I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3103 

To establish a Commission on Recognition of Indian Tribes to review and 

act on petitions by Indian groups applying for Federal recognition, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 5, 2011 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a Commission on Recognition of Indian Tribes 

to review and act on petitions by Indian groups applying 

for Federal recognition, 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, TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Indian Tribal Federal Recognition Administrative Proce6 dures Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 


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Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Commission on Recognition of Indian Tribes. 

Sec. 5. Documented petitions for recognition. 

Sec. 6. Notice of receipt of documented petition. 

Sec. 7. Processing the documented petition. 

Sec. 8. Preliminary hearing. 

Sec. 9. Adjudicatory hearing. 

Sec. 10. Reconsideration by Commission; final decision. 

Sec. 11. Effect of determinations. 

Sec. 12. Implementation of decisions. 

Sec. 13. Recognition or restoration of Indian tribes. 

Sec. 14. Indian Reorganization Act. 

Sec. 15. Needs determination and budget request. 

Sec. 16. Annual report concerning Commission’s activities. 

Sec. 17. Actions by petitioners for enforcement. 

Sec. 18. Regulations. 

Sec. 19. Guidelines and advice. 

Sec. 20. Assistance to petitioners. 

Sec. 21. Protection of certain privileged information. 

Sec. 22. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

3 (1) To transfer the responsibility for the Fed4 eral acknowledgment process from the Bureau of In5 dian Affairs to an independent Commission on Rec6 ognition of Indian Tribes. 

7 (2) To establish a Commission on Recognition 

8 of Indian Tribes to review and act upon documented 

9 petitions submitted by Indian groups that apply for 

10 Federal recognition. 

11 (3) To establish an administrative procedure 

12 under which petitions for Federal recognition filed 

13 by Indian groups will be considered. 

14 (4) To provide clear and consistent standards of 

15 administrative review of documented petitions for 

16 Federal acknowledgment. 


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1 (5) To clarify evidentiary standards and expe2 dite the administrative review process by providing 

3 adequate resources to process documented petitions. 

4 (6) To ensure that when the Federal Govern5 ment extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, 

6 the Federal Government does so with an internally 

7 consistent legal, factual, and historical basis. 

8 (7) To extend to Indian groups that the Com9 mission determines to be Indian tribes the protec10 tion, services, and benefits available from the Fed11 eral Government pursuant to the Federal trust re12 sponsibility with respect to Indian tribes. 

13 (8) To assure that Indian groups that are de14 termined to be Indian tribes are recognized as hav15 ing the immunities and privileges available to other 

16 federally acknowledged Indian tribes by virtue of 

17 their status as Indian tribes with a government-to18 government relationship with the United States. 

19 (9) To preserve the integrity of the government20 to-government relationship between the United 

21 States and federally recognized Indian tribes by in22 suring that only self-governing Indian peoples are 

23 recognized by the United States. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—The term ‘‘acknowl2 edgment’’ means a determination by the Commission 

3 on Recognition of Indian Tribes that an Indian 

4 group constitutes an Indian tribe with a govern5 ment-to-government relationship with the United 

6 States. 

7 (2) AUTONOMOUS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘autono9 mous’’ means the exercise of political influence 

10 or authority independent of the control of any 

11 other Indian governing entity. 

12 (B) CONTEXT OF TERM.—With respect to 

13 a petitioner, the term shall be understood in the 

14 context of the history, geography, culture, and 

15 social organization of the petitioner. 

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

17 Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department. 

18 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

19 means the Commission on Recognition of Indian 

20 Tribes established under this Act. 

21 (5) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘community’’ re22 fers to a group of related individuals that is distinct 

23 from surrounding communities. A tribal community 

24 may be found to be distinct, even though some of its 

25 members are also members of other tribes. The term 


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1 shall be understood in the context of the history, cul2 ture, and social organization of the group, the intra3 tribal marriage patterns of the group, and the geog4 raphy and economy of the region in which the group 

5 resides. 

6 (6) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.—With re7 spect to a period of history of a group, the term 

8 ‘‘continuous’’ or ‘‘continuously’’ means extending 

9 from 1900 to the present without interruption as 

10 demonstrated by evidence of the fact or condition no 

11 less than once every ten years. 

12 (7) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

13 means the Department of the Interior. 

14 (8) DOCUMENTED PETITION.—The term ‘‘docu15 mented petition’’ means the detailed, factual expo16 sition and arguments, including all documentary evi17 dence, necessary to demonstrate that those argu18 ments specifically address the mandatory criteria es19 tablished in this Act. 

20 (9) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.— 

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

22 refer to the period dating from 1900. 

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

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


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1 community that is not acknowledged to be an Indian 

2 tribe by the Federal Government. 

3 (11) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘‘inter4 ested party’’ means any person, organization, or 

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

6 property interest in an acknowledgment determina7 tion and who requests an opportunity to submit 

8 comments or evidence or to be kept informed of Fed9 eral actions regarding a specific petitioner. The term 

10 includes the Governor and attorney general of the 

11 State in which a petitioner is located, and may in12 clude, but is not limited to, local governmental units, 

13 and any recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized 

14 Indian groups that might be affected by an acknowl15 edgment determination. 

16 (12) LETTER OF INTENT.—The term ‘‘letter of 

17 intent’’ means an undocumented letter or resolution 

18 that— 

19 (A) is dated and signed by the governing 

20 body of an Indian group; 

21 (B) is submitted to the Commission; and 

22 (C) indicates the intent of the Indian 

23 group to submit a documented petition for Fed24 eral acknowledgment. 


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

2 means any group that submits a letter of intent to 

3 the Commission requesting acknowledgment as an 

4 Indian tribe. 

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

6 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (15) TREATY.—The term ‘‘treaty’’ means any 

8 treaty— 

9 (A) negotiated and ratified by the United 

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

11 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe; 

12 (B) negotiated by the United States with, 

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

14 whether or not the treaty was subsequently 

15 ratified; or 

16 (C) made by any government with, or on 

17 behalf of, any Indian group or tribe, prior to 

18 that government’s entry into the United States, 

19 or when the United States acquired jurisdiction 

20 over land and territory by purchase, conquest, 

21 annexation, or cession and the predecessor gov22 ernment had entered into treaties with any In23 dian group or tribe without regard to whether 

24 the treaty was expressly acceded to or adopted 

25 by the successor government. 


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1 (16) TRIBAL ROLL.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘tribal roll’’ 

3 means a list exclusively of those individuals 

4 who— 

5 (i)(I) have been determined by the 

6 tribe to meet the membership requirements 

7 of the tribe, as set forth in the governing 

8 document of the tribe; or 

9 (II) in the absence of a governing doc10 ument that sets forth those requirements, 

11 have been recognized as members by the 

12 governing body of the tribe; and 

13 (ii) have affirmatively demonstrated 

14 consent to being listed as members of the 

15 tribe. 

16 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The tribal roll shall be 

17 composed principally of persons who are not 

18 members of any recognized Indian tribe, pro19 vided that the Commission shall not deny rec20 ognition to any petitioner if no more than 20 

21 percent of the individuals listed on the tribal 

22 roll were at the time that the petition was sub23 mitted to either the Secretary or the Commis24 sion enrolled as a member of a federally recog25 nized Indian tribe. 


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1 SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON RECOGNITION OF INDIAN TRIBES. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com3 mission on Recognition of Indian Tribes. The Commission 

4 shall be an independent establishment (as defined in sec5 tion 104 of title 5, United States Code). 

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (A) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall 

9 consist of 7 members appointed by the Presi10 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the 

11 Senate. 

12 (B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

13 MEMBERSHIP.—In making appointments to the 

14 Commission, the President shall give careful 

15 consideration to— 

16 (i) recommendations received from In17 dian groups and Indian tribes; and 

18 (ii) individuals who have a back19 ground or who have demonstrated exper20 tise and experience in Indian law or policy, 

21 anthropology, genealogy, or Native Amer22 ican history. 

23 (C) BACKGROUND INFORMATION.—No in24 dividual shall be eligible for any appointment 

25 to, or continue service on the Commission, 

26 who— 


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

2 (ii) has any financial interest in, or 

3 management responsibility for, any Indian 

4 group, except merely by virtue of member5 ship in such group. 

6 (2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 4 

7 members of the Commission may be members of the 

8 same political party. 

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

10 shall be appointed for a term of 6 years. 

11 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis12 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission, 

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

14 original appointment was made. Any member ap15 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expira16 tion of the term for which the predecessor of the 

17 member was appointed shall be appointed only for 

18 the remainder of that term. A member may serve 

19 after the expiration of the term of that member until 

20 a successor has taken office. 

21 (5) COMPENSATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

23 Commission shall receive compensation at a 

24 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual 

25 rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the 


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1 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 

2 5, United States Code, for each day, including 

3 travel time, that the member is engaged in the 

4 actual performance of duties authorized by the 

5 Commission. 

6 (B) TRAVEL.—All members of the Com7 mission shall be reimbursed for travel and per 

8 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the 

9 performance of duties of the Commission while 

10 away from their homes or regular places of 

11 business, in accordance with subchapter I of 

12 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

14 of the Commission shall serve on the Commission as 

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

16 member of the Commission may, while serving on 

17 the Commission, be otherwise employed as an officer 

18 or employee of the Federal Government. Service by 

19 a member who is an employee of the Federal Gov20 ernment at the time of nomination as a member 

21 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 

22 status or privilege. 

23 (7) CHAIRPERSON.—At the time appointments 

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

25 designate a Chairperson of the Commission (referred 


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

2 the appointees. 

3 (c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.— 

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

5 its first meeting not later than 30 days after the 

6 date on which all members of the Commission have 

7 been appointed and confirmed by the Senate. 

8 (2) QUORUM.—A panel of any 3 members of 

9 the Commission may conduct any proceedings au10 thorized herein, except those authorized under sec11 tion 10 which shall be conducted by no fewer than 

12 5 commissioners. 

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

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

15 may be necessary to establish the procedures of the 

16 Commission and to govern the manner of operations, 

17 organization, and personnel of the Commission. 

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

19 the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia. 

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

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

22 meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this 

23 Act. 

24 (e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.— 


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1 (1) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF CHAIR2 PERSON.—Subject to such rules and regulations as 

3 may be adopted by the Commission, the Chairperson 

4 may— 

5 (A) appoint, terminate, and fix the com6 pensation (without regard to the provisions of 

7 title 5, United States Code, governing appoint8 ments in the competitive service, and without 

9 regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub10 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title, or of any 

11 other provision of law, relating to the number, 

12 classification, and General Schedule rates) of 

13 an Executive Director of the Commission and of 

14 such other personnel as the Chairperson con15 siders advisable to assist in the performance of 

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

17 exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of 

18 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level 

19 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 

20 of title 5, United States Code; and 

21 (B) procure, as authorized by section 

22 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, tem23 porary and intermittent services to the same ex24 tent as is authorized by law for agencies in the 

25 executive branch, but at rates not to exceed the 


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1 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 

2 prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule 

3 under section 5316 of that title. 

4 (2) GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITIES OF

5 COMMISSION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

7 hold such hearings and sit and act at such 

8 times as the Commission considers appropriate. 

9 (B) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—As the Com10 mission may consider advisable, the Commission 

11 may— 

12 (i) take testimony; 

13 (ii) have printing and binding done; 

14 (iii) enter into contracts and other ar15 rangements, subject to the availability of 

16 funds; 

17 (iv) make expenditures; and 

18 (v) take other appropriate actions as 

19 authorized by this Act. 

20 (C) OATHS AND AFFIRMATION.—Any 

21 member of the Commission may administer 

22 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing be23 fore the Commission. 

24 (3) INFORMATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

2 secure directly from any officer, department, 

3 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the 

4 Federal Government such information as the 

5 Commission may require to carry out this Act. 

6 Each such officer, department, agency, estab7 lishment, or instrumentality shall furnish, to 

8 the extent permitted by law, such information, 

9 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to 

10 the Commission. 

11 (B) FACILITIES, SERVICES, AND DE12 TAILS.—Upon the request of the Chairperson, 

13 to assist the Commission in carrying out its du14 ties of the department, agency, or instrumen15 tality may— 

16 (i) make any of the facilities and serv17 ices of that department, agency, or instru18 mentality available to the Commission; and 

19 (ii) detail any of the personnel of that 

20 department, agency, or instrumentality to 

21 the Commission, on a nonreimbursable 

22 basis. 

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

24 United States mails in the same manner and 


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1 under the same conditions as other departments 

2 and agencies of the United States. 

3 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro4 visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

5 App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

6 (g) TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.—The Commis7 sion shall terminate not later than the date that is 12 

8 years after the date of the first meeting of the Commission 

9 unless such date is otherwise shortened or extended by an 

10 Act of Congress. 

11 (h) APPOINTMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall continue to exer13 cise those authorities vested in the Secretary relating to 

14 the supervision of Indian recognition regulated under part 

15 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations until 

16 such time as the Commission is organized and prescribes 

17 regulations. The Secretary shall provide staff and support 

18 assistance to facilitate an orderly transition to regulation 

19 of recognition of Indian tribes by the Commission. 

20 SEC. 5. DOCUMENTED PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) LETTERS OF INTENT AND DOCUMENTED

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

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

25 submit to the Commission letters of intent and a 


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1 documented petition requesting that the Commission 

2 recognize the group as an Indian tribe. 

3 (2) TRANSFER OF DOCUMENTED PETITION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, not later than 30 days 

6 after publication of formal regulations gov7 erning the operation of the Commission, the 

8 Secretary shall transfer to the Commission all 

9 documented petitions, all administrative files re10 lated thereto, and letters of intent pending be11 fore the Department that request the Secretary 

12 to recognize or acknowledge an Indian group as 

13 an Indian tribe. 

14 (B) CESSATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES

15 OF SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, on the date of the transfer 

17 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary and the 

18 Department shall cease to have any authority to 

19 recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Fed20 eral Government, any Indian group as an In21 dian tribe under part 83 of title 25, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations, and its successors. 

23 (C) DETERMINATION OF ORDER OF SUB24 MISSION OF TRANSFERRED DOCUMENTED PETI25 TIONS.—Documented petitions transferred to 


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1 the Commission under subparagraph (A) shall, 

2 for purposes of this Act, be considered as hav3 ing been submitted to the Commission in the 

4 same order as those documented petitions were 

5 submitted to the Department. 

6 (3) EXCLUSION.—The following groups and en7 tities shall not be eligible to submit a documented 

8 petition for recognition by the Commission under 

9 this Act: 

10 (A) ENTITIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO RE11 CEIVE SERVICES FROM THE BUREAU.—Indian 

12 tribes, organized bands, pueblos, communities, 

13 and Alaska Native entities that are recognized 

14 by the Secretary as of the date of enactment of 

15 this Act as eligible to receive services from the 

16 Bureau. 

17 (B) SPLINTER GROUPS, POLITICAL FAC18 TIONS, AND COMMUNITIES.—Splinter groups, 

19 political factions, communities, or groups of any 

20 character that separate from the main body of 

21 an Indian tribe that, at the time of that separa22 tion, is recognized as an Indian tribe by the 

23 Secretary, unless the group, faction, or commu24 nity is able to establish clearly that the group, 


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1 faction, or community has functioned since 

2 1900 as an autonomous Indian tribal entity. 

3 (C) GROUPS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY SUB4 MITTED DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.—Groups, or 

5 successors in interest of groups, that before the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, have petitioned 

7 for and been denied or refused recognition 

8 based on the merits of their petition as an In9 dian tribe under regulations prescribed by the 

10 Secretary (other than an Indian group de11 scribed in subsection (d)(1)). Nothing in this 

12 subparagraph shall be construed as excluding 

13 any group that Congress has identified as In14 dian, but has not identified as an Indian tribe. 

15 (D) INDIAN GROUPS SUBJECT TO TERMI16 NATION.—Any Indian group whose relationship 

17 with the Federal Government was expressly ter18 minated by an Act of Congress. 

19 (b) DOCUMENTED PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.— 

20 Except as provided in subsection (c), any documented peti21 tion submitted under subsection (a) by an Indian group 

22 shall be in any readable form that clearly indicates that 

23 the documented petition is a documented petition request24 ing the Commission to recognize the Indian group as an 


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1 Indian tribe and that contains detailed, specific evidence 

2 concerning each of the following items: 

3 (1) LIST OF MEMBERS WHO DESCEND FROM

4 HISTORIC TRIBE(S).— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A list of all then cur6 rent members of the petitioner, including the 

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

8 place of birth, and then current residential ad9 dress of each member, a copy of each available 

10 former list of members based on the criteria de11 fined by the petitioner, and a statement describ12 ing the methods used in preparing those lists. 

13 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 In order for the Commission to consider the 

15 members of the group to be members of an In16 dian tribe for the purposes of the documented 

17 petition, that membership shall be required to 

18 consist of established descendancy from an In19 dian group that existed historically, or from his20 torical Indian groups that combined and func21 tioned as a single autonomous entity. 

22 (C) EVIDENCE OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 Evidence of tribal membership required by the 

24 Commission for a determination of tribal mem25 bership shall include the following items: 


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1 (i) DESCENDANCY ROLLS.— 

2 Descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec3 retary for the petitioner for purposes of 

4 distributing claims money, providing allot5 ments, or other purposes. 

6 (ii) CERTAIN OFFICIAL RECORDS.— 

7 Federal, State, or other official records or 

8 evidence identifying then present members 

9 of the petitioner, or ancestors of then 

10 present members of the petitioner, as being 

11 descendants of a historic tribe or historic 

12 tribes that combined and functioned as a 

13 single autonomous political entity. 

14 (iii) ENROLLMENT RECORDS.— 

15 Church, school, and other similar enroll16 ment records identifying then present 

17 members or ancestors of then present 

18 members as being descendants of a historic 

19 tribe or historic tribes that combined and 

20 functioned as a single autonomous political 

21 entity. 

22 (iv) AFFIDAVITS OF RECOGNITION.— 

23 Affidavits of recognition by tribal elders, 

24 leaders, or the tribal governing body identi25 fying then present members or ancestors of 


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1 then present members as being descend2 ants of 1 or more historic tribes that com3 bined and functioned as a single autono4 mous political entity. 

5 (v) OTHER RECORDS OR EVIDENCE.— 

6 Other records or evidence based upon anal7 ysis by historians, anthropologists, and 

8 genealogists with established expertise on 

9 the petitioner or Indian entities in general, 

10 identifying then present members or ances11 tors of then present members as being de12 scendants of 1 or more historic tribes that 

13 combined and functioned as a single auton14 omous political entity. 

15 (2) EVIDENCE OF COMMUNITY.— 

16 (A) DISTINCT COMMUNITY.—A statement 

17 of facts and an analysis of such facts estab18 lishing that the group comprises a community 

19 of related members distinct from surrounding 

20 communities continuously since 1900. 

21 (B) EVIDENCE OF DISTINCT COMMU22 NITY.—Evidence that the Commission may rely 

23 upon in determining that the petitioner meets 

24 the distinct community criterion may include 

25 one or more of the following items: 


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1 (i) Political structures or processes 

2 limited to the group by which decisions 

3 that affect the group are made, such as 

4 the allocation of resources or the settle5 ment of disputes among members. 

6 (ii) Political disagreements among the 

7 individual members of the group over 

8 group policies, processes, or decisions. 

9 (iii) Significant rates of informal so10 cial interaction, social relationships, such 

11 as marriage or shared economic activity, 

12 among members of the group. 

13 (iv) Cultural patterns among a signifi14 cant portion of the group’s members such 

15 as language, religious beliefs and practices, 

16 or religious organizations. 

17 (v) The majority of the group’s mem18 bers exhibits collateral as well as lineal 

19 kinship ties through generations to the 

20 third degree. 

21 (vi) Other evidence deemed relevant or 

22 probative by the Commission. 

23 (C) CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF DISTINCT

24 COMMUNITY.—A petitioner shall be considered 

25 to have conclusively established a distinct comVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3103.IH H3103

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1 munity for any period in which it establishes 

2 one of the following: 

(i) Not less than 1 3 ⁄3 of the members 

4 of the group who are married to other 

5 members of the group. 

6 (ii) Not less than 50 percent of the 

7 members of the group reside in geo8 graphical area(s) that are exclusively or al9 most exclusively composed of members of 

10 the group. 

11 (iii) The State in which the petitioner 

12 principally resides has continuously since 

13 1900 recognized the group as a self-gov14 erning Indian community or has held a 

15 reservation for the group. 

16 (iv) A continuous line of group lead17 er(s) with a description of the means of se18 lection or acquiescence by a majority of the 

19 group’s members. 

20 (3) GOVERNING DOCUMENT.—A copy of the 

21 then present governing document of the petitioner 

22 that includes the membership criteria of the peti23 tioner. In the absence of a written document, the pe24 titioner shall be required to provide a statement de25 scribing in full the membership criteria of the petiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3103.IH H3103

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1 tioner and the then current governing procedures of 

2 the petitioner. 

3 (4) PETITIONER BURDEN OF PROOF.—At all 

4 levels of Commission consideration of a petition, and 

5 upon any reconsideration of appellate review of such 

6 petition, the Petitioner shall be considered to have 

7 satisfied any requirement if the evidence submitted, 

8 taken together, establishes a reasonable likelihood of 

9 the validity of the facts establishing the satisfaction 

10 of that requirement. No higher level of proof shall 

11 be required, and conclusive proof of a single fact re12 lating to a requirement shall not be necessary for 

13 the requirement to be considered met. 

14 (c) EXPEDITED DECISION.— 

15 (1) EXPEDITED NEGATIVE.—Within 6 months 

16 of receipt of a documented petition, the Commission 

17 shall, where appropriate, publish a notice of deter18 mination that the petitioner shall not be recognized 

19 upon a determination that the petitioner failed to 

20 demonstrate Indian ancestry as required by sub21 section (b)(3). 

22 (2) EXPEDITED FAVORABLE.—Within 6 months 

23 of receipt of a documented petition the Commission, 

24 upon the request of the petitioner, shall publish a 

25 notice of determination that the petitioner shall be 


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1 acknowledged as an Indian tribe upon the Commis2 sion’s determination that the petitioner has dem3 onstrated that it has comprised a distinct commu4 nity for a time depth of 10 years prior to the date 

5 upon which the petitioner filed a completed petition 

6 before either the Secretary or the Commission, and 

7 any of the following: 

8 (A) Where 90 percent or more of its mem9 bers descend from a tribe recognized by treaty 

10 with the United States. 

11 (B) Where 90 percent or more of its mem12 bers descend from a historic tribe for which the 

13 State in which the petitioner principally resides 

14 has since 1900 recognized a reservation for that 

15 petitioner. 

16 (C) Where 90 percent or more of its mem17 bers descend from a historic tribe and are mem18 bers of a tribe held to constitute an Indian tribe 

19 under Federal law by a Federal court or a 

20 State court of last resort. 

21 (D) Where 90 percent or more of its mem22 bers descend from a historic tribe that the 

23 United States has at one time unambiguously 

24 acknowledged. 


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1 (3) EFFECT OF AN EXPEDITED DETERMINA2 TION.—A noticed expedited determination shall be 

3 deemed a final decision by the Commission, unless 

4 the expedited determination is rebutted as follows: 

5 (A) Within 60 days after the publication of 

6 the notice of expedited determination an inter7 ested party or the petitioner submits comments 

8 on the notice. 

9 (B) Such comments pertain to the basis of 

10 the expedited determination. 

11 (C) In the event such comments are sub12 mitted, the notice of expedited determination 

13 shall not constitute a final decision of the Com14 mission and the petitioner shall be entitled to 

15 an adjudicatory hearing under section 9. 

16 (d) HEARING FOR PREVIOUSLY DENIED GROUPS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Indian groups that have 

18 been denied or refused recognition as an Indian tribe 

19 under regulations prescribed by the Secretary shall 

20 be entitled to an adjudicatory hearing under section 

21 9 before the Commission, if the Commission deter22 mines that the criteria established by this Act 

23 changes the evaluation of the merits of the Indian 

24 group’s documented petition submitted to the De25 partment. 


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1 (2) HEARING RECORD.—For purposes of para2 graph (1), the Commission shall review the adminis3 trative record containing the documented petition 

4 that formed the basis of the determination to the In5 dian group by the Secretary. 

6 (3) TREATMENT OF SECRETARY’S FINAL DE7 TERMINATION.—For purposes of the adjudicatory 

8 hearing under section 9, the Secretary’s final deter9 mination shall be considered a preliminary deter10 mination under section 8(b)(1)(B). 

11 (4) OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO BE

12 CONSIDERED CONCERNING EVIDENCE OF CRI13 TERIA.—A statement and an analysis of facts sub14 mitted under this section may establish that, for any 

15 given period of time for which evidence of criteria is 

16 lacking, such absence of evidence corresponds in 

17 time with official acts of the Federal or relevant 

18 State Government which prohibited or penalized the 

19 expression of Indian identity. For such periods of 

20 time, the absence of evidence shall not be the basis 

21 for declining to acknowledge the petitioner. 

22 (e) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.— 

23 (1) DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.—No Indian 

24 group may submit a documented petition to the 


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1 Commission later than 8 years after the date of the 

2 first meeting of the Commission. 

3 (2) LETTERS OF INTENT.—In the case of a let4 ter of intent, the Commission shall publish in the 

5 Federal Register a notice of such receipt, including 

6 the name, location, and mailing address of the peti7 tioner. A petitioner who has submitted a letter of in8 tent or had a letter of intent transferred to the Com9 mission under section 5 shall be required to submit 

10 a documented petition within 3 years after the date 

11 of the first meeting of the Commission to the Com12 mission. No letters of intent will be accepted by the 

13 Commission later than 3 years after the date of the 

14 first meeting of the Commission. 

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

16 (a) PETITIONER.— 

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

18 a documented petition is submitted or transferred to 

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

20 shall— 

21 (A) send an acknowledgment of receipt in 

22 writing to the petitioner; and 

23 (B) publish in the Federal Register a no24 tice of that receipt, including the name, locaVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3103.IH H3103

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1 tion, and mailing address of the petitioner and 

2 such other information that— 

3 (i) identifies the entity that submitted 

4 the documented petition and the date the 

5 documented petition was received by the 

6 Commission; 

7 (ii) indicates where a copy of the doc8 umented petition may be examined; and 

9 (iii) indicates whether the documented 

10 petition is a transferred documented peti11 tion that is subject to the special provi12 sions under paragraph (2). 

13 (2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE TRANS14 FERRED DOCUMENTED PETITIONS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a docu16 mented petition that is transferred to the Com17 mission under section 5(a)(4), the notice pro18 vided to the petitioner, shall, in addition to pro19 viding the information specified in paragraph 

20 (1), inform the petitioner whether the docu21 mented petition constitutes a documented peti22 tion that meets the requirements of section 5. 

23 (B) AMENDED PETITIONS.—If the petition 

24 described in subparagraph (A) is not a docu25 mented petition, the Commission shall notify 


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1 the petitioner that the petitioner may, not later 

2 than 120 days after the date of the notice, sub3 mit to the Commission an amended petition 

4 that is a documented petition for review under 

5 section 7. 

6 (C) EFFECT OF AMENDED PETITION.—To 

7 the extent practicable, the submission of an 

8 amended petition by a petitioner by the date 

9 specified in this paragraph shall not affect the 

10 order of consideration of the petition by the 

11 Commission. 

12 (b) OTHER NOTIFICATION.—In addition to providing 

13 the notification required under subsection (a), the Com14 mission shall notify, in writing, the Governor and attorney 

15 general of, and each federally recognized Indian tribe 

16 within, any State in which a petitioner resides. 

17 (c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING

18 OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.— 

19 (1) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall pub20 lish the notice of receipt of each documented petition 

21 (including any amended petition submitted pursuant 

22 to subsection (a)(2)) in a major newspaper of gen23 eral circulation in the town or city located nearest 

24 the location of the petitioner. 


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1 (2) OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING OR OPPOS2 ING SUBMISSIONS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each notice published 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include, in addition 

5 to the information described in subsection (a), 

6 notice of opportunity for interested parties to 

7 submit factual or legal arguments in support of, 

8 or in opposition to, the documented petition. 

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

10 submission made under subparagraph (A) shall 

11 be provided to the petitioner within 90 days 

12 upon receipt by the Commission. 

13 (C) RESPONSE.—The petitioner shall be 

14 provided an opportunity to respond within 90 

15 days to any submission made under subpara16 graph (A) before a determination on the docu17 mented petition by the Commission. 

18 SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE DOCUMENTED PETITION. 

19 (a) REVIEW.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a docu21 mented petition submitted or transferred under sec22 tion 5(a) or submitted under section 6(a)(2)(B), the 

23 Commission shall conduct a review to determine 

24 whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as 

25 an Indian tribe. 


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1 (2) CONTENT OF REVIEW.—The review con2 ducted under paragraph (1) shall include consider3 ation of the documented petition, supporting evi4 dence, and the factual statements contained in the 

5 documented petition. 

6 (3) OTHER RESEARCH.—In conducting a review 

7 under this subsection, the Commission may— 

8 (A) initiate other research for any purpose 

9 relative to analyzing the documented petition 

10 and obtaining additional information about the 

11 status of the petitioner; and 

12 (B) consider such evidence as may be sub13 mitted by interested parties. 

14 (4) ACCESS TO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND NA15 TIONAL ARCHIVES.—Upon request by the petitioner, 

16 the appropriate officials of the Library of Congress 

17 and the National Archives shall allow access by the 

18 petitioner to the resources, records, and documents 

19 of those entities, for the purpose of conducting re20 search and preparing evidence concerning the status 

21 of the petitioner. 

22 (b) CONSIDERATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro24 vided in this subsection, documented petitions sub25 mitted or transferred to the Commission shall be 


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1 considered on a first come, first served basis, deter2 mined by the date of the original filing of each such 

3 documented petition with the Commission (or the 

4 Department if the documented petition is trans5 ferred to the Commission pursuant to section 

6 5(a)(4) or is an amended petition submitted pursu7 ant to section 6(a)(2)(B)). The Commission shall es8 tablish a priority register that includes documented 

9 petitions that are pending before the Department as 

10 of the date of the first meeting of the Commission. 

11 (2) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—Each docu12 mented petition (that is submitted or transferred to 

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

14 submitted to the Commission pursuant to section 

15 6(a)(2)(B)) of an Indian group that meets 1 or more 

16 of the requirements set forth in section 5(c) shall re17 ceive priority consideration over a documented peti18 tion submitted by any other Indian group. 

19 SEC. 8. PRELIMINARY HEARING. 

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

21 receipt of a documented petition by the Commission sub22 mitted or transferred under section 5(a) or submitted to 

23 the Commission pursuant to section 6(a)(2)(B), the Com24 mission shall— 


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1 (1) set a date for a preliminary hearing at 

2 which the Commission shall preside which shall in 

3 no instance be held later than 180 days after receipt 

4 of the documented petition, and at which the peti5 tioner and any other interested party may provide 

6 evidence concerning the status of the petitioner; or 

7 (2) publish its expedited decision under section 

8 5(d). 

9 (b) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the conclusion of a preliminary hearing under subsection 

11 (a), the Commission shall make a determination— 

12 (1) to extend Federal acknowledgment of the 

13 petitioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner; or 

14 (2) that the petitioner should proceed to an ad15 judicatory hearing at which the Commission shall 

16 preside. 

17 (c) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED PREPARATORY

18 TO AN ADJUDICATORY HEARING.— 

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

20 determination under subsection (b)(2) that the peti21 tioner should proceed to an adjudicatory hearing, 

22 the Commission shall— 

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

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1 sion and its staff in making the preliminary de2 termination to assist the petitioner in preparing 

3 for the adjudicatory hearing; and 

4 (ii) include such guidance as the Commis5 sion considers necessary or appropriate to assist 

6 the petitioner in preparing for the hearing; and 

7 (B) not later than 30 days after the con8 clusion of the preliminary hearing under sub9 section (a), provide a written notification to the 

10 petitioner that includes a list of any deficiencies 

11 or omissions that the Commission relied on in 

12 making a determination under subsection 

13 (b)(2). 

14 (2) SUBJECT OF ADJUDICATORY HEARING.— 

15 The list of deficiencies and omissions provided by 

16 the Commission to a petitioner under paragraph 

17 (1)(B) shall be the subject of the adjudicatory hear18 ing. The Commission may not make any additions to 

19 the list after the Commission issues the list. 

20 SEC. 9. ADJUDICATORY HEARING. 

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

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

23 Commission shall afford a petitioner who is subject to sec24 tion 8(b)(2) an adjudicatory hearing at which the Commis25 sion shall preside. The subject of the adjudicatory hearing 


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1 shall be the list of deficiencies and omissions provided 

2 under section 8(c)(1)(B) and shall be conducted pursuant 

3 to sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States 

4 Code. 

5 (b) TESTIMONY FROM STAFF OF COMMISSION.—In 

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

7 shall require testimony from the acknowledgment and re8 search staff of the Commission or other witnesses involved 

9 in the preliminary determination. Any such testimony 

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

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

12 under subsection (a), the petitioner may provide such evi13 dence as the petitioner considers appropriate. 

14 (d) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—Not later 

15 than 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing held 

16 under subsection (a), the Commission shall— 

17 (1) make a determination concerning the exten18 sion or denial of Federal acknowledgment of the pe19 titioner as an Indian tribe to the petitioner; 

20 (2) publish the determination of the Commis21 sion under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register; 

22 and 

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

24 petitioner, and to every other interested party to 

25 that petitioner. 


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1 SEC. 10. RECONSIDERATION BY COMMISSION; FINAL DECI2 SION. 

3 (a) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon publication of a deter5 mination by a Commission panel under section 9(d) 

6 in the Federal Register, or determination under sec7 tion 5(d), the petitioner or any interested party may 

8 file a request for reconsideration with the Commis9 sion. 

10 (2) DEADLINE.—A petitioner’s or interested 

11 party’s request for reconsideration must be received 

12 by the Commission no later than 90 days after the 

13 date of publication of the Commission panel’s deter14 mination under section 9(d) and 30 days under sec15 tion 5(d). The Commission shall dismiss a request 

16 for reconsideration that is not filed by the deadline. 

17 (3) DETERMINATION OF VALID REQUEST.—If a 

18 petitioner’s or interested party’s request for recon19 sideration is timely filed, the Commission shall de20 termine, within 120 days after publication of the 

21 Commission panel’s final determination in the Fed22 eral Register under section 9(d), and 90 days under 

23 section 5(d), whether the request alleges any of the 

24 grounds in subsection (d) and shall notify the peti25 tioner and interested parties of it reconsidered deter26 mination. 


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1 (4) FINAL DECISION.—If no request for recon2 sideration has been received, the Commission panel’s 

3 decision under section 9(d) and section 5(d) shall be 

4 final 90 days after publication of the final deter5 mination in the Federal Register. 

6 (b) DETAILED STATEMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The petitioner’s or inter8 ested party’s request for reconsideration shall con9 tain a detailed statement of the grounds for the re10 quest. 

11 (2) STATEMENT CONSIDERED OPENING

12 BRIEF.—The detailed statement of grounds for re13 consideration filed by a petitioner or interested par14 ties shall be considered the appellant’s opening brief. 

15 (3) COPIES.—The party or parties requesting 

16 the reconsideration shall mail copies of the request 

17 to the petitioner and all other interested parties. 

18 (c) REVIEW.—The Commission shall review all re19 quests for reconsideration that are timely filed and that 

20 allege any of the following: 

21 (1) That there is new evidence that could affect 

22 the determination. 

23 (2) That a substantial portion of the evidence 

24 relied upon in the Commission panel’s determination 

25 was unreliable or was of little probative value. 


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1 (3) That petitioner’s or the Commission panel’s 

2 research appears inadequate or incomplete in some 

3 material respect. 

4 (4) That there are reasonable alternative inter5 pretations, not previously considered, of the evidence 

6 used for the determination under section 9(d) or 

7 under section 5(d), that would substantially affect 

8 the determination that the petitioner meets or does 

9 not meet one or more of the criteria in section 

10 5(b)(1) to (3) or is eligible for an expedited decision 

11 under section 5(c). 

12 (d) COMMISSION OVERSIGHT OF REQUEST FOR RE13 CONSIDERATION.— 

14 (1) AUTHORITY TO REVIEW.—The Commission 

15 shall have authority to review determinations of a 

16 Commission panel made pursuant to section 9(d) 

17 and section 5(d). 

18 (2) PROCEDURES FOR FULL AND FAIR EVALUA19 TION.—The Commission may establish such proce20 dures as it deems appropriate to provide a full and 

21 fair evaluation of a request for reconsideration under 

22 this section to the extent they are not inconsistent 

23 with this Act. 

24 (3) EXPERTS.—The Commission, at its discre25 tion, may request experts not associated with the 


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1 Commission, any panel of the Commission, the peti2 tioner, or interested parties to provide comments, 

3 recommendations, or technical advice concerning the 

4 determination, the administrative record, or mate5 rials filed by the petitioner or interested parties. The 

6 Commission may also request, at its discretion, com7 ments or technical assistance from the Commission 

8 panel concerning the final determination under sec9 tion 9(b) or under section 5(d) and the record used 

10 for either determination. 

11 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD.—For purposes 

12 of review by the Commission, the administrative 

13 record shall consist of all appropriate documents 

14 held by the Commission relevant to the determina15 tion involved in the request for reconsideration. The 

16 Commission panel shall designate and make avail17 able to the Commission copies of critical documents 

18 central to the portions of the determination under a 

19 request for reconsideration. The Commission panel 

20 shall retain custody of the remainder of the adminis21 trative record, to which the Commission shall have 

22 unrestricted access. 

23 (5) PANEL’S DETERMINATION AFFIRMED.—The 

24 Commission shall affirm the Commission panel’s de25 termination if the Commission finds that the petiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:57 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3103.IH H3103

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1 tioner or interested party has failed to establish, by 

2 a preponderance of the evidence, at least one of the 

3 grounds under subsection (c). 

4 (6) PANEL’S DETERMINATION VACATED.—The 

5 Commission shall vacate the Commission panel’s de6 termination and remand it to the Commission panel 

7 for further work and reconsideration if the Commis8 sion finds that the petitioner or an interested party 

9 has established, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

10 one or more of the grounds under subsection (c). 

11 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF DETERMINATIONS. 

12 A determination by the Commission under section 

13 9(d) that an Indian group is recognized by the Federal 

14 Government as an Indian tribe shall not have the effect 

15 of depriving or diminishing— 

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

17 the reservation of such other tribe as that reserva18 tion existed before the recognition of that Indian 

19 group, or as that reservation may exist thereafter; 

20 (2) any property right held in trust or recog21 nized by the United States for any other Indian 

22 tribe as that property existed before the recognition 

23 of that Indian group; or 

24 (3) any previously or independently existing 

25 claim by a petitioner to any such property right held 


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1 in trust by the United States for any other Indian 

2 tribe before the recognition by the Federal Govern3 ment of that Indian group as an Indian tribe. 

4 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS. 

5 Upon recognition by the Commission of a petitioner 

6 as an Indian tribe under this Act, the Indian tribe shall— 

7 (1) be eligible for the services and benefits from 

8 the Federal Government that are available to other 

9 federally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their 

10 status as Indian tribes with a government-to-govern11 ment relationships with the United States; 

12 (2) have the responsibilities, obligations, privi13 leges, and immunities of those Indian tribes; and 

14 (3) be included on the list of federally recog15 nized tribes under the Federally Recognized Indian 

16 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a et seq.; 

17 Public Law 103–454) (as amended by section 12 of 

18 this Act). 

19 SEC. 13. RECOGNITION OR RESTORATION OF INDIAN 

20 TRIBES. 

21 The Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

22 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a et seq.; Public Law 103–454) is 

23 amended by striking section 103 and inserting the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 103. RECOGNITION AND RESTORATION OF INDIAN 

2 TRIBES. 

3 ‘‘Indian tribes may be recognized or restored by— 

4 ‘‘(1) Federal law; 

5 ‘‘(2) the Commission on Recognition of Indian 

6 Tribes; 

7 ‘‘(3) reorganization under the Indian Reorga8 nization Act or the Alaska Indian Reorganization 

9 Act; and 

10 ‘‘(4) any final decision of a United States 

11 court.’’. 

12 SEC. 14. INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT. 

13 The Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.; 

14 popularly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), is 

15 applicable to all tribes recognized by the Commission, 

16 without regard to whether such tribe was under Federal 

17 jurisdiction as of June 18, 1934. 

18 SEC. 15. NEEDS DETERMINATION AND BUDGET REQUEST. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after an 

20 Indian group is recognized by the Commission as an In21 dian tribe under this Act, the appropriate officials of the 

22 Bureau and the Indian Health Service of the Department 

23 of Health and Human Services shall consult and develop 

24 in cooperation with the Indian tribe, and forward to the 

25 Secretary or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

26 as appropriate, a determination of the needs of the Indian 


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1 tribe and a recommended budget required to serve the 

2 newly recognized Indian tribe. 

3 (b) SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUEST.—Upon re4 ceipt of the information described in paragraph (1), the 

5 appropriate Secretary shall submit to the President a rec6 ommended budget along with recommendations, con7 cerning the information received under paragraph (1), for 

8 inclusion in the annual budget submitted by the President 

9 to the Congress pursuant to section 1108 of title 31, 

10 United States Code. 

11 SEC. 16. ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING COMMISSION’S AC12 TIVITIES. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

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

16 Commission, and annually thereafter, the Commis17 sion shall prepare and submit a report to the Com18 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Com19 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep20 resentatives that describes the activities of the Com21 mission. 

22 (2) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—Each report sub23 mitted under this subsection shall include, at a min24 imum, for the year that is the subject of the re25 port— 


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1 (A) the number of documented petitions 

2 pending at the beginning of the year and the 

3 names of the petitioners; 

4 (B) the number of documented persons re5 ceived during the year and the names of peti6 tioners; 

7 (C) the number of documented petitions 

8 the Commission approved for acknowledgment 

9 during the year and the names of the acknowl10 edged petitioners; 

11 (D) the number of documented petitions 

12 the Commission denied for acknowledgment 

13 during the year and the names of the peti14 tioners; and 

15 (E) the status of all pending documented 

16 petitions on the date of the report and the 

17 names of petitioners. 

18 SEC. 17. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT. 

19 Any petitioner may bring an action in the district 

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

21 petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for 

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

23 Act, including any time limitations within which actions 

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

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


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

2 provisions of this Act. 

3 SEC. 18. REGULATIONS. 

4 The Commission may, in accordance with applicable 

5 requirements of title 5, United States Code, promulgate 

6 and publish such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

7 out this Act. 

8 SEC. 19. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE. 

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

10 date of the first meeting of the Commission, the Commis11 sion shall make available to Indian groups suggested 

12 guidelines for the format of documented petitions, includ13 ing general suggestions and guidelines concerning where 

14 and how to research information that is required to be 

15 included in a documented petition. The examples included 

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

17 appropriate format. 

18 (b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission may, upon 

19 request, provide suggestions and advice to any petitioner 

20 with respect to the research of the petitioner concerning 

21 the historical background and Indian identity of that peti22 tioner. The Commission shall not be responsible for con23 ducting research on behalf of the petitioner. 

24 SEC. 20. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS. 

25 (a) GRANTS.— 


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

2 Human Services may award grants to Indian groups 

3 seeking Federal recognition as Indian tribes to en4 able the Indian groups to— 

5 (A) conduct the research necessary to sub6 stantiate documented petitions under this Act; 

7 and 

8 (B) prepare documentation necessary for 

9 the submission of a documented petition under 

10 this Act. 

11 (2) TREATMENT OF GRANTS.—The grants 

12 made under this subsection shall be in addition to 

13 any other grants the Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services is authorized to provide under any 

15 other provision of law. 

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

17 subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively on the basis 

18 of objective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated 

19 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

20 SEC. 21. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN PRIVILEGED INFORMA21 TION. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the 

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

24 for information on petitions and related materials filed by 

25 a group seeking Federal recognition as an Indian tribe 


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

2 Regulations, including petitions and related materials 

3 transferred to the Commission from the Department 

4 under section 5(a)(2), as well as related materials located 

5 within the Department that have yet to be transferred to 

6 the Commission, the Department and the Commission 

7 shall exclude materials identified by the petitioning group 

8 as information related to religious practices or sacred 

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

10 for the limited purpose of Department and Commission 

11 review. 

12 SEC. 22. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated to the Commission to carry out this Act (other 

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

16 fiscal years 2010 through 2018. 

17 (b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to 

18 be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human 

19 Services to carry out section 17 such sums as are nec20 essary for each fiscal years 2010 through 2018. 

Æ 


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