the cultural patterns of
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1 the non-Indian populations with whom

2 the group interacts;

3 (II) function as more than a

4 symbolic identification of the group as

5 Indian; and

6 (III) may include language, kin7 ship, or religious organizations, or re8 ligious beliefs and practices.

9 (viii) COLLECTIVE INDIAN IDEN10 TITY.—The persistence of a named, collec11 tive Indian identity continuously over a pe12 riod of more than 50 years, notwith13 standing changes in name.

14 (ix) HISTORICAL POLITICAL INFLU15 ENCE.—A demonstration of historical po16 litical influence pursuant to the criteria set

17 forth in paragraph (3).

18 (x) EXTENDED KINSHIP TIES.—Not

19 less than 50 percent of the tribal members

20 exhibit collateral kinship ties through gen21 erations to the third degree.

22 (C) CRITERIA FOR SUFFICIENT EVI23 DENCE.—The Commission shall consider the

24 petitioner to have provided sufficient evidence

25 of community at a given point in time if the pe-
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1 titioner has provided evidence that dem2 onstrates any one of the following:

3 (i) RESIDENCE OFMEMBERS.—More

4 than 50 percent of the members of the

5 group of the petitioner reside in a par6 ticular geographical area exclusively or al7 most exclusively composed of members of

8 the group, and the balance of the group

9 maintains consistent social interaction with

10 some members of the community.

(ii) MARRIAGES.—Not less than 1 11 ⁄3 of

12 the marriages of the group are between

13 members of the group.

14 (iii) DISTINCT CULTURAL PAT15 TERNS.—Not less than 50 percent of the

16 members of the group maintain distinct

17 cultural patterns including language, kin18 ship, or religious organizations, or religious

19 beliefs or practices.

20 (iv) COMMUNITY SOCIAL INSTITU21 TIONS.—Distinct community social institu22 tions encompassing 50 percent of the mem23 bers of the group, such as kinship organi24 zations, formal or informal economic co25 operation, or religious organizations.
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1 (v) APPLICABILITY OFCRITERIA.—

2 The group has met the criterion in para3 graph (3) using evidence described in para4 graph (3)(B).

5 (3) AUTONOMOUS ENTITY.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A statement of facts

7 and an analysis of such facts establishing that

8 the petitioner has maintained political influence

9 or authority over its members as an autono10 mous entity from historical times until the time

11 of the documented petition. The Commission

12 may rely on 1 or more of the following items in

13 determining whether a petitioner meets the cri14 terion described in the preceding sentence:

15 (i) MOBILIZATION OFMEMBERS.—

16 The group is capable of mobilizing signifi17 cant numbers of members and significant

18 resources from its members for group pur19 poses.

20 (ii) ISSUES OFPERSONAL IMPOR21 TANCE.—Most of the membership of the

22 group consider issues acted upon or taken

23 by group leaders or governing bodies to be

24 of personal importance.
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1 (iii) POLITICAL PROCESS.—There is

2 widespread knowledge, communication, and

3 involvement in political processes by most

4 of the members of the group.

5 (iv) LEVEL OFAPPLICATION OFCRI6 TERIA.—The group meets the criterion de7 scribed in paragraph (2) at more than a

8 minimal level.

9 (v) INTRAGROUP CONFLICTS.—There

10 are intragroup conflicts which show con11 troversy over valued group goals, prop12 erties, policies, processes, or decisions.

13 (vi) CONTINUOUS LINE OFGROUP

14 LEADERS.—A continuous line of group

15 leaders with a description of the means of

16 selection or acquiescence by a majority of

17 the group’s members.

18 (B) EVIDENCE OFEXERCISE OFPOLITICAL

19 INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—The Commission

20 shall consider that a petitioner has provided

21 sufficient evidence to demonstrate the exercise

22 of political influence or authority at a given

23 point in time by demonstrating that group lead24 ers or other mechanisms exist or have existed

25 that accomplish the following:
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1 (i) ALLOCATION OFGROUP RE2 SOURCES.—Allocate group resources such

3 as land, residence rights, or similar re4 sources on a consistent basis.

5 (ii) SETTLEMENT OFDISPUTES.—Set6 tle disputes between members or subgroups

7 such as clans or lineages by mediation or

8 other means on a regular basis.

9 (iii) INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOR OF IN10 DIVIDUAL MEMBERS.—Exert strong influ11 ence on the behavior of individual mem12 bers, such as the establishment or mainte13 nance of norms and the enforcement of

14 sanctions to direct or control behavior.

15 (iv) ECONOMIC SUBSISTENCE ACTIVI16 TIES.—Organize or influence economic

17 subsistence activities among the members,

18 including shared or cooperative labor.

19 (C) TEMPORALITY OF SUFFICIENCY OF

20 EVIDENCE.—A group that has met the require21 ments of paragraph (2)(C) at any point in time

22 shall be considered to have provided sufficient

23 evidence to meet the criterion described in sub24 paragraph (A) at that point in time.
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1 (4) GOVERNING DOCUMENT.—A copy of the

2 then present governing document of the petitioner

3 that includes the membership criteria of the peti4 tioner. In the absence of a written document, the pe5 titioner shall be required to provide a statement de6 scribing in full the membership criteria of the peti7 tioner and the then current governing procedures of

8 the petitioner.

9 (5) LIST OFMEMBERS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A list of all then cur11 rent members of the petitioner, including the

12 full name (and maiden name, if any), date, and

13 place of birth, and then current residential ad14 dress of each member, a copy of each available

15 former list of members based on the criteria de16 fined by the petitioner, and a statement describ17 ing the methods used in preparing those lists.

18 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.—

19 In order for the Commission to consider the

20 members of the group to be members of an In21 dian tribe for the purposes of the documented

22 petition, that membership shall be required to

23 consist of established descendancy from an In24 dian group that existed historically, or from his-
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•HR 1175 IH

1 torical Indian groups that combined and func2 tioned as a single autonomous entity.

3 (C) EVIDENCE OFTRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.—

4 Evidence of tribal membership required by the

5 Commission for a determination of tribal mem6 bership shall include the following items:

7 (i) DESCENDANCY ROLLS.—

8 Descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec9 retary for the petitioner for purposes of

10 distributing claims money, providing allot11 ments, or other purposes.

12 (ii) CERTAIN OFFICIAL RECORDS.—

13 Federal, State, or other official records or

14 evidence identifying then present members

15 of the petitioner, or ancestors of then

16 present members of the petitioner, as being

17 descendants of a historic tribe or historic

18 tribes that combined and functioned as a

19 single autonomous political entity.

20 (iii) ENROLLMENT RECORDS.—

21 Church, school, and other similar enroll22 ment records identifying then present

23 members or ancestors of then present

24 members as being descendants of a historic

25 tribe or historic tribes that combined and
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1 functioned as a single autonomous political

2 entity.

3 (iv) AFFIDAVITS OF RECOGNITION.—

4 Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders,

5 leaders, or the tribal governing body identi6 fying then present members or ancestors of

7 then present members as being descend8 ants of 1 or more historic tribes that com9 bined and functioned as a single autono10 mous political entity.

11 (v) OTHER RECORDS OR EVIDENCE.—

12 Other records or evidence based upon first13 hand experience of historians, anthropolo14 gists, and genealogists with established ex15 pertise on the petitioner or Indian entities

16 in general, identifying then present mem17 bers or ancestors of then present members

18 as being descendants of 1 or more historic

19 tribes that combined and functioned as a

20 single autonomous political entity.

21 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—A documented petition from an

22 Indian group that is able to demonstrate by a preponder23 ance of the evidence that the group was, or is the suc24 cessor in interest to, a—

25 (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 under

3 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as

4 the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (48 Stat. 984 et

5 seq., chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.);

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

7 States took into trust lands, or which the Federal

8 Government has treated as having collective rights

9 in tribal lands or funds; or

10 (4) group that has been denominated a tribe by

11 an Act of Congress or Executive order,

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

13 section only with respect to the period beginning on the

14 date of the applicable action described in paragraph (1),

15 (2), (3), or (4) and ending on the date of submission of

16 the documented petition.

17 (d) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—

18 (1) DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.—No Indian

19 group may submit a documented petition to the

20 Commission after 8 years after the date of the first

21 meeting of the Commission.

22 (2) LETTERS OFINTENT.—In the case of a let23 ter of intent, the Commission shall publish in the

24 Federal Register a notice of such receipt, including

25 the name, location, and mailing address of the peti-
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1 tioner. A petitioner who has submitted a letter of in2 tent or had a letter of intent transferred to the Com3 mission under section 5 shall be required to submit

4 a documented petition within 3 years after the date

5 of the first meeting of the Commission to the Com6 mission. No letters of intent will be accepted by the

7 Commission after 3 years after the date of the first

8 meeting of the Commission.

9 SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF DOCUMENTED PETITION.

10 (a) PETITIONER.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

12 a documented petition is submitted or transferred to

13 the Commission under section 5(a), the Commission

14 shall—

15 (A) send an acknowledgement of receipt in

16 writing to the petitioner; and

17 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no18 tice of that receipt, including the name, loca19 tion, and mailing address of the petitioner and

20 such other information that—

21 (i) identifies the entity that submitted

22 the documented petition and the date the

23 documented petition was received by the

24 Commission;
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1 (ii) indicates where a copy of the doc2 umented petition may be examined; and

3 (iii) indicates whether the documented

4 petition is a transferred documented peti5 tion that is subject to the special provi6 sions under paragraph (2).

7 (2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TRANSFERRED

8 DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a docu10 mented petition that is transferred to the Com11 mission under section 5(a)(4), the notice pro12 vided to the petitioner, shall, in addition to pro13 viding the information specified in paragraph

14 (1), inform the petitioner whether the docu15 mented petition constitutes a documented peti16 tion that meets the requirements of section 5.

17 (B) AMENDED PETITIONS.—If the petition

18 described in subparagraph (A) is not a docu19 mented petition, the Commission shall notify

20 the petitioner that the petitioner may, not later

21 than 120 days after the date of the notice, sub22 mit to the Commission an amended petition

23 that is a documented petition for review under

24 section 7.
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•HR 1175 IH

1 (C) EFFECT OF AMENDED PETITION.—To

2 the extent practicable, the submission of an

3 amended petition by a petitioner by the date

4 specified in this paragraph shall not affect the

5 order of consideration of the petition by the

6 Commission.

7 (b) OTHERS.—In addition to providing the notifica8 tion required under subsection (a), the Commission shall

9 notify, in writing, the Governor and attorney general of,

10 and each federally recognized Indian tribe within, any

11 State in which a petitioner resides.

12 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

13 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—

14 (1) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall pub15 lish the notice of receipt of each documented petition

16 (including any amended petition submitted pursuant

17 to subsection (a)(2)) in a major newspaper of gen18 eral circulation in the town or city located nearest

19 the location of the petitioner.

20 (2) OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING OR OPPOS21 ING SUBMISSIONS.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each notice published

23 under paragraph (1) shall include, in addition

24 to the information described in subsection (a),

25 notice of opportunity for other parties involved
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1 with the petitioners to submit factual or legal

2 arguments in support of, or in opposition to,

3 the documented petition.

4 (B) COPY TO PETITIONER.—A copy of any

5 submission made under subparagraph (A) shall

6 be provided to the petitioner within 90 days

7 upon receipt by the Commission.

8 (C) RESPONSE.—The petitioner shall be

9 provided an opportunity to respond within 90

10 days to any submission made under subpara11 graph (A) before a determination on the docu12 mented petition by the Commission.

13 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE DOCUMENTED PETITION.

14 (a) REVIEW.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a docu16 mented petition submitted or transferred under sec17 tion 5(a) or submitted under section 6(a)(2)(B), the

18 Commission shall conduct a review to determine

19 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as

20 an Indian tribe.

21 (2) CONTENT OFREVIEW.—The review con22 ducted under paragraph (1) shall include consider23 ation of the documented petition, supporting evi24 dence, and the factual statements contained in the

25 documented petition.
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1 (3) OTHER RESEARCH.—In conducting a review

2 under this subsection, the Commission may—

3 (A) initiate other research for any purpose

4 relative to analyzing the documented petition

5 and obtaining additional information about the

6 status of the petitioner; and

7 (B) consider such evidence as may be sub8 mitted by interested parties.

9 (4) ACCESS TO LIBRARY OFCONGRESS AND NA10 TIONAL ARCHIVES.—Upon request by the petitioner,

11 the appropriate officials of the Library of Congress

12 and the National Archives shall allow access by the

13 petitioner to the resources, records, and documents

14 of those entities, for the purpose of conducting re15 search and preparing evidence concerning the status

16 of the petitioner.

17 (b) CONSIDERATION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro19 vided in this subsection, documented petitions sub20 mitted or transferred to the Commission shall be

21 considered on a first come, first served basis, deter22 mined by the date of the original filing of each such

23 documented petition with the Commission (or the

24 Department if the documented petition is trans25 ferred to the Commission pursuant to section
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1 5(a)(4) or is an amended petition submitted pursu2 ant to section 6(a)(2)(B)). The Commission shall es3 tablish a priority register that includes documented

4 petitions that are pending before the Department as

5 of the date of the first meeting of the Commission.

6 (2) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—Each docu7 mented petition (that is submitted or transferred to

8 the Commission pursuant to section 5(a) or that is

9 submitted to the Commission pursuant to section

10 6(a)(2)(B)) of an Indian group that meets 1 or more

11 of the requirements set forth in section 5(c) shall re12 ceive priority consideration over a documented peti13 tion submitted by any other Indian group.

14 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

16 receipt of a documented petition by the Commission sub17 mitted or transferred under section 5(a) or submitted to

18 the Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B), the Com19 mission shall set a date for a preliminary hearing, which

20 shall in no instance be held later than 180 days after re21 ceipt of the documented petition. At the preliminary hear22 ing, the petitioner and any other interested party may pro23 vide evidence concerning the status of the petitioner.

24 (b) DETERMINATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

2 the conclusion of a preliminary hearing under sub3 section (a), the Commission shall make a

4 determination—

5 (A) to extend Federal acknowledgment of

6 the petitioner as an Indian tribe to the peti7 tioner; or

8 (B) that the petitioner should proceed to

9 an adjudicatory hearing.

10 (2) NOTICE OFDETERMINATION.—The Com11 mission shall publish in the Federal Register a no12 tice of each determination made under paragraph

13 (1).

14 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

15 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission makes a

17 determination under subsection (b)(1)(B) that the

18 petitioner should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing,

19 the Commission shall—

20 (A)(i) not later than 30 days after the date

21 of such determination, make available appro22 priate evidentiary records of the Commission to

23 the petitioner to assist the petitioner in pre24 paring for the adjudicatory hearing; and
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1 (ii) include such guidance as the Commis2 sion considers necessary or appropriate to assist

3 the petitioner in preparing for the hearing; and

4 (B) not later than 30 days after the con5 clusion of the preliminary hearing under sub6 section (a), provide a written notification to the

7 petitioner that includes a list of any deficiencies

8 or omissions that the Commission relied on in

9 making a determination under subsection

10 (b)(1)(B).

11 (2) SUBJECT OFADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

12 The list of deficiencies and omissions provided by

13 the Commission to a petitioner under paragraph

14 (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adjudicatory hear15 ing. The Commission may not make any additions to

16 the list after the Commission issues the list.

17 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

19 conclusion of a preliminary hearing under section 8(a), the

20 Commission shall afford a petitioner who is subject to sec21 tion 8(b)(1)(B) an adjudicatory hearing. The subject of

22 the adjudicatory hearing shall be the list of deficiencies

23 and omissions provided under section 8(c)(1)(B) and shall

24 be conducted pursuant to sections 554, 556, and 557 of

25 title 5, United States Code.
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1 (b) TESTIMONY FROM STAFF OF COMMISSION.—In

2 any hearing held under subsection (a), the Commission

3 shall require testimony from the acknowledgement and re4 search staff of the Commission or other witnesses involved

5 in the preliminary determination. Any such testimony

6 shall be subject to cross-examination by the petitioner.

7 (c) EVIDENCE BY PETITIONER.—In any hearing held

8 under subsection (a), the petitioner may provide such evi9 dence as the petitioner considers appropriate.

10 (d) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later

11 than 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing held

12 under subsection (a), the Commission shall—

13 (1) make a determination concerning the exten14 sion or denial of Federal acknowledgment of the pe15 titioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner;

16 (2) publish the determination of the Commis17 sion under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register;

18 and

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

20 petitioner, and to every other interested party.

21 SEC. 10. APPEALS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

23 date that the Commission publishes a determination under

24 section 9(d), the petitioner may appeal the determination
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1 to the United States District Court for the District of Co2 lumbia.

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

4 an appeal made under subsection (a), the petitioner shall

5 be eligible for an award of reasonable attorney fees and

6 costs under section 504 of title 5, United States Code,

7 or section 2412 of title 28, United States Code, whichever

8 is applicable.

9 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS.

10 A determination by the Commission under section

11 9(d) that an Indian group is recognized by the Federal

12 Government as an Indian tribe shall not have the effect

13 of depriving or diminishing—

14 (1) the right of any other Indian tribe to govern

15 the reservation of such other tribe as that reserva16 tion existed before the recognition of that Indian

17 group, or as that reservation may exist thereafter;

18 (2) any property right held in trust or recog19 nized by the United States for that other Indian

20 tribe as that property existed before the recognition

21 of that Indian group; or

22 (3) any previously or independently existing

23 claim by a petitioner to any such property right held

24 in trust by the United States for that other Indian
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1 tribe before the recognition by the Federal Govern2 ment of that Indian group as an Indian tribe.

3 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

4 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

6 upon recognition by the Commission of a petitioner

7 as an Indian tribe under this Act, the Indian tribe

8 shall—

9 (A) be eligible for the services and benefits

10 from the Federal Government that are available

11 to other federally recognized Indian tribes by

12 virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a

13 government-to-government relationship with the

14 United States; and

15 (B) have the responsibilities, obligations,

16 privileges, and immunities of those Indian

17 tribes.

18 (2) PROGRAMS OFTHE BUREAU.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The recognition of an

20 Indian group as an Indian tribe by the Commis21 sion under this Act shall not create an imme22 diate entitlement to programs of the Bureau in

23 existence on the date of the recognition.

24 (B) AVAILABILITY OFPROGRAMS.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The programs de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall become

3 available to the Indian tribe upon the ap4 propriation of funds.

5 (ii) REQUESTS FOR APPROPRIA6 TIONS.—The Secretary and the Secretary

7 of Health and Human Services shall for8 ward budget requests for funding the pro9 grams for the Indian tribe pursuant to the

10 needs determination procedures established

11 under subsection (b).

12 (b) NEEDS DETERMINATION AND BUDGET RE13 QUEST.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

15 after an Indian group is recognized by the Commis16 sion as an Indian tribe under this Act, the appro17 priate officials of the Bureau and the Indian Health

18 Service of the Department of Health and Human

19 Services shall consult and develop in cooperation

20 with the Indian tribe, and forward to the Secretary

21 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as

22 appropriate, a determination of the needs of the In23 dian tribe and a recommended budget required to

24 serve the newly recognized Indian tribe.
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1 (2) SUBMISSION OFBUDGET REQUEST.—Upon

2 receipt of the information described in paragraph

3 (1), the appropriate Secretary shall submit to the

4 President a recommended budget along with rec5 ommendations, concerning the information received

6 under paragraph (1), for inclusion in the annual

7 budget submitted by the President to the Congress

8 pursuant to section 1108 of title 31, United States

9 Code.

10 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC11 TIVITIES.

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

13 90 days after the first meeting of the Commission, and

14 annually on or before each January 30 thereafter, the

15 Commission shall publish in the Federal Register a list

16 of all Indian tribes that—

17 (1) are recognized by the Federal Government;

18 and

19 (2) receive services from the Bureau.

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that

22 is 1 year after the date of the first meeting of the

23 Commission, and annually thereafter, the Commis24 sion shall prepare and submit a report to the Com25 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
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1 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives

2 that describes the activities of the Commission.

3 (2) CONTENT OFREPORTS.—Each report sub4 mitted under this subsection shall include, at a min5 imum, for the year that is the subject of the

6 report—

7 (A) the number of documented petitions

8 pending at the beginning of the year and the

9 names of the petitioners;

10 (B) the number of documented petitions

11 received during the year and the names of the

12 petitioners;

13 (C) the number of documented petitions

14 the Commission approved for acknowledgment

15 during the year and the names of the acknowl16 edged petitioners;

17 (D) the number of documented petitions

18 the Commission denied for acknowledgment

19 during the year and the names of the peti20 tioners; and

21 (E) the status of all pending documented

22 petitions on the date of the report and the

23 names of the petitioners.
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1 SEC. 14. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.

2 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district

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

4 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for

5 the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this

6 Act, including any time limitations within which actions

7 are required to be taken, or decisions made, under this

8 Act. The district court shall issue such orders (including

9 writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce the

10 provisions of this Act.

11 SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.

12 The Commission may, in accordance with applicable

13 requirements of title 5, United States Code, promulgate

14 and publish such regulations as may be necessary to carry

15 out this Act.

16 SEC. 16. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.

17 (a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 90 days after the

18 date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Commis19 sion shall make available to Indian groups suggested

20 guidelines for the format of documented petitions, includ21 ing general suggestions and guidelines concerning where

22 and how to research information that is required to be

23 included in a documented petition. The examples included

24 in the guidelines shall not preclude the use of any other

25 appropriate format.
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1 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission may, upon

2 request, provide suggestions and advice to any petitioner

3 with respect to the research of the petitioner concerning

4 the historical background and Indian identity of that peti5 tioner. The Commission shall not be responsible for con6 ducting research on behalf of the petitioner.

7 SEC. 17. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.

8 (a) GRANTS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

10 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups

11 seeking Federal recognition as Indian tribes to en12 able the Indian groups to—

13 (A) conduct the research necessary to sub14 stantiate documented petitions under this Act;

15 and

16 (B) prepare documentation necessary for

17 the submission of a documented petition under

18 this Act.

19 (2) TREATMENT OFGRANTS.—The grants

20 made under this subsection shall be in addition to

21 any other grants the Secretary of Health and

22 Human Services is authorized to provide under any

23 other provision of law.

24 (b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—The grants made under

25 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively on the basis
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1 of objective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated

2 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

3 SEC. 18. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN PRIVILEGED INFORMA4 TION.

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the

6 effective date of this Act, when responding to any requests

7 for information on petitions and related materials filed by

8 a group seeking Federal recognition as an Indian tribe

9 pursuant to part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal

10 Regulations, including petitions and related materials

11 transferred to the Commission from the Department

12 under section 5(a)(4), as well as related materials located

13 within the Department that have yet to be transferred to

14 the Commission, the Department and the Commission

15 shall exclude materials identified by the petitioning group

16 as information related to religious practices or sacred

17 sites, and which the group is forbidden to disclose except

18 for the limited purpose of Department and Commission

19 review.

20 SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to the Commission to carry out this Act (other

23 than section 17) such sums as are necessary for each of

24 fiscal years 2002 through 2014.
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1 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to

2 be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human

3 Services to carry out section 17 such sums as are nec4 essary for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2014.

Æ