I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2549

To establish administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to

certain Indian groups.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 29, 1993

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish administrative procedures to extend Federal

recognition to certain Indian groups.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means the

6 Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Af7 fairs.

8 (2) The term ‘‘autonomous’’ means having its

9 own tribal council, internal process, or other organi10 zational mechanism which the Indian group has used
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1 as its own means of making decisions independent of

2 the control of any other Indian governing entity. Au3 tonomous must be understood in the context of the

4 culture and social organization of that Indian group.

5 (3) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

6 Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

7 (4) The term ‘‘community’’ means any people

8 living within such a reasonable proximity as to allow

9 group interaction and a maintenance of tribal rela10 tions.

11 (5) The term ‘‘continuously’’ means extending

12 from generation to generation throughout the Indian

13 group’s history essentially without interruption.

14 (6) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart15 ment of the Interior.

16 (7) The term ‘‘historical’’ means dating back to

17 the earliest documented contact between—

18 (A) the aboriginal Indian group from

19 which the petitioners descended; and

20 (B) citizens or officials of the United

21 States, colonial or territorial governments, or if

22 relevant, citizens and officials of foreign govern23 ments from which the United States acquired

24 territory.
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1 (8) The term ‘‘Indian group’’ means any Indian

2 entity that—

3 (A) is located within any of the States of

4 the United States; and

5 (B) is not recognized by the Secretary of

6 the Interior to be an Indian tribe.

7 (9) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

8 entity that—

9 (A) is located within any of the States of

10 the United States; and

11 (B) is recognized by the Secretary of the

12 Interior to be an Indian tribe.

13 (10) The term ‘‘Indian tribe acknowledgment

14 regulations’’ means part 83 of title 25, Code of Fed15 eral Regulations and former part 54 of title 25,

16 Code of Federal Regulations.

17 (11) The term ‘‘indigenous’’ means native to

18 the area that constitutes the continental United

19 States in that at least part of the group’s aboriginal

20 range extended into what is now the area that con21 stitutes the continental United States.

22 (12) The term ‘‘member of an Indian group’’

23 means an individual who is recognized by an Indian

24 group as meeting its membership criteria and who

25 consents to being listed as a member of that group.
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1 (13) The term ‘‘member of an Indian tribe’’

2 means an individual who—

3 (A) meets the membership requirements of

4 the Indian tribe, as set forth in its governing

5 document or recognized collectively by those

6 persons comprising the governing body of the

7 Indian tribe; and

8 (B) has continuously maintained tribal re9 lations with the Indian tribe or is listed on the

10 tribal rolls of that Indian tribe as a member, if

11 such rolls are maintained.

12 (14) The term ‘‘other party’’ means any af13 fected person or organization other than the peti14 tioner who submits comments or evidence in support

15 of, or in opposition to, a petition.

16 (15) The term ‘‘a petition’’ means a petition

17 submitted to the Secretary under section 3.

18 (16) The term ‘‘petitioner’’ means any entity

19 which has submitted, or submits, a petition to the

20 Secretary requesting recognition that the entity is an

21 Indian tribe.

22 (17) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

23 of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 2. APPROVAL AND RATIFICATION OF PRIOR DECI2 SIONS.

3 All final decisions made prior to the date of enact4 ment of this Act under Indian tribe acknowledgment regu5 lations are hereby approved and ratified. Such approval

6 and ratification shall not prejudice the rights of any peti7 tioner or other party in any judicial review of such final

8 decision.

9 SEC. 3. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any Indian group that is indige11 nous and ethnically and culturally identifiable (including

12 any Indian group whose relationship with the Federal

13 Government was terminated by statute) may submit to the

14 Secretary, during the 6-year period beginning on the date

15 of enactment of this Act, a petition requesting that the

16 Secretary recognize that the Indian group is an Indian

17 tribe. The Secretary shall not recognize as an Indian tribe

18 any Indian group that does not submit such a petition

19 during such time period.

20 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of this Act shall

21 not apply to—

22 (1) any Indian tribe, organized band, pueblo or

23 community which is already recognized by the Sec24 retary to be an Indian tribe and is receiving services

25 from the Bureau;
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1 (2) any association, organization, corporation,

2 or group of any character formed in recent times,

3 except a group meeting the requirements of sub4 section (c) which has recently incorporated or other5 wise formalized its existing autonomous process;

6 (3) any splinter group, political faction, commu7 nity, or group of any character which separates from

8 the main body of an Indian tribe that, at the time

9 of such separation, is recognized as being an Indian

10 tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clearly estab11 lished that the group, faction, or community has

12 functioned throughout history until the present as

13 an autonomous Indian tribal entity;

14 (4) any Indian group that, in any action in a

15 United States court to which the United States or

16 any recognized Indian tribe was a party, has pre17 viously attempted to establish its status as an Indian

18 tribe or as the successor-in-interest to an Indian

19 tribe that was a party to a treaty with the United

20 States; and—

21 (A) was determined by such court not to

22 be an Indian tribe;

23 (B) was determined by such court not to

24 be a successor-in-interest to an Indian tribe
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1 that was a party to a treaty with the United

2 States;

3 (C) was the subject of a determination by

4 such court that the group has not maintained

5 an organized tribal structure in a political

6 sense; or

7 (D) was the subject of findings of fact by

8 such court which, if made in the administrative

9 recognition process, would prevent the group

10 from satisfying one or more of the criteria for

11 recognition in this Act; and

12 (5) any Indian group that, prior to the date of

13 enactment of this Act, petitioned for, and was denied

14 or refused recognition or acknowledgment as an In15 dian tribe in a final determination made under In16 dian tribe acknowledgment regulations.

17 (c) REQUIREMENTS OF PETITION.—Any petition sub18 mitted under subsection (a) by an Indian group shall be

19 in a readable form which clearly indicates that it is a peti20 tion requesting the Secretary to recognize that the Indian

21 group is an Indian tribe and shall contain each of the fol22 lowing:

23 (1) A statement of facts establishing that the

24 petitioner has been identified from historical times

25 until the present, on a substantially continuous
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1 basis, as Indian or aboriginal. A petitioner shall not

2 fail to satisfy any requirement of this subsection

3 merely because of fluctuations of tribal activity dur4 ing various years. Evidence to be relied upon in de5 termining the substantially continuous Indian iden6 tity of the petitioner shall include one or more of the

7 following:

8 (A) Repeated identification of the peti9 tioner by Federal authorities.

10 (B) Longstanding relationships of the peti11 tioner with State governments based on identi12 fication of the petitioner as an Indian group.

13 (C) Repeated dealings of the petitioner

14 with a county, parish, or other local government

15 in a relationship based on the Indian identity of

16 the petitioner.

17 (D) Identification of the petitioner as an

18 Indian group by records in courthouses, church19 es, or schools.

20 (E) Identification of the petitioner as an

21 Indian group by anthropologists, historians, or

22 other scholars.

23 (F) Repeated identification of the peti24 tioner as an Indian group in newspapers and

25 books.
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1 (G) Repeated identification of the peti2 tioner as an Indian group by, and dealings of

3 the petitioner as an Indian group with, Indian

4 tribes or recognized national Indian organiza5 tions.

6 (2) Evidence that—

7 (A) a substantial portion of the member8 ship of the petitioner lives in a community

9 viewed as Indian and distinct from other popu10 lations in the area;

11 (B) all members of the petitioner are de12 scendants of an Indian group which historically

13 inhabited a specific area and of which the peti14 tioner claims to be the successor-in-interest;

15 and

16 (C) the membership of the petitioner is

17 composed principally of persons who are not

18 members of any other Indian tribe.

19 (3) A statement of facts which establishes that

20 the petitioner has maintained tribal political influ21 ence or other authority over its members as an au22 tonomous entity throughout its history until the

23 present.

24 (4) A statement of facts establishing the spe25 cific territory over which the petitioner, throughout
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1 its history until the present, has maintained tribal

2 political influence.

3 (5) A copy of the present governing document

4 of the petitioner or, in the absence of a written doc5 ument, a statement describing in full the member6 ship criteria of the petitioner and the procedures

7 through which the petitioner currently governs its

8 affairs and members.

9 (6) A list of all known current members of the

10 petitioner and a copy of each available former list of

11 members based on the petitioner’s own defined cri12 teria. The membership must consist of individuals

13 who have established, using evidence acceptable to

14 the Secretary, descendancy from an Indian group

15 which existed historically or from historical Indian

16 groups which combined and functioned as a single

17 autonomous entity. Evidence acceptable to the Sec18 retary of tribal membership for this purpose includes

19 (but is not limited to)—

20 (A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec21 retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib22 uting claims money, providing allotments, or

23 other purposes;

24 (B) State, Federal, or other official records

25 or evidence identifying present members of the
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1 petitioner, or ancestors of present members of

2 the petitioner, as being an Indian descendant

3 and a member of the petitioner;

4 (C) church, school, and other similar en5 rollment records indicating membership in the

6 petitioner;

7 (D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el8 ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body as

9 being an Indian descendant of the Indian group

10 and a member of the petitioner; and

11 (E) other records or evidence identifying

12 the person as a member of the petitioner.

13 SEC. 4. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.

14 (a) NOTICE AND PUBLICATION.—Within 30 days

15 after a petition is submitted to the Secretary under section

16 3(a), the Assistant Secretary shall—

17 (1) send an acknowledgment of receipt in writ18 ing to the petitioner; and

19 (2) have published in the Federal Register a no20 tice of such receipt including—

21 (A) the name, location, and mailing ad22 dress of the petitioner and other information

23 that identifies the petitioner;

24 (B) the date the petition was received by

25 the Secretary; and
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1 (C) the location where a copy of the peti2 tion may be examined.

3 (b) NOTICE TO STATE.—The Assistant Secretary

4 shall notify, in writing, the Governor and attorney general

5 of any State in which a petitioner resides.

6 (c) NOTICE TO TRIBES.—The Assistant Secretary

7 shall notify, in writing, all federally recognized tribes lo8 cated within the State in which a petitioner resides.

9 (d) PUBLICATION IN NEWSPAPER.—The Assistant

10 Secretary shall publish notice of receipt of the petition in

11 a major newspaper of general circulation in the town or

12 city nearest the location of the petitioner.

13 (e) OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT.—(1) The notice

14 described in subsection (d) shall include, in addition to the

15 information described in subsection (a), notice of oppor16 tunity for other parties to submit evidence and factual or

17 legal arguments in support of, or in opposition to, the peti18 tion.

19 (2) Any submissions received by the Assistant Sec20 retary under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the

21 petitioner and the petitioner shall be provided an oppor22 tunity to respond prior to a determination on the petition

23 by the Assistant Secretary.
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1 SEC. 5. PROCESSING.

2 (a) APPLICABILITY OF ACT.—(1) Upon receipt of a

3 petition, the Assistant Secretary shall conduct a review to

4 determine whether, under the criteria set forth in section

5 3(b), the provisions of this Act are applicable to the peti6 tioner.

7 (2) If the Assistant Secretary determines that the

8 provisions of this Act are not applicable to the petitioner,

9 the Assistant Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after

10 the receipt of a petition—

11 (A) publish a summary of such determination

12 in the Federal Register;

13 (B) deliver a copy of such determination and

14 summary to the petitioner; and (c) (see next page)

15 (b) REVIEW.—(1) If the Assistant Secretary deter16 mines under subsection (a) that the provisions of this Act

17 are applicable to the petitioner, the Assistant Secretary

18 shall conduct a review to determine whether the petitioner

19 is entitled to be recognized as an Indian tribe.

20 (2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall

21 include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,

22 and the factual statements contained in the petition.

23 (3) The Assistant Secretary may also initiate other

24 research for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition

25 and obtaining additional information about the petition-
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1 er’s status and may consider any evidence which may be

2 submitted by other parties.

3 (c) NOTIFICATION OF OBVIOUS DEFICIENCIES OR

4 OMISSIONS.—Prior to actual consideration of the petition

5 and by no later than the date that is three months after

6 the date on which the petition is submitted to the Sec7 retary, the Assistant Secretary shall notify the petitioner

8 of any obvious deficiencies, or significant omissions, that

9 are apparent upon an initial review of the petition and

10 provide the petitioner with an opportunity to withdraw the

11 petition for further work or to submit additional informa12 tion or clarification.

13 (d) PRIORITY OF PROCESSING.—(1) Except as other14 wise provided in this subsection, petitions shall be consid15 ered on a first come, first served basis, determined by the

16 date of the original filing of the petition with the Sec17 retary. The Assistant Secretary shall establish a priority

18 register including those petitions pending before the De19 partment.

20 (2) Petitions that are submitted to the Secretary by

21 Indian groups whose relationship with the Federal Gov22 ernment was terminated by a statute—

23 (A) shall receive priority consideration over pe24 titions submitted by any other Indian groups; and

25 (B) shall be considered on an expedited basis.
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1 (C) send to petitioner

2 (i) the date on which the petition was re3 ceived; and

4 (ii) the name, office address, and office

5 telephone number of the primary Bureau staff

6 member reviewing the petition, the backup to

7 this staff member, and the supervisor of this

8 staff member.

9 SEC. 6. PROPOSED FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.

10 (a) PROPOSED FINDINGS.—(1) Not later than 1 year

11 after the petition is filed the Assistant Secretary shall

12 issue proposed findings on the petition and shall publish

13 such proposed findings in the Federal Register.

14 (2) The Assistant Secretary may delay making pro15 posed findings on a petition for 90 days upon a showing

16 of due cause to the petitioner.

17 (3) In addition to the proposed findings, the Assist18 ant Secretary shall prepare a report on each petition which

19 summarizes the evidence supporting the proposed find20 ings. Copies of such report and supporting evidence shall

21 be available to the petitioner and to other parties upon

22 written request.

23 (4) Upon publication of the proposed findings under

24 paragraph (1), any individual or organization wishing to

25 challenge the proposed findings shall have a response pe-
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1 riod of 120 days to present factual or legal arguments and

2 evidence to rebut the evidence upon which the proposed

3 findings are based. Upon a showing of good cause, the

4 Assistant Secretary may extend such response period for

5 not more than 30 additional days.

6 (b) DETERMINATION.—(1) After consideration of any

7 written arguments and evidence submitted to rebut the

8 proposed findings made under subsection (a)(1), the As9 sistant Secretary shall make a determination, on behalf

10 of the Secretary, of whether the petitioner is recognized

11 by the Secretary to be an Indian tribe.

12 (2) The determination required under paragraph (1)

13 shall be made, a summary of the determination published

14 in the Federal Register, and a copy of the determination

15 and summary delivered to the petitioner and other in16 volved parties, by no later than the date that is 60 days

17 after the close of the response period described in sub18 section (a)(4).

19 (3) A determination made under paragraph (1) shall

20 become final on the date that is 60 days after the date

21 on which the summary of the determination is published

22 under paragraph (2) unless the determination is appealed

23 under section 8.

24 (c) RECOGNITION AS INDIAN TRIBE.—(1) In making

25 the proposed findings and determination under this sec-
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1 tion with respect to any petition, the Assistant Secretary

2 shall decide to recognize the petitioner on behalf of the

3 Secretary as an Indian tribe only if the petition meets all

4 the requirements of section 3.

5 (2) A determination made under this Act to recognize

6 an Indian group as an Indian tribe shall not—

7 (A) have the effect of depriving or diminishing

8 the right of any other Indian tribe to govern and

9 enjoy the benefits of its treaty reserved resources or

10 its reservation and reservation resources as such re11 sources or reservation existed prior to such deter12 mination; or

13 (B) have the effect of depriving or diminishing

14 any property right held in trust or recognized by the

15 United States for such other Indian tribe prior to

16 such determination.

17 (d) DETERMINATION OF NONRECOGNITION.—If the

18 Assistant Secretary determines under subsection (b)(1)

19 that the petitioner should not be recognized to be an In20 dian tribe, the Assistant Secretary shall analyze and for21 ward to the petitioner other options, if any, under which

22 application for services and other benefits of the Bureau

23 may be made.
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1 SEC. 7. TIME LIMIT FOR DEPARTMENTAL ACTION.

2 If the Assistant Secretary has not published a sum3 mary of a determination made under section 6(b) with re4 spect to a petition before the date that is 90 days after

5 the date on which the petition was submitted to the Sec6 retary, the petitioner shall be entitled to mandamus relief

7 requiring the Assistant Secretary to complete the review

8 and determination required by this Act with due diligence.

9 SEC. 8. APPEALS.

10 (a) RECONSIDERATION AND FINAL DETERMINA11 TION.—(1) The determination made by the Assistant Sec12 retary under section 5(a) and section 6(b) shall be final

13 for the Department unless the Secretary requests the As14 sistant Secretary to reconsider such determination within

15 60 days of publication of the decision.

16 (2) If the Secretary recommends reconsideration, the

17 Assistant Secretary shall promptly notify the petitioner

18 and all other involved parties of such reconsideration and

19 the reasons for such reconsideration.

20 (3) In reconsidering a determination, the Assistant

21 Secretary shall consult with the Secretary, review the ini22 tial determination, and, not later than 30 days after the

23 request for reconsideration, make a final determination,

24 a summary of which shall be published in the Federal Reg25 ister and a copy of which shall be delivered to the peti-
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1 tioner. Such determination shall be final and effective

2 upon publication.

3 (b) INFORMATION CONSIDERED.—The Secretary

4 may, when considering the Assistant Secretary’s deter5 mination, review any information available, whether for6 mally part of the record or not. In any case in which reli7 ance is placed by the Secretary on information not of

8 record, such information shall be identified as to source

9 and nature and inserted in the record.

10 (c) RECONSIDERATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary

11 may request reconsideration of any decision by the Assist12 ant Secretary but shall request reconsideration of any de13 cision for which significant new evidence has been received

14 subsequent to the publication of the decision.

15 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—By no later than 180 days after

17 the date of a final determination by the Department on

18 the merits of a petition for recognition, and not otherwise,

19 the petitioner or any other party may petition for judicial

20 review under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.

21 (b) FEES AND COSTS.—If the petitioner prevails in

22 the judicial review of the final Department action on the

23 petition, petitoner shall be eligible for an award of attor24 ney fees and costs under the provisions of section 2412

25 of title 28, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.

2 (a) ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS.—Upon recogni3 tion by the Secretary that the petitioner is an Indian tribe,

4 the Indian tribe shall be eligible for services and benefits

5 from the Federal Government that are available to other

6 federally recognized tribes and entitled to the privileges

7 and immunities available to other federally recognized In8 dian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes with

9 a government-to-government relationship to the United

10 States, as well as having the responsibilities and obliga11 tions of such Indian tribes. Such recognition shall subject

12 the Indian tribes to the same authority of Congress and

13 the United States to which other federally recognized

14 tribes are subject.

15 (b) NO ENTITLEMENT CREATED.—While the Indian

16 tribes that are newly recognized under this Act shall be

17 eligible for benefits and services, recognition of the Indian

18 tribe under this Act shall not create an immediate entitle19 ment to existing programs of the Bureau. Such programs

20 shall become available upon appropriation of funds by law.

21 Requests for appropriations shall follow a determination

22 of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.

23 (c) BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 180 days

24 after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap25 propriate area office of the Bureau shall consult and de26 velop in cooperation with the Indian tribe, and forward
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1 to the Assistant Secretary, a determination of the needs

2 of the Indian tribe and a recommended budget required

3 to serve the newly recognized Indian tribe. The rec4 ommended budget shall be considered along with other

5 recommendations by the Assistant Secretary in the usual

6 budget-request process.

7 SEC. 11. LIST OF RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES.

8 By no later than the date that is 90 days after the

9 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

10 the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a cur11 rent list of all Indian tribes which are recognized by the

12 Federal Government and receiving services from the Bu13 reau.

14 SEC. 12. NOTICE.

15 Any notice which by the terms of this Act must be

16 published in the Federal Register, shall also be mailed to

17 the petitioner, the governors and attorney generals of the

18 States involved, and to other parties which have com19 mented on the proposed findings.

20 SEC. 13. GUIDELINES AND ADVISEMENT.

21 (a) GUIDELINES.—By no later than the date that is

22 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall make available suggested guidelines for the

24 format of petitions, including general suggestions and

25 guidelines regarding the mechanics of researching the in-
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1 formation required to substantiate petitions. Such guide2 lines shall not preclude the use of any other format.

3 (b) ADVISEMENT.—The Assistant Secretary shall,

4 upon request by the petitioner, provide advisement regard5 ing research into such petitioner’s historical background

6 and Indian identity. The Assistant Secretary shall not be

7 responsible for actual research on behalf of the petitioner.

8 SEC. 14. ASSISTANCE IN PREPARING PETITIONS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Commissioner of the Ad10 ministration for Native Americans of the Department of

11 Health and Human Services may award grants to Indian

12 groups seeking Federal recognition to enable the Indian

13 groups to—

14 (A) conduct the research necessary to substan15 tiate petitions under this Act; and

16 (B) prepare documentation necessary for the

17 submission of a petition under this Act.

18 (2) The grants made under this subsection shall be

19 in addition to any other grants the Commissioner of the

20 Administration for Native Americans is authorized to pro21 vide under any other provision of law.

22 (b) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE.—Grants provided

23 under subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based

24 on objective criteria prescribed by regulation by the Com25 missioner of the Administration for Native Americans.
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1 SEC. 15. REGULATIONS.

2 The Secretary is authorized to prescribe such regula3 tions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions and

4 purposes of this Act.

5 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 (a) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—There is au7 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,500,000

8 for the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted and for

9 each of the 12 succeeding fiscal years to carry out this

10 Act.

11 (b) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV12 ICES.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary of Health and Human Services for the Administra14 tion for Native Americans $500,000 for the fiscal year in

15 which this Act is enacted and for each of the 12 succeed16 ing fiscal years to carry out section 14.

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