II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 630 

To establish procedures for the acknowledgment of Indian tribes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2005 

Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL

To establish procedures for the acknowledgment of Indian 

tribes.

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 ‘‘Tribal Acknowledg5 ment and Indian Bureau Enhancement Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the United States has an obligation to rec9 ognize and respect the sovereignty of Native Amer10 ican people who have maintained social, cultural, 

11 and political identity; 
2

•S 630 IS

1 (2) each Native American tribal government 

2 that represents an Indian tribe that has, to the max3 imum extent practicable, maintained social, cultural, 

4 and political identity during the historical period is 

5 entitled— 

6 (A) to establish government-to-government 

7 relations with the United States; and 

8 (B) to the rights relating to sovereign gov9 ernments; 

10 (3) the Bureau exercises responsibility for de11 termining whether Native American groups— 

12 (A) constitute federally-acknowledged In13 dian tribes; and 

14 (B) for that reason, are to be acknowl15 edged by the United States as sovereign na16 tions; 

17 (4) in recent years, the decisionmaking process 

18 used by the Bureau to resolve claims of tribal sov19 ereignty has been widely criticized; and 

20 (5) in order to ensure continued public con21 fidence in the decisions of the Federal Government 

22 pertaining to tribal acknowledgment, it is necessary 

23 to reform the acknowledgment process. 

24 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

25 The purposes of this Act are— 
3

•S 630 IS

1 (1) to establish administrative procedures to ex2 tend Federal acknowledgment to certain Indian 

3 groups; 

4 (2) to extend to Indian groups that are ac5 knowledged— 

6 (A) the protection, services, and benefits 

7 available from the Federal Government in ac8 cordance with the Federal trust responsibility 

9 with respect to Indian tribes; and 

10 (B) the immunities and privileges available 

11 to other federally-acknowledged Indian tribes by 

12 virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a 

13 government-to-government relationship with the 

14 United States; 

15 (3) to ensure that, if the Federal Government 

16 extends acknowledgment to an Indian group, the 

17 Federal Government does so based on clear, factual 

18 evidence derived from an open and objective admin19 istrative process; 

20 (4) to provide clear and consistent standards of 

21 administrative review of documented petitions for 

22 Federal acknowledgment; and 

23 (5) to clarify evidentiary standards and expedite 

24 the administrative review process by providing ade25 quate resources to process documented petitions. 
4

•S 630 IS

1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl4 edgment’’, with respect to a determination by the 

5 Secretary, means acknowledgment by the United 

6 States that— 

7 (A) an Indian group is an Indian tribe 

8 having a government-to-government relationship 

9 with the United States; 

10 (B) the members of the Indian group are 

11 eligible for— 

12 (i) the protection, programs, and serv13 ices provided by the United States to mem14 bers of Indian tribes because of the status 

15 of those members as Indians; and 

16 (ii) the immunities and privileges 

17 available to an Indian tribe by virtue of the 

18 government-to-government relationship of 

19 the Indian tribe with the United States; 

20 (C) the Indian group has the responsibil21 ities, powers, limitations, and obligations of an 

22 Indian tribe; and 

23 (D) the Indian group is subject to the 

24 same authority of Congress and the United 

25 States to which other Indian tribes are subject. 
5

•S 630 IS

1 (2) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

2 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the 

3 Interior. 

4 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

5 means the Department of the Interior. 

6 (4) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu7 mented petition’’ means a petition for acknowledg8 ment consisting of— 

9 (A) detailed arguments made by a peti10 tioner to substantiate the claim of the petitioner 

11 to existence as an Indian tribe during the his12 torical period; and 

13 (B) the factual exposition and all docu14 mentary evidence necessary to demonstrate that 

15 the arguments address the mandatory criteria 

16 for acknowledgment described in section 9(b). 

17 (5) HISTORICAL PERIOD.—The term ‘‘historical 

18 period’’ means the period beginning when a peti19 tioner first sustained contact with non-Indians and 

20 continuing through the date of submission of a docu21 mented petition under this Act. 

22 (6) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ means an in23 dividual that is a member of an Indian group or In24 dian tribe. 
6

•S 630 IS

1 (7) INDIAN GROUP.—The term ‘‘Indian group’’ 

2 means any Indian or Alaska Native aggregation 

3 within the continental United States that the Sec4 retary does not acknowledge to be an Indian tribe. 

5 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

6 means any Indian group that the Secretary deter7 mines to have met the mandatory criteria for ac8 knowledgment described in section 9(b). 

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

10 means any Indian group that submits to the Sec11 retary a letter of intent requesting acknowledgment. 

12 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

13 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 SEC. 5. INDIAN GROUPS ELIGIBLE FOR ACKNOWLEDG15 MENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act applies only to an Indian 

17 group that— 

18 (1) is indigenous to the continental United 

19 States; 

20 (2) is not acknowledged as of the date of sub21 mission of a documented petition under this Act; 

22 and 

23 (3) presents evidence of a substantially contin24 uous tribal existence, and functioning as an autono25 mous entity, throughout the historical period. 
7

•S 630 IS

1 (b) INELIGIBLE INDIAN GROUPS.—The following 

2 groups shall not be eligible to submit a documented peti3 tion under this Act: 

4 (1) Any Indian tribe, organized band, pueblo, 

5 community, or Alaska Native entity that, as of the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, is acknowledged. 

7 (2) An association, organization, corporation, or 

8 group of any character that is formed for the pur9 pose of seeking Federal acknowledgment after De10 cember 31, 2002. 

11 (3) Any Indian group, political faction, or com12 munity that separates from the main population of 

13 an Indian tribe, unless the Indian group, faction, or 

14 community establishes to the satisfaction of the Sec15 retary that the Indian group, political faction, or 

16 community has functioned as an autonomous Indian 

17 group throughout the historical period. 

18 (4) Any Indian group, or successor in interest 

19 of an Indian group (other than an Indian tribe, or20 ganized band, pueblo, community, or Alaska native 

21 entity described in paragraph (1)), that, before the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, in accordance with 

23 part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, pe24 titioned for, and was denied, acknowledgment based 

25 on the merits of the documented petition (except 
8

•S 630 IS

1 that nothing in this paragraph excludes any group 

2 that Congress has identified as an Indian group but 

3 has not identified as an Indian tribe). 

4 (5) Any Indian group the relationship of which 

5 with the Federal Government was expressly termi6 nated by an Act of Congress. 

7 (c) INDIAN GROUPS WITH PENDING PETITIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian group the docu9 mented petition of which, as of the date of enact10 ment of this Act, is under consideration by the Sec11 retary in accordance with part 83 of title 25, Code 

12 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day be13 fore that date), and for which a determination of ac14 knowledgment is not final and effective as of that 

15 date, shall be subject to this Act. 

16 (2) ORDER OF CONSIDERATION.—Nothing in 

17 paragraph (1) shall affect the order in which a docu18 mented petition of an Indian group described in that 

19 paragraph is considered by the Secretary. 

20 (d) CLAIMS OF PREVIOUS ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—Sec21 tion 83.8 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

22 effect on the date of enactment of this Act), shall apply 

23 with respect to a petitioner that claims acknowledgment 

24 before the date of enactment of this Act. 
9

•S 630 IS

1 SEC. 6. LETTER OF INTENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An Indian group that seeks a de3 termination of acknowledgment and that can meet the 

4 mandatory criteria for acknowledgment described in sec5 tion 9(b) shall submit to the Secretary, before or simulta6 neously with submission of a documented petition, a letter 

7 of intent to seek acknowledgment. 

8 (b) APPROVAL OF GOVERNING BODY.—A letter of in9 tent shall be produced, dated, and signed by the governing 

10 body of the Indian group submitting the letter. 

11 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. 

12 (a) PUBLICATION OF LIST OF INDIAN TRIBES.—Not 

13 less often than every 3 years, and more frequently as de14 termined by the Secretary, the Secretary shall publish in 

15 the Federal Register a list of all Indian tribes. 

16 (b) GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION OF DOCU17 MENTED PETITIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

19 available guidelines for the preparation of docu20 mented petitions that include— 

21 (A) an explanation of the criteria and 

22 other provisions relevant to the consideration by 

23 the Secretary of a documented petition; 

24 (B) a discussion of the types of evidence 

25 that may be used to demonstrate satisfaction of 

26 particular criteria; 
10

•S 630 IS

1 (C) general suggestions and guidelines re2 lating to the manner in which and locations at 

3 which research relating to a documented peti4 tion may be conducted; and 

5 (D) an example of a format for a docu6 mented petition (except that the example shall 

7 not preclude the use of any other format). 

8 (2) SUPPLEMENTATION AND REVISION.—The 

9 Secretary may supplement or update the guidelines 

10 as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 

11 (c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary— 

12 (1) shall, on request by a petitioner, provide the 

13 petitioner with suggestions and advice regarding 

14 preparation of a documented petition; but 

15 (2) shall not be responsible for any research 

16 necessary to prepare a documented petition. 

17 (d) NOTICE TO GROUPS WITH A LETTER OF IN18 TENT.—The Secretary shall provide to each Indian group 

19 that, as of the date of enactment of this Act, has sub20 mitted a letter of intent to the Secretary under section 

21 6(a) but has not yet submitted a documented petition, a 

22 notice informing the Indian group that any documented 

23 petition submitted by the Indian group shall be considered 

24 in accordance with this Act. 
11

•S 630 IS

1 SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A documented petition submitted 

3 to the Secretary under this Act— 

4 (1) may be in any readable form that contains 

5 detailed, specific evidence in support of a request to 

6 the Secretary for acknowledgment; 

7 (2) shall include a certification, signed and 

8 dated by members of the governing body of the peti9 tioner, stating that the documented petition is the 

10 official documented petition of the petitioner; and 

11 (3) shall include thorough explanations and 

12 supporting documentation pertaining to each of the 

13 mandatory criteria for acknowledgment described in 

14 section 9(b). 

15 (b) SATISFACTION OF MANDATORY CRITERIA.—To 

16 be acknowledged under this Act, a petitioner shall meet 

17 each of the mandatory criteria for acknowledgment de18 scribed in section 9(b). 

19 (c) STANDARDS FOR DENIAL.— 

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

21 the Secretary shall not acknowledge a petitioner if 

22 the Secretary determines that evidence presented by 

23 the petitioner or any other person is insufficient to 

24 demonstrate that the petitioner meets each of the 

25 mandatory criteria for acknowledgment described in 

26 section 9(b). 
12

•S 630 IS

1 (2) STANDARDS FOR MEETING MANDATORY

2 CRITERIA.—With respect to a mandatory criterion 

3 for acknowledgment described in section 9(b)— 

4 (A) the Secretary shall consider a peti5 tioner to have met the mandatory criterion if 

6 the Secretary determines that it is more likely 

7 than not that the evidence presented dem8 onstrates that the petitioner has met the man9 datory criterion; and 

10 (B) conclusive proof of the facts relating to 

11 the mandatory criterion shall not be required in 

12 order for the Secretary to consider the manda13 tory criterion to have been met. 

14 (d) CONSIDERATION OF SITUATIONS AND LIMITA15 TIONS DURING HISTORICAL PERIOD.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In considering a documented 

17 petition under this Act, the Secretary shall take into 

18 account— 

19 (A) evidentiary situations and limitations 

20 (including limitations inherent in demonstrating 

21 the historical existence of community and polit22 ical influence or authority) during the historical 

23 period; and 
13

•S 630 IS

1 (B) periods during the historical period for 

2 which evidence relating to the documented peti3 tion is demonstrably limited or not available. 

4 (2) SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS BASIS OF EX5 ISTENCE.—In demonstrating the historical existence 

6 of community and political influence or authority 

7 with respect to any mandatory criterion for acknowl8 edgment described in section 9(b)— 

9 (A) a petitioner— 

10 (i) shall make such a demonstration 

11 on a substantially continuous basis; but 

12 (ii) shall not be required to make the 

13 demonstration with respect to each point 

14 in time during the historical period; and 

15 (B) any fluctuation in tribal activity dur16 ing any period of time shall not be the sole rea17 son for a denial of acknowledgment. 

18 SEC. 9. MANDATORY CRITERIA FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be acknowledged under this 

20 Act, a petitioner shall meet each of the mandatory criteria 

21 described in subsection (b) to the satisfaction of the Sec22 retary. 

23 (b) MANDATORY CRITERIA.— 

24 (1) IDENTIFICATION ON A SUBSTANTIALLY

25 CONTINUOUS BASIS.— 
14

•S 630 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A petitioner shall dem2 onstrate that the petitioner has been identified 

3 as an Indian group in the United States on a 

4 substantially continuous basis since 1900. 

5 (B) PREVIOUS DENIALS OF STATUS.—The 

6 Secretary shall not consider any evidence that 

7 the status of the petitioner as an Indian group 

8 has previously been denied to be conclusive evi9 dence that the criterion described in subpara10 graph (A) has not been met. 

11 (C) EVIDENCE RELATING TO IDENTITY.—

12 In determining the Indian identity of a peti13 tioner, the Secretary may use as evidence 1 or 

14 more of the following: 

15 (i) An identification of the petitioner 

16 as an Indian group by any department, 

17 agency, or instrumentality of the Federal 

18 Government. 

19 (ii) A relationship between the peti20 tioner and any State government, based on 

21 an identification of the petitioner by the 

22 State as an Indian group. 

23 (iii) Any dealings of the petitioner 

24 with a county or political subdivision of a 

25 State in a relationship based on an identi-
15

•S 630 IS

1 fication of the petitioner as an Indian 

2 group. 

3 (iv) An identification of the petitioner 

4 as an Indian group by an anthropologist, 

5 historian, or other scholar. 

6 (v) An identification of the petitioner 

7 as an Indian group in a newspaper, book, 

8 or similar medium. 

9 (vi) An identification of the petitioner 

10 as an Indian group by an Indian tribe or 

11 by a national, regional, or State Indian or12 ganization. 

13 (vii) An identification of the petitioner 

14 as an Indian group by a foreign govern15 ment or an international organization. 

16 (viii) Such other evidence of identi17 fication as may be provided by a person or 

18 entity other than the petitioner or a mem19 ber of the membership of the petitioner. 

20 (2) DISTINCT COMMUNITY.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A petitioner shall dem22 onstrate that a predominant portion of the 

23 membership of the petitioner— 
16

•S 630 IS

1 (i) comprises a community distinct 

2 from the communities surrounding that 

3 community; and 

4 (ii) has existed as a community 

5 throughout the historical period. 

6 (B) EVIDENCE RELATING TO COMMU7 NITY.—In determining whether the membership 

8 of the petitioner meets the criteria described in 

9 subparagraph (A), the Secretary may use as 

10 evidence 1 or more of the following: 

11 (i) Significant rates of marriage with12 in the membership of the petitioner, or, as 

13 may be culturally required, patterned out14 marriages with other Indian populations. 

15 (ii) Significant social relationships 

16 connecting individual members of the peti17 tioner. 

18 (iii) Significant rates of informal so19 cial interaction that exist broadly among 

20 the members of the petitioner. 

21 (iv) A significant degree of shared or 

22 cooperative labor or other economic activity 

23 among the membership of the petitioner. 

24 (v) Evidence of strong patterns of dis25 crimination or other social distinctions 
17

•S 630 IS

1 against members of the petitioner by non2 members. 

3 (vi) Shared sacred or secular ritual 

4 activity encompassing a majority of mem5 bers of the petitioner. 

6 (vii) Cultural patterns that— 

7 (I) are shared among a signifi8 cant portion of the members of the 

9 petitioner; 

10 (II) are different from the cul11 tural patterns of the non-Indian popu12 lations with whom the membership of 

13 the petitioner interacts; 

14 (III) function as more than a 

15 symbolic identification of the peti16 tioner as Indian; and 

17 (IV) may include language, kin18 ship, or religious organizations, or re19 ligious beliefs and practices. 

20 (viii) The persistence of a named, col21 lective Indian identity during a continuous 

22 period of at least 50 years, notwith23 standing any change in name. 

24 (ix) A demonstration of historical po25 litical influence or authority of the peti-
18

•S 630 IS

1 tioner (such as political influence or au2 thority demonstrated under paragraph 

3 (3)). 

4 (C) SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.—The Sec5 retary shall consider a petitioner to have pro6 vided sufficient evidence of community under 

7 this paragraph if the petitioner provides to the 

8 Secretary evidence demonstrating that, 

9 throughout the historical period— 

10 (i)(I) more than 50 percent of the 

11 members of the petitioner reside in a par12 ticular geographical area exclusively, or al13 most exclusively, composed of members of 

14 the group; and 

15 (II) the balance of the membership 

16 maintains consistent social interaction with 

17 other members of the petitioner; 

18 (ii) not less than 50 percent of the 

19 marriages of members of the petitioner are 

20 between members of the petitioner; 

21 (iii) not less than 50 percent of the 

22 members of the petitioner maintain dis23 tinct cultural patterns, including language, 

24 kinship, and religious organizations, or re25 ligious beliefs or practices; 
19

•S 630 IS

1 (iv) distinct community social institu2 tions (such as kinship organizations, for3 mal or informal economic cooperation, and 

4 religious organizations) encompass a ma5 jority of the members of the petitioner; or 

6 (v) the petitioner has met the cri7 terion described in paragraph (3) using 

8 evidence described in paragraph (3)(A). 

9 (3) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A petitioner shall dem11 onstrate that the petitioner has maintained po12 litical influence or authority as an autonomous 

13 entity over members of the petitioner through14 out the historical period. 

15 (B) EVIDENCE RELATING TO AUTONOMOUS

16 NATURE.—In determining whether a petitioner 

17 is an autonomous entity under paragraph (1), 

18 the Secretary may use as evidence 1 or more of 

19 the following: 

20 (i) A demonstration that the peti21 tioner is capable of mobilizing significant 

22 numbers of members and significant mem23 ber resource for purposes relating to the 

24 petitioner. 
20

•S 630 IS

1 (ii) Evidence that most of the mem2 bers of the petitioner consider actions 

3 taken by leaders or governing bodies of the 

4 petitioner to be of personal importance. 

5 (iii) Evidence that there is widespread 

6 knowledge, communication, and involve7 ment in political processes of the petitioner 

8 by a majority of the members of the peti9 tioner. 

10 (iv) Evidence that the petitioner meets 

11 the criteria described in paragraph (2) at 

12 more than a minimal level. 

13 (v) A demonstration by the petitioner 

14 that there are conflicts within the member15 ship that demonstrate controversy over val16 ued goals, properties, policies, processes, or 

17 decisions of the petitioner. 

18 (C) EVIDENCE OF EXERCISE OF POLITICAL

19 INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

20 shall consider a petitioner to have provided suf21 ficient evidence to demonstrate the exercise of 

22 political influence or authority if the petitioner 

23 demonstrates that decisions by leaders of the 

24 petitioner (or decisions made through another 

25 decisionmaking process) have been made 
21

•S 630 IS

1 throughout the historical period with respect 

2 to— 

3 (i) the allocation of group resources 

4 such as land, residence rights, or similar 

5 resources on a consistent basis; 

6 (ii) the settlement on a regular basis, 

7 by mediation or other means, of disputes 

8 between members or subgroups of mem9 bers of the petitioner (such as clans or lin10 eages); 

11 (iii) the exertion of strong influence 

12 on the behavior of individual members of 

13 the petitioner, such as the establishment or 

14 maintenance of norms and the enforcement 

15 of sanctions to direct or control behavior; 

16 or 

17 (iv) the organization or influencing of 

18 economic subsistence activities among the 

19 members of the petitioner, including 

20 shared or cooperative labor. 

21 (D) PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE.—A peti22 tioner that meets the criteria described in para23 graph (2)(A) shall be considered to have pro24 vided sufficient evidence to meet the criterion 

25 under this paragraph. 
22

•S 630 IS

1 (4) GOVERNING DOCUMENT AND MEMBERSHIP

2 CRITERIA.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—A petitioner shall in4 clude in the documented petition of the peti5 tioner a copy of the governing document of the 

6 petitioner in effect as of the date of submission 

7 of the documented petition that includes a de8 scription of the membership criteria of the peti9 tioner. 

10 (B) ALTERNATIVE STATEMENT.—If no 

11 written governing document described in sub12 paragraph (A) exists, a petitioner shall include 

13 with a documented petition a detailed statement 

14 that describes— 

15 (i) the membership criteria of the pe16 titioner; and 

17 (ii) the governing procedures of the 

18 petitioner in effect as of the date of sub19 mission of the documented petition. 

20 (5) MEMBERSHIP OF PETITIONER.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A petitioner shall in22 clude in a documented petition submitted under 

23 this Act— 

24 (i) a list of all members of the peti25 tioner as of the date of submission of the 
23

•S 630 IS

1 documented petition, as certified by the 

2 governing body of the petitioner, that in3 cludes for each member— 

4 (I) a full name (and maiden 

5 name, if any); 

6 (II) a date and place of birth; 

7 and 

8 (III) a current residential ad9 dress; 

10 (ii) a copy of each available former 

11 list of members of the petitioner; and 

12 (iii) a statement describing the meth13 ods used in preparing those lists. 

14 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.—

15 In determining whether to consider the mem16 bers of a petitioner to be members of an Indian 

17 group for the purpose of a documented petition 

18 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

19 shall require that the membership consist of de20 scendants of— 

21 (i) an Indian group that existed dur22 ing the historical period; or 

23 (ii) 1 or more Indian groups that, at 

24 any time during the historical period, com-
24

•S 630 IS

1 bined and functioned as a single autono2 mous entity. 

3 (C) EVIDENCE OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.—

4 In making the determination under subpara5 graph (B), the Secretary may use as evidence 

6 1 or more of the following: 

7 (i) Tribal rolls prepared by the Sec8 retary for the petitioner for the purpose of 

9 distributing claims money or providing al10 lotments, or for other any other purpose. 

11 (ii) Any Federal, State, or other offi12 cial record or evidence identifying members 

13 of the petitioner as of the date of submis14 sion of the documented petition, or ances15 tors of those members, as being descend16 ants of an Indian group described in clause 

17 (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B). 

18 (iii) Any church, school, or other simi19 lar enrollment record identifying members 

20 of the petitioner as of the date of submis21 sion of the documented petition, or ances22 tors of those members, as being descend23 ants of an Indian group described in clause 

24 (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B). 
25

•S 630 IS

1 (iv) An affidavit of recognition by 

2 tribal elders, tribal leaders, or a tribal gov3 erning body identifying members of the pe4 titioner as of the date of submission of the 

5 documented petition, or ancestors of those 

6 members, as being descendants of an In7 dian group described in clause (i) or (ii) of 

8 subparagraph (B). 

9 (v) Any other record or evidence iden10 tifying members of the petitioner as of the 

11 date of submission of the documented peti12 tion, or ancestors of those members, as 

13 being descendants of an Indian group de14 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph 

15 (B). 

16 (6) MEMBERSHIP COMPOSED PRIMARILY OF IN17 DIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF AN INDIAN

18 TRIBE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), a petitioner shall dem21 onstrate that the membership of the petitioner 

22 is composed primarily of individuals who are 

23 not members of an Indian tribe. 

24 (B) EXCEPTION.—A petitioner may be ac25 knowledged if the membership of the petitioner 
26

•S 630 IS

1 is composed primarily of individuals whose 

2 names have appeared on rolls of, or who have 

3 been otherwise associated with, an Indian tribe, 

4 if the petitioner establishes that— 

5 (i) the petitioner has functioned 

6 throughout the historical period as a sepa7 rate and autonomous Indian group; 

8 (ii) the members of the petitioner do 

9 not maintain a bilateral political relation10 ship with any Indian tribe; and 

11 (iii) the members of the petitioner 

12 have provided written confirmation of their 

13 membership in the petitioner. 

14 (7) LEGISLATION TERMINATING OR PROHIB15 ITING ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—A petitioner shall dem16 onstrate that neither the petitioner, nor any mem17 bers of the petitioner, are the subject of any Act of 

18 Congress expressly terminating or prohibiting ac19 knowledgment of the petitioner. 

20 SEC. 10. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF A LETTER OF INTENT OR 

21 DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

22 (a) NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF A PETITION.— 

23 (1) NOTICE TO PETITIONER.—Not later than 

24 30 days after the date on which the Secretary re25 ceives a letter of intent under section 6(a) (or a doc-
27

•S 630 IS

1 umented petition, if the Secretary has not received 

2 a letter of intent), the Secretary shall provide to the 

3 petitioner submitting the letter or documented peti4 tion a written notice of the receipt. 

5 (2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

7 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

8 a letter (or documented petition) under section 

9 6(a), the Secretary shall publish, in 1 or more 

10 major newspapers of general circulation in the 

11 town or city nearest to the petitioner and in the 

12 Federal Register, a notice of receipt of the let13 ter (or documented petition). 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The notice under sub15 paragraph (A) shall include— 

16 (i) the name, location, and mailing ad17 dress of the petitioner; 

18 (ii) such other information as the Sec19 retary determines will identify the peti20 tioner; 

21 (iii) the date of receipt of the letter 

22 (or documented petition); 

23 (iv) information describing 1 or more 

24 locations at which a copy of the letter (or 
28

•S 630 IS

1 documented petition) and related submis2 sions may be examined by the public; and 

3 (v) a description of the procedure by 

4 which an interested party may submit— 

5 (I) arguments or evidence in sup6 port of or in opposition to the request 

7 of the petitioner for acknowledgment; 

8 or 

9 (II) a request to be kept in10 formed of all actions affecting the let11 ter or documented petition. 

12 (b) NOTIFICATION OF OTHER PERSONS.—The Sec13 retary shall submit a copy of the notice published under 

14 subsection (a)(2) to— 

15 (1) the Governor of, members of Congress rep16 resenting, and attorney general of— 

17 (A) each State in which the petitioner is 

18 located; and 

19 (B) each State that, as determined by the 

20 Secretary, has a significant interest in the peti21 tion; 

22 (2) each Indian tribe, and each other petitioner, 

23 that, as determined by the Secretary— 
29

•S 630 IS

1 (A) has a relationship with the petitioner 

2 (including any relationship at any time during 

3 the historical period); or 

4 (B) that may otherwise be considered to 

5 have a potential interest in a determination of 

6 acknowledgment of the petitioner; and 

7 (3) the chief executive officer of each county 

8 and municipality located in the geographic area oc9 cupied by the petitioner. 

10 SEC. 11. PROCESSING OF DOCUMENTED PETITIONS. 

11 Section 83.10 of title 25, Code of Federal Regula12 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act) 

13 shall apply with respect to the processing of a documented 

14 petition under this Act. 

15 SEC. 12. TESTIMONY AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE 

16 HEARD. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether to ac18 knowledge a petitioner under this Act, the Secretary shall 

19 consider all relevant evidence from any interested party, 

20 including evidence from a municipality located in the same 

21 area in which the petitioner is located. 

22 (b) HEARING ON REQUEST.—On request by an inter23 ested party, for good cause, the Secretary may conduct 

24 a formal hearing with respect to a documented petition 

25 at which all interested parties may— 
30

•S 630 IS

1 (1) present evidence; 

2 (2) call witnesses; 

3 (3) cross-examine witnesses; or 

4 (4) rebut evidence in the record or presented by 

5 other parties during the hearing. 

6 (c) TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED.—A transcript of any 

7 hearing under this section shall be included in the admin8 istrative record on which the Secretary relies in deter9 mining whether to acknowledge a petitioner under this 

10 Act. 

11 SEC. 13. WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS BY INTERESTED PARTIES. 

12 In determining whether to acknowledge a petitioner 

13 under this Act, the Secretary shall consider any written 

14 materials submitted to the Bureau from any interested 

15 party that possesses relevant information relating to the 

16 petitioner, including evidence from a municipality located 

17 in the same area in which the petitioner is located. 

18 SEC. 14. PUBLICATION OF FINAL DETERMINATION. 

19 On making a determination whether to acknowledge 

20 a petitioner under this Act, the Secretary shall publish in 

21 the Federal Register a detailed explanation of the final 

22 determination of the Secretary regarding the acknowledg23 ment and the documented petition of the petitioner, in24 cluding an express finding of facts and of law with respect 
31

•S 630 IS

1 to each of the mandatory criteria for acknowledgment de2 scribed in section 9(b). 

3 SEC. 15. INDEPENDENT REVIEW, RECONSIDERATION, AND 

4 FINAL ACTION. 

5 Section 83.11 of title 25, Code of Federal Regula6 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), 

7 shall apply with respect to the independent review, recon8 sideration, and final determination of the Secretary with 

9 respect to a documented petition under this Act. 

10 SEC. 16. IMPLEMENTATION OF DETERMINATION OF AC11 KNOWLEDGMENT. 

12 Section 83.12 of title 25, Code of Federal Regula13 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), 

14 shall apply with respect to the implementation of a deter15 mination of acknowledgment by the Secretary under this 

16 Act. 

17 SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

19 this Act $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal 

20 year thereafter.

Æ