San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Homelands Act of 2023

To ratify a Treaty between the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and the Navajo Nation, to provide for the creation of a reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Homelands Act of 2023 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe is a federally recognized Indian Tribe that has occupied its ancestral homelands in northern Arizona and southern Utah since time immemorial. (2) The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe was federally recognized on December 11, 1989, though the United States did not create a reservation for its exclusive benefit at that time. (3) The Navajo Indian Reservation was originally established by the 1868 Navajo Treaty (15 Stat. 667) and expanded in Arizona and Utah by various Executive orders and Acts of Congress, including, but not limited to, Executive order of May 17, 1884; Executive order of January 8, 1900; Public Law 72–403 Public Law 73–352 (4) The Navajo Indian Reservation presently encompasses lands of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe as described in the Treaty between the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. (5) While the Diné people of the Navajo Nation and the Paiute people of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe have a long history as neighboring communities, the San Juan Southern Paiute people are a separate and culturally distinct Tribe residing within their ancestral lands. (6) The existence of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Indian Reservation and the lack of an exclusive reservation land base causes particular hardship for the people of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, preventing the Tribe from providing adequate housing, infrastructure, healthcare, community services, and public safety for its people. (7) The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and the Navajo Nation entered into a Treaty on March 18, 2000, to resolve and clarify the sovereign authority of both Tribal nations, to provide a permanent homeland for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, and to resolve other matters of mutual concern. (8) Ratification and approval of the Treaty by Congress and the execution of the Treaty by the Secretary is necessary for the Treaty to become effective under its terms. (9) The establishment and proclamation of the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation as authorized in this Act only includes lands within the existing boundaries of the Navajo Indian Reservation. (10) Once effective, the Treaty will— (A) resolve and cause the dismissal of long-running litigation concerning certain land rights of the Navajo Nation and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe currently pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Masayesva v. Zah et al., No. 93–15216 (9th Cir.); and (B) promote cooperation and harmony between the Diné and Paiute people, serving as an example of friendship and partnership between two sovereign Tribal nations. 3. Definitions For the purpose of this Act, the following definitions apply: (1) San Juan Paiute Northern Area The term San Juan Paiute Northern Area (2) San Juan Paiute Southern Area The term San Juan Paiute Southern Area (3) San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation The term San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation San Juan Paiute Northern Area San Juan Paiute Southern Area (4) Secretary The term Secretary (5) Treaty The term Treaty 4. Ratification and approval of the treaty The Treaty is hereby approved, ratified and confirmed by the Congress of the United States. 5. Approval of the Secretary (a) In general The Secretary is authorized and directed— (1) to approve and execute the Treaty as set forth therein, except that the specific findings stated under the heading APPROVAL, (2) to take all steps necessary to implement and carry out the intent of the Treaty and this Act. (b) Approval of amendments The Secretary is delegated the authority, without further Act of Congress, to approve and execute amendments to the Treaty agreed to by the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. 6. Lands proclaimed a reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe (a) In general All right, title and interest, including water rights, to the approximately 5,400 acres of land within the Navajo Indian Reservation that are described in the Treaty as the San Juan Paiute Northern Area and the San Juan Paiute Southern Area, are hereby proclaimed as the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation and such lands shall be held by the United States in trust as a reservation for the exclusive benefit of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, subject to the rights of access under section 7 of this Act. (b) No major Federal action; undertaking No action taken pursuant to this section shall be considered— (1) a major Federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (2) an undertaking under the National Historic Preservation Act ( 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq. (c) No appraisal or valuation Notwithstanding any other law, no appraisal or other valuation shall be required to carry out the provisions of this section. 7. Rights of access and easements The Navajo Indian Reservation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation shall be subject to the rights of access and easements as identified in the Treaty. 8. Surveying and fencing of land (a) Requirement The Secretary is directed to— (1) complete a survey and legal description of the boundary lines to establish the boundaries of the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation, not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act; (2) officially file the survey plat in the appropriate office of the Department of the Interior; (3) mark and fence the lands as described in article V of the Treaty, where feasible; and (4) study the feasibility of an access road to the San Juan Paiute Southern Area from U.S. Route 89, as described in article XI of the Treaty. (b) Legal descriptions (1) In general The legal descriptions published in accordance with subsection (b) shall be considered the official legal description of the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation and shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act. (2) Publication Upon completion of the surveys under subsection (a), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a legal description of the lands comprising the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation. (3) Corrections The Secretary may make minor corrections to correct technical and clerical errors in the legal descriptions. 9. Repeal of Paiute allotment procedures Section 9 of Public Law 93–531 25 U.S.C. 640d–8 10. Water rights (a) In general Except as provided in the Treaty, nothing in this Act shall affect any water rights, in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act, appurtenant to the lands of the San Juan Paiute Northern Area and the San Juan Paiute Southern Area. (b) Transfer of water rights As authorized by article XV of the Treaty, the establishment of the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation from lands within the Navajo Indian Reservation shall include the transfer of any water rights appurtenant to those lands, including the priority dates associated with such rights. (c) Rights held in trust The water rights for the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation shall be held by the United States in trust for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. (d) Claims by the United States The United States, as trustee for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, shall take all necessary steps to quantify the water rights appurtenant to the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation for the benefit of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. (e) Water rights for the San Juan Paiute Northern Area (1) Right to water service The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe shall have the right to water service for the San Juan Paiute Northern Area for domestic uses on a pro rata and non-discriminatory basis as described in article XIV of the Treaty. (2) No objection by the navajo nation The Navajo Nation shall not object to the quantification of water rights appurtenant to the San Juan Paiute Northern Area consistent with and limited to the following: (A) The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe shall have the right to divert all surface waters arising on or flowing across the San Juan Paiute Northern Area for any purpose consistent with this Act or the Treaty. (B) The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe shall have the right to pump groundwater beneath the San Juan Paiute Northern Area for domestic or stock-watering uses. (f) Lawful uses The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and the Navajo Nation shall not object to uses of water consistent with the rights decreed to either Tribe. (g) Accounting The United States, on behalf of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, shall provide the Navajo Nation with an annual accounting of the depletions associated with the use of water on the San Juan Paiute Northern Area, and the depletions associated with those uses shall be accounted for as a depletion by the Navajo Nation for purposes of depletion accounting. (h) Water rights for the San Juan Paiute Southern Area Until the water rights to the San Juan Paiute Southern Area are adjudicated, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe shall limit its water use on the San Juan Paiute Southern Area to no more than 300 acre-feet annually from a combination of groundwater and water from springs and washes. 11. Publication; Jurisdiction (a) Publication In accordance with article VI of the Treaty, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register separate notices of completion of fencing or boundary marking upon completion of fencing or boundary marking of— (1) the San Juan Northern Area; and (2) the San Juan Southern Area. (b) Jurisdiction Upon publication in the Federal Register under either subsection (a)(1) or subsection (a)(2)— (1) the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe shall have full jurisdiction over all matters within that area of the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation to the fullest extent permitted by Federal law; and (2) the Navajo Nation shall no longer have jurisdiction over matters occurring within that area of the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation except as agreed to by the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. 12. Construction of law The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe shall— (1) be recognized as a Tribe of Indians within the purview of the Act of June 18, 1934, as amended ( 25 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. (2) be subject to all of the provisions thereof.

Summary: San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Homelands Act of 2023 This bill approves, ratifies, and confirms a specified treaty entered into by the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, thus settling land claims and other disputes. (The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe is a federally recognized tribe occupying lands within the Navajo Indian Reservation. In 2000, the tribes entered into a treaty to set aside lands for the exclusive use of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and to address other matters. This treaty requires ratification and approval by Congress.) The bill directs the Department of the Interior to approve, execute, and implement the treaty. Further, the bill delegates authority to Interior to approve amendments to the treaty without further action by Congress. Additionally, the bill proclaims approximately 5,400 acres of land within the Navajo Indian Reservation (described in the treaty as the San Juan Paiute Northern Area and the San Juan Paiute Southern Area) as the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation. These lands shall be held in trust as a reservation for the exclusive benefit of the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. Interior must survey, mark, and fence lands to establish the boundaries of the reservation. The transfer of these lands shall also include the transfer of associated water rights, which shall be held in trust for the benefit of the tribe. The bill also outlines water rights associated with the San Juan Paiute Northern Area and the San Juan Paiute Southern Area.