II 

Calendar No. 542 

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 

AUGUST 26, 2014 

Reported, under authority of the order of the Senate of August 5 (legislative 

day, August 1), 2014, by Mr. TESTER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

3 Lands Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has depended 

7 on the land of the Tribe and the land-based re8 sources of the Tribe to support its way of life since 

9 time immemorial; 

10 (2) the Tribe has made supreme and historic 

11 sacrifices to repossess and maintain the homeland of 

12 the Tribe, including the Reservation of the Tribe in 

13 the State of Montana; 

14 (3) the Tribe suffers from tremendous social 

15 and economic challenges, including a lack of employ16 ment opportunities on the Reservation, which can be 

17 improved by strengthening the control of the Tribe 

18 over the land base, natural resources, and trust 

19 funds of the Tribe; 

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

21 outstanding legal obstacles that have prevented the 

22 Tribe from consolidating subsurface and surface 

23 trust ownership on the Reservation; 

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

25 the beneficial owners of more than 95 percent of the 


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1 surface land of the Reservation and all but approxi2 mately 5,000 subsurface acres of the Reservation; 

3 (6) the Tribe seeks to obtain ownership of ap4 proximately 5,000 subsurface acres on the Reserva5 tion that the Tribe does not own as a result of an 

6 error made by the United States when the Reserva7 tion was expanded in 1900; 

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

9 dismiss a lawsuit against the United States which 

10 alleged that the United States failed to protect the 

11 Reservation from the impacts of coal development in 

12 return for assistance in securing tribal ownership of 

13 the subsurface rights described in paragraph (6) 

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

15 mitigation funding to address the impacts of coal de16 velopment in areas adjacent to the Reservation, 

17 among other conditions; 

18 (8) to increase tribal ownership of the surface 

19 land, the Tribe has purchased approximately 932 

20 acres of land within the Reservation that were, for 

21 various reasons, taken out of trust ownership status; 

22 (9) the Tribe has purchased approximately 635 

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

24 the Tribe considers sacred ground for the members 


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

2 tribes; 

3 (10) the Tribe seeks to have the land and sub4 surface within the Reservation and the Bear Butte 

5 land described in this section taken into trust by the 

6 United States for the benefit of the Tribe; 

7 (11) the Tribe seeks clarification, consistent 

8 with the 1999 settlement with the United States, 

9 that the principal of the funds arising from the 

10 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Rights 

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

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

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

14 Cheyenne Trust Fund’’ by the Office of Special 

15 Trustee, may be transferred to the Northern Chey16 enne Tribe Permanent Fund, which has historically 

17 provided strong returns to the Tribe in direct sup18 port of tribal self-determination and to offset limited 

19 Federal funding of important tribal governmental 

20 services; and 

21 (12) if the conveyances of land and funds au22 thorized under this Act are carried out, the Tribe 

23 has agreed to waive all legal claims against the 

24 United States arising out of the longstanding loss of 

25 the subsurface rights and the management of the 


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1 Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund by the United 

2 States. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

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

6 Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund identified in the 

7 June 7, 1999 Agreement Settling Certain Issues Re8 lating to the Tongue River Dam Project, which was 

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

10 of the Secretary, and managed by the Office of Spe11 cial Trustee in the Department of the Interior. 

12 (2) GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES.—The term 

13 ‘‘Great Northern Properties’’ means the Great 

14 Northern Properties Limited Partnership, which is a 

15 Delaware limited partnership. 

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

17 Fund’’ means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Perma18 nent Fund managed by the Tribe pursuant to the 

19 Plan for Investment, Management and Use of the 

20 Fund, as amended by vote of the tribal membership 

21 on November 2, 2010. 

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

23 means the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. 

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

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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

2 of Montana. 

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

4 Northern Cheyenne Tribe. 

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

6 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary shall take into trust for the ben8 efit of the Tribe the approximately 1,567 acres of land 

9 depicted on— 

10 (1) the map entitled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

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

12 22, 2014; and 

13 (2) the map entitled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

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

15 Townsite’’ and dated April 22, 2014. 

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

17 (a) COMPLETION OF MINERAL CONVEYANCES.— 

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

19 the date on which the Secretary receives the notifica20 tion described in subsection (c), in a single trans21 action— 

22 (A) Great Northern Properties shall convey 

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

24 Great Northern Properties, consisting of coal 

25 and iron ore mineral interests, underlying the 


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1 land on the Reservation generally depicted as 

2 ‘‘Great Northern Properties’’ on the map enti3 tled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Land Act – Coal 

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

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

6 shall convey to Great Northern Properties all 

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

8 and to the coal mineral interests underlying the 

9 land generally depicted as ‘‘Bull Mountains’’ 

10 and ‘‘East Fork’’ on the map entitled ‘‘North11 ern Cheyenne Federal Tracts’’ and dated April 

12 22, 2014. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall en14 sure that the deed for the conveyance authorized by 

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

16 with the land that— 

17 (A) precludes the coal conveyed from being 

18 mined by any method other than underground 

19 mining techniques— 

20 (i) until any surface owner (as defined 

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

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

23 provided to Great Northern Properties 

24 written consent to enter the specific tract 

25 and commence surface mining; and 


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1 (ii) except as determined to be accept2 able for further consideration for leasing in 

3 the document of the Bureau of Land Man4 agement entitled ‘‘Billings Resource Area 

5 Final EIS and Resource Management 

6 Plan’’ and dated September 1984; and 

7 (B) shall not create any property interest 

8 in the United States or any surface owner (as 

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

10 (30 U.S.C. 1304(e))). 

11 (b) TREATMENT OF LAND TRANSFERRED TO

12 TRIBE.— 

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

14 the Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit of 

15 the Tribe the mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe 

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

17 (2) NO STATE TAXATION.—The mineral inter18 ests conveyed to the Tribe under subsection 

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

20 State (including any political subdivision of the 

21 State). 

22 (c) REVENUE SHARING AGREEMENT.—The Tribe 

23 shall notify the Secretary, in writing, that— 

24 (1) consistent with a settlement agreement en25 tered into between the Tribe and the State in 2002, 


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1 the Tribe and Great Northern Properties have 

2 agreed on a formula for sharing revenue from devel3 opment of the mineral interests described in sub4 section (a)(1)(B) if those mineral interests are devel5 oped; 

6 (2) the revenue sharing agreement remains in 

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

8 (3) Great Northern Properties has offered to 

9 convey the mineral interests described in subsection 

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

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

12 the conveyances of mineral interests under subsection 

13 (a)(1)— 

14 (1) the Tribe shall waive any and all claims re15 lating to the failure of the United States to acquire 

16 and take into trust on behalf of the Tribe the min17 eral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(A), as 

18 directed by Congress in 1900; and 

19 (2) Great Northern Properties shall waive any 

20 and all claims against the United States relating to 

21 the value of the coal mineral interests described in 

22 subsection (a)(1)(B). 

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

24 portion of the mineral interests conveyed under subsection 


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

2 United States— 

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

4 which the final judgment is rendered, the Secretary 

5 or Great Northern Properties may agree to rescind 

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

7 (2) if the conveyances are rescinded under 

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

9 shall no longer apply. 

10 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF NORTHERN CHEYENNE TRUST FUND 

11 TO TRIBE. 

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

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

14 shall be deposited in the Permanent Fund. 

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

16 to the Permanent Fund under subsection (a)— 

17 (1) the portion that is attributable to the prin18 cipal of the Fund shall be maintained in perpetuity; 

19 and 

20 (2) any interest earned on the amounts de21 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be used in the same 

22 manner as interest earned on amounts in the Per23 manent Fund may be used. 

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

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


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1 any and all claims arising from the management of the 

2 Fund by the United States. 

3 SEC. 7. LAND CONSOLIDATION AND FRACTIONATION RE4 PORTING. 

5 (a) INVENTORY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta7 tion with the Tribe, shall prepare an inventory of 

8 fractionated land interests held by the United States 

9 in trust for the benefit of— 

10 (A) the Tribe; or 

11 (B) individual Indians on the Reservation. 

12 (2) AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.—The inventory 

13 prepared by the Secretary under this subsection 

14 shall include details currently available about 

15 fractionated land on the Reservation suitable for ag16 ricultural purposes. 

17 (3) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

18 the inventory prepared under this subsection to the 

19 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 

20 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

21 Representatives by not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta25 tion with the Tribe, shall prepare periodic reports 


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1 regarding obstacles to consolidating trust land own2 ership on the Reservation. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports under this sub4 section shall include— 

5 (A) a description of existing obstacles to 

6 consolidating trust land ownership, including 

7 the extent of fractionation; 

8 (B) a description of progress achieved by 

9 the Tribe toward reducing fractionation and in10 creasing trust land ownership; 

11 (C) an analysis of progress achieved by the 

12 Tribe toward making agricultural use economi13 cal on trust land; and 

14 (D) any applicable outcomes and lessons 

15 learned from land consolidation activities under16 taken pursuant to the Indian Land Consolida17 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). 

18 (3) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

19 the reports under this subsection to the Committee 

20 on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

21 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa22 tives not less frequently than once each calendar 

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

24 enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FEDERAL BENEFITS. 

2 The transfer under section 6 shall not result in the 

3 reduction or denial of any Federal service, benefit, or pro4 gram to the Tribe or to any member of the Tribe to which 

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

6 (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recog7 nized Indian tribe; or 

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

9 the Tribe. 

10 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this Act such sums as are necessary. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

15 Lands Act’’. 

16 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds that— 

18 (1) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has depended 

19 on the land of the Tribe and the land-based resources 

20 of the Tribe to support its way of life since time im21 memorial; 

22 (2) the Tribe has made supreme and historic sac23 rifices to repossess and maintain the homeland of the 

24 Tribe, including the Reservation of the Tribe in the 

25 State of Montana; 


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1 (3) the Tribe suffers from tremendous social and 

2 economic challenges, including a lack of employment 

3 opportunities on the Reservation, which can be im4 proved by strengthening the control of the Tribe over 

5 the land base, natural resources, and trust funds of 

6 the Tribe; 

7 (4) the Tribe seeks a variety of resolutions to out8 standing legal obstacles that have prevented the Tribe 

9 from consolidating subsurface and surface trust own10 ership on the Reservation; 

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

12 the beneficial owners of more than 95 percent of the 

13 surface land of the Reservation and all but approxi14 mately 5,000 subsurface acres of the Reservation; 

15 (6) the Tribe seeks to obtain ownership of ap16 proximately 5,000 subsurface acres on the Reservation 

17 that the Tribe does not own as a result of an error 

18 made by the United States when the Reservation was 

19 expanded in 1900; 

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

21 dismiss a lawsuit against the United States which al22 leged that the United States failed to protect the Res23 ervation from the impacts of coal development in re24 turn for assistance in securing tribal ownership of the 

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1 tially in the form of this Act, and to secure mitiga2 tion funding to address the impacts of coal develop3 ment in areas adjacent to the Reservation, among 

4 other conditions; 

5 (8) to increase tribal ownership of the surface 

6 land, the Tribe has purchased approximately 932 

7 acres of land within the Reservation that were, for 

8 various reasons, taken out of trust ownership status; 

9 (9) the Tribe has purchased approximately 635 

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

11 the Tribe considers sacred ground for the members of 

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

13 tribes; 

14 (10) the Tribe seeks to have the land and sub15 surface within the Reservation and the Bear Butte 

16 land described in this section taken into trust by the 

17 United States for the benefit of the Tribe; 

18 (11) the Tribe seeks clarification, consistent with 

19 the 1999 settlement with the United States, that the 

20 principal of the funds arising from the Northern 

21 Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Rights Settlement 

22 Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–374; 106 Stat. 1186; 

23 108 Stat. 707), the earnings from which are paid to 

24 the Tribe and managed as the ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

25 Trust Fund’’ by the Office of Special Trustee, may be 


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1 transferred to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Perma2 nent Fund, which has historically provided strong re3 turns to the Tribe in direct support of tribal self-de4 termination and to offset limited Federal funding of 

5 important tribal governmental services; and 

6 (12) if the conveyances of land and funds au7 thorized under this Act are carried out, the Tribe has 

8 agreed to waive all legal claims against the United 

9 States arising out of the longstanding loss of the sub10 surface rights and the management of the Northern 

11 Cheyenne Trust Fund by the United States. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the North15 ern Cheyenne Trust Fund identified in the June 7, 

16 1999 Agreement Settling Certain Issues Relating to 

17 the Tongue River Dam Project, which was entered 

18 into by the Tribe, the State, and delegates of the Sec19 retary, and managed by the Office of Special Trustee 

20 in the Department of the Interior. 

21 (2) GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES.—The term 

22 ‘‘Great Northern Properties’’ means the Great North23 ern Properties Limited Partnership, which is a Dela24 ware limited partnership. 


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

2 Fund’’ means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Perma3 nent Fund managed by the Tribe pursuant to the 

4 Plan for Investment, Management and Use of the 

5 Fund, as amended by vote of the tribal membership 

6 on November 2, 2010. 

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

8 means the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. 

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

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

12 of Montana. 

13 (7) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the North14 ern Cheyenne Tribe. 

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

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), not later 

17 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

18 Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe 

19 the approximately 932 acres of land depicted on— 

20 (1) the map entitled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Lands 

21 Act – Fee-to-Trust Lands’’ and dated April 22, 2014; 

22 and 

23 (2) the map entitled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Lands 

24 Act – Fee-to-Trust Lands – Lame Deer Townsite’’ 

25 and dated April 22, 2014. 


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1 (b) LIMITATION.—Any land located in the State of 

2 South Dakota that is included on the maps referred to in 

3 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not be taken 

4 into trust pursuant to that subsection. 

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

6 (a) COMPLETION OF MINERAL CONVEYANCES.— 

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

8 the date on which the Secretary receives the notifica9 tion described in subsection (c), in a single trans10 action— 

11 (A) Great Northern Properties shall convey 

12 to the Tribe all right, title, and interest of Great 

13 Northern Properties, consisting of coal and iron 

14 ore mineral interests, underlying the land on the 

15 Reservation generally depicted as ‘‘Great North16 ern Properties’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Northern 

17 Cheyenne Land Act – Coal Tracts’’ and dated 

18 April 22, 2014; and 

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

20 shall convey to Great Northern Properties all 

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

22 and to the coal mineral interests underlying the 

23 land generally depicted as ‘‘Bull Mountains’’ 

24 and ‘‘East Fork’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Northern 


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1 Cheyenne Federal Tracts’’ and dated April 22, 

2 2014. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall ensure 

4 that the deed for the conveyance authorized by para5 graph (1)(B) shall include a covenant running with 

6 the land that— 

7 (A) precludes the coal conveyed from being 

8 mined by any method other than underground 

9 mining techniques until any surface owner (as 

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

11 (30 U.S.C. 1304(e))) for a specific tract has pro12 vided to Great Northern Properties written con13 sent to enter the specific tract and commence 

14 surface mining; 

15 (B) shall not create any property interest in 

16 the United States or any surface owner (as de17 fined in section 714(e) of Public Law 95–87 (30 

18 U.S.C. 1304(e))); and 

19 (C) shall not affect, abridge, or amend any 

20 valid existing rights of any surface owner of a 

21 specific tract or any adjacent tracts. 

22 (b) TREATMENT OF LAND TRANSFERRED TO TRIBE.— 

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

24 the Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit of 


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1 the Tribe the mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe 

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

3 (2) NO STATE TAXATION.—The mineral interests 

4 conveyed to the Tribe under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall 

5 not be subject to taxation by the State (including any 

6 political subdivision of the State). 

7 (c) REVENUE SHARING AGREEMENT.—The Tribe shall 

8 notify the Secretary, in writing, that— 

9 (1) consistent with a settlement agreement en10 tered into between the Tribe and the State in 2002, 

11 the Tribe and Great Northern Properties have agreed 

12 on a formula for sharing revenue from development of 

13 the mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(B) 

14 if those mineral interests are developed; 

15 (2) the revenue sharing agreement remains in ef16 fect as of the date of enactment of this Act; and 

17 (3) Great Northern Properties has offered to con18 vey the mineral interests described in subsection 

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

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

21 conveyances of mineral interests under subsection (a)(1)— 

22 (1) the Tribe shall waive any and all claims re23 lating to the failure of the United States to acquire 

24 and take into trust on behalf of the Tribe the mineral 


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1 interests described in subsection (a)(1)(A), as directed 

2 by Congress in 1900; and 

3 (2) Great Northern Properties shall waive any 

4 and all claims against the United States relating to 

5 the value of the coal mineral interests described in 

6 subsection (a)(1)(B). 

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

8 portion of the mineral interests conveyed under subsection 

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

10 United States— 

11 (1) not later than 1 year after the date on which 

12 the final judgment is rendered, the Secretary or Great 

13 Northern Properties may agree to rescind the convey14 ances under subsection (a)(1); and 

15 (2) if the conveyances are rescinded under para16 graph (1), the waivers under subsection (d) shall no 

17 longer apply. 

18 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF NORTHERN CHEYENNE TRUST FUND 

19 TO TRIBE. 

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

21 date of enactment of this Act, all amounts in the Fund shall 

22 be deposited in the Permanent Fund. 

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

24 the Permanent Fund under subsection (a)— 


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1 (1) the portion that is attributable to the prin2 cipal of the Fund shall be maintained in perpetuity; 

3 and 

4 (2) any interest earned on the amounts described 

5 in paragraph (1) shall be used in the same manner 

6 as interest earned on amounts in the Permanent 

7 Fund may be used. 

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

9 transfer under subsection (a), the Tribe shall waive any and 

10 all claims arising from the management of the Fund by 

11 the United States. 

12 SEC. 7. LAND CONSOLIDATION AND FRACTIONATION RE13 PORTING. 

14 (a) INVENTORY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

16 with the Tribe, shall prepare an inventory of 

17 fractionated land interests held by the United States 

18 in trust for the benefit of— 

19 (A) the Tribe; or 

20 (B) individual Indians on the Reservation. 

21 (2) AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.—The inventory 

22 prepared by the Secretary under this subsection shall 

23 include details currently available about fractionated 

24 land on the Reservation suitable for agricultural pur25 poses. 


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1 (3) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

2 the inventory prepared under this subsection to the 

3 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 

4 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep5 resentatives by not later than 180 days after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) REPORT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

9 with the Tribe, shall prepare periodic reports regard10 ing obstacles to consolidating trust land ownership on 

11 the Reservation. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—The reports under this sub13 section shall include— 

14 (A) a description of existing obstacles to 

15 consolidating trust land ownership, including the 

16 extent of fractionation; 

17 (B) a description of progress achieved by 

18 the Tribe toward reducing fractionation and in19 creasing trust land ownership; 

20 (C) an analysis of progress achieved by the 

21 Tribe toward making agricultural use economi22 cal on trust land; and 

23 (D) any applicable outcomes and lessons 

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1 taken pursuant to the Indian Land Consolida2 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). 

3 (3) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

4 the reports under this subsection to the Committee on 

5 Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives not 

7 less frequently than once each calendar year for the 

8 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

9 this Act. 

10 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FEDERAL BENEFITS. 

11 The transfer under section 6 shall not result in the re12 duction or denial of any Federal service, benefit, or pro13 gram to the Tribe or to any member of the Tribe to which 

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

15 (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recog16 nized Indian tribe; or 

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

18 Tribe. 

19 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this Act such sums as are necessary. 


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Calendar No. 542 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2442 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take cerother purposes. benefit of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and for other culturally important land into trust for the of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and tain land and mineral rights on the reservation 

AUGUST 26, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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