II 

Calendar No. 664 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2802 

To settle land claims within the Fort Hall Reservation. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2009 

Mr. CRAPO (for himself and Mr. RISCH) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

DECEMBER 1, 2010 

Reported by Mr. DORGAN, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To settle land claims within the Fort Hall Reservation. 

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 ‘‘Blackfoot River Land 

5 Settlement Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) it is the policy of the United States to pro2 mote tribal self-determination and economic self-suf3 ficiency and encourage the resolution of disputes 

4 over historical claims through mutually agreed-upon 

5 settlements between Indian tribes and the United 

6 States; 

7 (2) the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, a federally 

8 recognized Indian tribe with tribal headquarters at 

9 Fort Hall, Idaho— 

10 (A) adopted a tribal constitution and by11 laws on March 31, 1936, that were approved by 

12 the Secretary of the Interior on April 30, 1936, 

13 pursuant to the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

14 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (commonly known as the 

15 ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’); 

16 (B) has entered into various treaties with 

17 the United States, including the Second Treaty 

18 of Fort Bridger, executed on July 3, 1868; and 

19 (C) has maintained a continuous govern20 ment-to-government relationship with the 

21 United States since the earliest years of the 

22 Union; 

23 (3)(A) in 1867, President Andrew Johnson des24 ignated by Executive order the Fort Hall ReservaVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Dec 01, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2802.RS S2802

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1 tion for various bands of Shoshone and Bannock In2 dians; 

3 (B) the Reservation is located near the cities of 

4 Blackfoot and Pocatello in southeastern Idaho; and 

5 (C) article 4 of the Second Treaty of Fort 

6 Bridger secured the Reservation as a ‘‘permanent 

7 home’’ for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes; 

8 (4)(A) according to the Executive order referred 

9 to in paragraph (3)(A), the Blackfoot River, as the 

10 river existed in its natural state— 

11 (i) is the northern boundary of the Res12 ervation; and 

13 (ii) flows in a westerly direction along that 

14 northern boundary; and 

15 (B) within the Reservation, land use in the 

16 River watershed is dominated by— 

17 (i) rangeland; 

18 (ii) dry and irrigated farming; and 

19 (iii) residential development; 

20 (5)(A) in 1964, the Corps of Engineers com21 pleted a local flood protection project on the River— 

22 (i) authorized by section 204 of the Flood 

23 Control Act of 1950 (64 Stat. 170); and 

24 (ii) sponsored by the Blackfoot River Flood 

25 Control District No. 7; 


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1 (B) the project consisted of building levees, re2 placing irrigation diversion structures, replacing 

3 bridges, and channel realignment; and 

4 (C) the channel realignment portion of the 

5 project severed various parcels of land located con6 tiguous to the River along the boundary of the Res7 ervation, resulting in Indian land being located 

8 north of the Realigned River and non-Indian land 

9 being located south of the Realigned River; 

10 (6) beginning in 1999, the Cadastral Survey 

11 Office of the Bureau of Land Management con12 ducted surveys of— 

13 (A) 25 parcels of Indian land; and 

14 (B) 19 parcels of non-Indian land; 

15 (7) in 1988, many non-Indian landowners and 

16 non-Indians acquiring Indian land have filed claims 

17 in the Snake River Basin Adjudication seeking water 

18 rights that included a place of use on Indian land; 

19 and 

20 (8) the enactment of this Act and the distribu21 tion of funds in accordance with section 12(b) would 

22 represent an agreement among— 

23 (A) the Tribes; 

24 (B) the allottees; 


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1 (C) the non-Indians acquiring Indian land; 

2 and 

3 (D) the non-Indian landowners. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

5 (1) to resolve the disputes resulting from re6 alignment of the River by the Corps of Engineers 

7 during calendar year 1964 pursuant to the project 

8 described in subsection (a)(5)(A); and 

9 (2) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settle10 ment of all claims and potential claims arising from 

11 those disputes. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ALLOTTEE.—The term ‘‘allottee’’ means an 

15 heir of an original allottee of the Reservation who 

16 owns an interest in a parcel of land that is— 

17 (A) held in trust by the United States for 

18 the benefit of the Tribes or allottee; and 

19 (B) located north of the Realigned River 

20 within the exterior boundaries of the Reserva21 tion. 

22 (2) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 

23 means any parcel of land that is— 

24 (A) held in trust by the United States for 

25 the benefit of the Tribes or the allottees; 


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1 (B) located north of the Realigned River; 

2 and 

3 (C) identified in exhibit C exhibit A of the 

4 survey of the Bureau of Land Management en5 titled ‘‘Survey of the Blackfoot River of 2002 to 

6 2005’’, which is located at— 

7 (i) the Fort Hall Indian Agency office 

8 of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 

9 (ii) the Blackfoot River Flood Control 

10 District No. 7, 75 East Judicial, Black11 foot, Idaho. 

12 (3) NON-INDIAN ACQUIRING INDIAN LAND.— 

13 The term ‘‘non-Indian acquiring Indian land’’ means 

14 any individual or entity that— 

15 (A) has acquired or plans to acquire In16 dian land; and 

17 (B) is included on the listed list contained 

18 in exhibit C of the survey referred to in para19 graph (2)(C). 

20 (4) NON-INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Indian 

21 land’’ means any parcel of fee land that is— 

22 (A) located south of the Realigned River; 

23 and 

24 (B) identified in exhibit B of the survey re25 ferred to in paragraph (2)(C). 


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1 (5) NON-INDIAN LANDOWNER.—The term 

2 ‘‘non-Indian landowner’’ means any individual who 

3 holds fee title to non-Indian land. 

4 (6) REALIGNED RIVER.—The term ‘‘Realigned 

5 River’’ means that portion of the River that was re6 aligned by the Corps of Engineers during calendar 

7 year 1964 pursuant to the project described in sec8 tion 2(a)(5) 2(a)(5)(A). 

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

10 means the Fort Hall Reservation established by Ex11 ecutive order during calendar year 1867 and con12 firmed by treaty during calendar year 1868. 

13 (8) RIVER.—The term ‘‘River’’ means the 

14 Blackfoot River located in the State of Idaho. 

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

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (10) TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribes’’ means the 

18 Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. 

19 SEC. 4. EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS AND TITLE. 

20 Except as provided in sections 5 and 6, effective be21 ginning on the date on which the amounts appropriated 

22 pursuant to section 12 are distributed in accordance with 

23 that section, all claims and all past, present, and future 

24 right, title, and interest in and to the Indian land and 

25 non-Indian land shall be extinguished. 


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1 SEC. 5. LAND TO BE PLACED INTO TRUST FOR TRIBES. 

2 Effective beginning on the date on which the amounts 

3 appropriated pursuant to section 12 are distributed in ac4 cordance with that section to the Blackfoot River Flood 

5 Control District No. 7, the non-Indian land shall be con6 sidered to be held in trust by the United States for the 

7 benefit of the Tribes. 

8 SEC. 6. TRUST LAND TO BE CONVERTED TO FEE LAND. 

9 Effective beginning on the date on which the amounts 

10 appropriated pursuant to section 12 are distributed in ac11 cordance with that section to the tribal trust fund account 

12 and the allottee trust account, the Indian land shall be 

13 transferred to the Blackfoot River Flood Control District 

14 No. 7 for conveyance to the non-Indians acquiring Indian 

15 land. 

16 SEC. 7. TRIBAL TRUST FUND ACCOUNT AND ALLOTTEE 

17 TRUST ACCOUNT. 

18 (a) TRIBAL TRUST FUND ACCOUNT.— 

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

20 the Treasury of the United States an account, to be 

21 known as the ‘‘tribal trust fund account’’, consisting 

22 of such amounts as are deposited in the account 

23 under section 12(b)(1). 

24 (2) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary of the Treas25 ury shall invest amounts in the tribal trust fund acVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Dec 01, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2802.RS S2802

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1 count for the benefit of the Tribes, in accordance 

2 with applicable laws and regulations. 

3 (3) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary of the 

4 Treasury shall distribute amounts in the tribal trust 

5 fund account to the Tribes pursuant to a budget 

6 adopted by the Tribes that describes— 

7 (A) the amounts required by the Tribes; 

8 and 

9 (B) the intended uses of the amounts, in 

10 accordance with paragraph (4). 

11 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—The Tribes may use 

12 amounts in the tribal trust fund account (including 

13 interest earned on those amounts), without fiscal 

14 year limitation, for activities relating to— 

15 (A) construction of a natural resources fa16 cility; 

17 (B) water resources needs; 

18 (C) economic development; 

19 (D) land acquisition; and 

20 (E) such other purposes as the Tribes de21 termine to be appropriate. 

22 (b) ALLOTTEE TRUST ACCOUNT.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

24 the Treasury of the United States an account, to be 

25 known as the ‘‘allottee trust account’’, consisting of 


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1 such amounts as are deposited in the account under 

2 section 12(b)(2). 

3 (2) DEPOSIT INTO IIMS.—Not later than 60 

4 days after the date on which amounts are deposited 

5 in the allottee trust account under section 12(b)(2), 

6 the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit the 

7 amounts into individual Indian money accounts for 

8 the allottees. 

9 (3) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury shall invest amounts in the individual Indian 

11 money accounts under paragraph (2) in accordance 

12 with applicable laws and regulations. 

13 SEC. 8. ATTORNEYS FEES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), of the 

15 amounts appropriated pursuant to section 12(a), the Sec16 retary shall pay to the attorneys of the Tribes and the 

17 non-Indian landowners such attorneys fees as are ap18 proved by the Tribes and the non-Indian landowners. 

19 (b) LIMITATION.—The total amount of attorneys fees 

20 paid by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall not exceed 

21 2 percent of the amounts distributed to the Tribes, 

22 allottees, and the non-Indian landowners under section 

23 12(b). 


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1 SEC. 9. EFFECT ON ORIGINAL RESERVATION BOUNDARY. 

2 Nothing in this Act affects the original boundary of 

3 the Reservation, as established by Executive order during 

4 calendar year 1867 and confirmed by treaty during cal5 endar year 1868. 

6 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS. 

7 Nothing in this Act extinguishes or conveys any water 

8 right of the Tribes, as established in the agreement enti9 tled ‘‘1990 Fort Hall Indian Water Rights Agreement’’ 

10 and ratified by section 4 of the Fort Hall Indian Water 

11 Rights Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–602; 104 Stat. 

12 3060). 

13 SEC. 11. DISCLAIMERS REGARDING CLAIMS. 

14 Nothing in this Act— 

15 (1) affects in any manner the sovereign claim 

16 of the State of Idaho to title in and to the beds and 

17 banks of the River under the equal footing doctrine 

18 of the Constitution of the United States; 

19 (2) affects any action by the State of Idaho to 

20 establish that title under section 2409a of title 28, 

21 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Quiet 

22 Title Act’’); 

23 (3) affects the ability of the Tribes or the 

24 United States to claim ownership of the beds and 

25 banks of the River; or 


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1 (4) extinguishes or conveys any water rights of 

2 non-Indian landowners or the claims of the claims of 

3 such landowners to water rights in the Snake River 

4 Basin Adjudication. 

5 SEC. 12. FUNDING. 

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

8 $1,000,000. 

9 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—After the date on which all at10 torneys fees are paid under section 8, the amount appro11 priated pursuant to subsection (a) shall be distributed 

12 among the Tribes, the allottees, and the Blackfoot River 

13 Flood Control District No. 7 as follows: 

14 (1) Twenty-eight percent shall be deposited into 

15 the tribal trust fund account established by section 

16 7(a)(1). 

17 (2) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited into 

18 the allottee trust account established by section 

19 7(b)(1). 

20 (3) Forty-seven percent shall be provided to the 

21 Blackfoot River Flood Control District No. 7 for— 

22 (A) distribution to the non-Indian land23 owners on a pro rata, per-acre basis; and 

24 (B) associated administrative expenses. 


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1 (c) PER CAPITA PAYMENTS PROHIBITED.—No 

2 amount received by the Tribes under this Act shall be dis3 tributed to a member of the Tribes on a per capita basis. 

4 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 This Act takes effect on the date on which the 

6 amount described in section 12(a) is appropriated. 


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Calendar No. 664 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2802 

A BILL 

To settle land claims within the Fort Hall 

Reservation. 

DECEMBER 1, 2010 

Reported with amendments 


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