II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2442 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land and mineral 

rights on the reservation of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana 

and other culturally important land into trust for the benefit of the 

Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 5, 2014 

Mr. WALSH (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land 

and mineral rights on the reservation of the Northern 

Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and other culturally important land into trust for the benefit of the Northern 

Cheyenne Tribe, 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 ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

5 Lands Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has depended 

2 on the land of the Tribe and the land-based re3 sources of the Tribe to support its way of life since 

4 time immemorial; 

5 (2) the Tribe has made supreme and historic 

6 sacrifices to repossess and maintain the homeland of 

7 the Tribe, including the Reservation of the Tribe in 

8 the State of Montana; 

9 (3) the Tribe suffers from tremendous social 

10 and economic challenges, including a lack of employ11 ment opportunities on the Reservation, which can be 

12 improved by strengthening the control of the Tribe 

13 over the land base, natural resources, and trust 

14 funds of the Tribe; 

15 (4) the Tribe seeks a variety of resolutions to 

16 outstanding legal obstacles that have prevented the 

17 Tribe from consolidating subsurface and surface 

18 trust ownership on the Reservation; 

19 (5) the Tribe and the members of the Tribe are 

20 the beneficial owners of more than 95 percent of the 

21 surface land of the Reservation and all but approxi22 mately 5,000 subsurface acres of the Reservation; 

23 (6) the Tribe seeks to obtain ownership of ap24 proximately 5,000 subsurface acres on the Reserva25 tion that the Tribe does not own as a result of an 


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1 error made by the United States when the Reserva2 tion was expanded in 1900; 

3 (7) in 2002, the Tribe agreed by settlement to 

4 dismiss a lawsuit against the United States which 

5 alleged that the United States failed to protect the 

6 Reservation from the impacts of coal development in 

7 return for assistance in securing tribal ownership of 

8 the subsurface rights described in paragraph (6) 

9 substantially in the form of this Act, and to secure 

10 mitigation funding to address the impacts of coal de11 velopment in areas adjacent to the Reservation, 

12 among other conditions; 

13 (8) to increase tribal ownership of the surface 

14 land, the Tribe has purchased approximately 932 

15 acres of land within the Reservation that were, for 

16 various reasons, taken out of trust ownership status; 

17 (9) the Tribe has purchased approximately 635 

18 acres of land near Bear Butte, South Dakota, which 

19 the Tribe considers sacred ground for the members 

20 of the Tribe, as well as for members of other Indian 

21 tribes; 

22 (10) the Tribe seeks to have the land and sub23 surface within the Reservation and the Bear Butte 

24 land described in this section taken into trust by the 

25 United States for the benefit of the Tribe; 


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1 (11) the Tribe seeks clarification, consistent 

2 with the 1999 settlement with the United States, 

3 that the principal of the funds arising from the 

4 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Rights 

5 Settlement Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–374; 106 

6 Stat. 1186; 108 Stat. 707), the earnings from which 

7 are paid to the Tribe and managed as the ‘‘Northern 

8 Cheyenne Trust Fund’’ by the Office of Special 

9 Trustee, may be transferred to the Northern Chey10 enne Tribe Permanent Fund, which has historically 

11 provided strong returns to the Tribe in direct sup12 port of tribal self-determination and to offset limited 

13 Federal funding of important tribal governmental 

14 services; and 

15 (12) if the conveyances of land and funds au16 thorized under this Act are carried out, the Tribe 

17 has agreed to waive all legal claims against the 

18 United States arising out of the longstanding loss of 

19 the subsurface rights and the management of the 

20 Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund by the United 

21 States. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

25 Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund identified in the 


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1 June 7, 1999 Agreement Settling Certain Issues Re2 lating to the Tongue River Dam Project, which was 

3 entered into by the Tribe, the State, and delegates 

4 of the Secretary, and managed by the Office of Spe5 cial Trustee in the Department of the Interior. 

6 (2) GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES.—The term 

7 ‘‘Great Northern Properties’’ means the Great 

8 Northern Properties Limited Partnership, which is a 

9 Delaware limited partnership. 

10 (3) PERMANENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Permanent 

11 Fund’’ means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Perma12 nent Fund managed by the Tribe pursuant to the 

13 Plan for Investment, Management and Use of the 

14 Fund, as amended by vote of the tribal membership 

15 on November 2, 2010. 

16 (4) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 

17 means the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. 

18 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of the Interior. 

20 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

21 of Montana. 

22 (7) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

23 Northern Cheyenne Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 4. TRIBAL FEE LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST. 

2 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary shall take into trust for the ben4 efit of the Tribe the approximately 1,567 acres of land 

5 depicted on— 

6 (1) the map entitled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

7 Lands Act – Fee-to-Trust Lands’’ and dated April 

8 22, 2014; and 

9 (2) the map entitled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

10 Lands Act – Fee-to-Trust Lands – Lame Deer 

11 Townsite’’ and dated April 22, 2014. 

12 SEC. 5. MINERAL RIGHTS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST. 

13 (a) COMPLETION OF MINERAL CONVEYANCES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

15 the date on which the Secretary receives the notifica16 tion described in subsection (c), in a single trans17 action— 

18 (A) Great Northern Properties shall convey 

19 to the Tribe all right, title, and interest of 

20 Great Northern Properties, consisting of coal 

21 and iron ore mineral interests, underlying the 

22 land on the Reservation generally depicted as 

23 ‘‘Great Northern Properties’’ on the map enti24 tled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Land Act – Coal 

25 Tracts’’ and dated April 22, 2014; and 


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1 (B) subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 

2 shall convey to Great Northern Properties all 

3 right, title, and interest of the United States in 

4 and to the coal mineral interests underlying the 

5 land generally depicted as ‘‘Bull Mountains’’ 

6 and ‘‘East Fork’’ on the map entitled ‘‘North7 ern Cheyenne Federal Tracts’’ and dated April 

8 22, 2014. 

9 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall en10 sure that the deed for the conveyance authorized by 

11 paragraph (1)(B) shall include a covenant running 

12 with the land that— 

13 (A) precludes the coal conveyed from being 

14 mined by any method other than underground 

15 mining techniques— 

16 (i) until any surface owner (as defined 

17 in section 714(e) of Public Law 95–87 (30 

18 U.S.C. 1304(e))) for a specific tract has 

19 provided to Great Northern Properties 

20 written consent to enter the specific tract 

21 and commence surface mining; and 

22 (ii) except as determined to be accept23 able for further consideration for leasing in 

24 the document of the Bureau of Land Man25 agement entitled ‘‘Billings Resource Area 


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1 Final EIS and Resource Management 

2 Plan’’ and dated September 1984; and 

3 (B) shall not create any property interest 

4 in the United States or any surface owner (as 

5 defined in section 714(e) of Public Law 95–87 

6 (30 U.S.C. 1304(e))). 

7 (b) TREATMENT OF LAND TRANSFERRED TO

8 TRIBE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Tribe, 

10 the Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit of 

11 the Tribe the mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe 

12 under subsection (a)(1)(A). 

13 (2) NO STATE TAXATION.—The mineral inter14 ests conveyed to the Tribe under subsection 

15 (a)(1)(A) shall not be subject to taxation by the 

16 State (including any political subdivision of the 

17 State). 

18 (c) REVENUE SHARING AGREEMENT.—The Tribe 

19 shall notify the Secretary, in writing, that— 

20 (1) consistent with a settlement agreement en21 tered into between the Tribe and the State in 2002, 

22 the Tribe and Great Northern Properties have 

23 agreed on a formula for sharing revenue from devel24 opment of the mineral interests described in subVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:44 Jun 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2442.IS S2442

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1 section (a)(1)(B) if those mineral interests are devel2 oped; 

3 (2) the revenue sharing agreement remains in 

4 effect as of the date of enactment of this Act; and 

5 (3) Great Northern Properties has offered to 

6 convey the mineral interests described in subsection 

7 (a)(1)(A) to the Tribe. 

8 (d) WAIVER OF LEGAL CLAIMS.—As a condition of 

9 the conveyances of mineral interests under subsection 

10 (a)(1)— 

11 (1) the Tribe shall waive any and all claims re12 lating to the failure of the United States to acquire 

13 and take into trust on behalf of the Tribe the min14 eral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(A), as 

15 directed by Congress in 1900; and 

16 (2) Great Northern Properties shall waive any 

17 and all claims against the United States relating to 

18 the value of the coal mineral interests described in 

19 subsection (a)(1)(B). 

20 (e) RESCISSION OF MINERAL CONVEYANCES.—If any 

21 portion of the mineral interests conveyed under subsection 

22 (a)(1) is invalidated by final judgment of a court of the 

23 United States— 

24 (1) not later than 1 year after the date on 

25 which the final judgment is rendered, the Secretary 


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1 or Great Northern Properties may agree to rescind 

2 the conveyances under subsection (a)(1); and 

3 (2) if the conveyances are rescinded under 

4 paragraph (1), the waivers under subsection (d) 

5 shall no longer apply. 

6 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF NORTHERN CHEYENNE TRUST FUND 

7 TO TRIBE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, all amounts in the Fund 

10 shall be deposited in the Permanent Fund. 

11 (b) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Of the amounts transferred 

12 to the Permanent Fund under subsection (a)— 

13 (1) the portion that is attributable to the prin14 cipal of the Fund shall be maintained in perpetuity; 

15 and 

16 (2) any interest earned on the amounts de17 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be used in the same 

18 manner as interest earned on amounts in the Per19 manent Fund may be used. 

20 (c) WAIVER OF LEGAL CLAIMS.—As a condition of 

21 the transfer under subsection (a), the Tribe shall waive 

22 any and all claims arising from the management of the 

23 Fund by the United States. 


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1 SEC. 7. LAND CONSOLIDATION AND FRACTIONATION RE2 PORTING. 

3 (a) INVENTORY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta5 tion with the Tribe, shall prepare an inventory of 

6 fractionated land interests held by the United States 

7 in trust for the benefit of— 

8 (A) the Tribe; or 

9 (B) individual Indians on the Reservation. 

10 (2) AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.—The inventory 

11 prepared by the Secretary under this subsection 

12 shall include details currently available about 

13 fractionated land on the Reservation suitable for ag14 ricultural purposes. 

15 (3) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

16 the inventory prepared under this subsection to the 

17 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 

18 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

19 Representatives by not later than 180 days after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the Tribe, shall prepare periodic reports 

24 regarding obstacles to consolidating trust land own25 ership on the Reservation. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports under this sub2 section shall include— 

3 (A) a description of existing obstacles to 

4 consolidating trust land ownership, including 

5 the extent of fractionation; 

6 (B) a description of progress achieved by 

7 the Tribe toward reducing fractionation and in8 creasing trust land ownership; 

9 (C) an analysis of progress achieved by the 

10 Tribe toward making agricultural use economi11 cal on trust land; and 

12 (D) any applicable outcomes and lessons 

13 learned from land consolidation activities under14 taken pursuant to the Indian Land Consolida15 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). 

16 (3) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

17 the reports under this subsection to the Committee 

18 on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

19 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa20 tives not less frequently than once each calendar 

21 year for the 5-year period beginning on the date of 

22 enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FEDERAL BENEFITS. 

24 The transfer under section 6 shall not result in the 

25 reduction or denial of any Federal service, benefit, or proVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:44 Jun 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2442.IS S2442

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1 gram to the Tribe or to any member of the Tribe to which 

2 the Tribe or member is entitled or eligible because of— 

3 (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recog4 nized Indian tribe; or 

5 (2) the status of the member as a member of 

6 the Tribe. 

7 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this Act such sums as are necessary. 

Æ 


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