(C) negotiated by the United States with,
or on behalf of, any Indian group in California,
whether or not the treaty was subsequently
ratified.
SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN RECOGNITION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an
independent commission, the Commission on Indian Rec-
ognition.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1)(A) The Commission shall
consist of three members appointed by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(B) In making appointments to the Commission, the
President shall give careful consideration to—
(i) recommendations received from Indian
tribes; and
(ii) individuals who have a background in In-
dian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or his-
tory.
(2) No more than two members of the Commission
may be members of the same political party.
(3) Each member of the Commission shall be ap-
pointed for a term of four years.
(4) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect
its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which
the original appointment was made. Any member ap-
pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration
of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap-
pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that
term. A member may serve after the expiration of that
member’s term until a successor has taken office.
(5)(A) Each member of the Commission not other-
wise employed by the United States Government shall re-
ceive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of
the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,
United States Code, for each day, including traveltime,
such member is engaged in the actual performance of du-
ties authorized by the Commission.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a mem-
ber of the Commission who is otherwise an officer or em-
ployee of the United States Government shall serve on the
Commission without additional compensation, but such
service shall be without interruption or loss of civil service
status or privilege.
(C) All members of the Commission shall be reim-
bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence ex-
penses during the performance of duties of the Commis-
sion while away from home or their regular place of busi-
ness, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of
title 5, United States Code.
(6) At the time appointments are made under para-
graph (1), the President shall designate one of such ap-
pointees as Chairman of the Commission.
(c) MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) The Commis-
sion shall hold its first meeting no later than 30 days after
the date on which all members of the Commission have
been appointed and confirmed by the Senate.
(2) Two members of the Commission shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business.
(3) The Commission may adopt such rules (consistent
with the provisions of this Act) as may be necessary to
establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its
operations, organization, and personnel.
(4) The principal office of the Commission shall be
in the District of Columbia.
(d) DUTIES.—The Commission shall carry out the
duties assigned to the Commission by this Act, and shall
meet the requirements imposed on the Commission by this
Act.
(e) POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.—(1) Subject to such
rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Commis-
sion, the Chairman of the Commission is authorized to—
(A) appoint, terminate, and fix the compensa-
tion (without regard to the provisions of title 5,
United States Code, governing appointments in the
competitive service, and without regard to the provi-
sions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53
of such title, or of any other provision of law, relat-
ing to the number, classification, and General
Schedule rates) of an Executive Director of the
Commission and of such other personnel as the
Chairman deems advisable to assist in the perform-
ance of the duties of the Commission, at a rate not
to exceed a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the
Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5,
United States Code; and
(B) procure, as authorized by section 3109(b)
of title 5, United States Code, temporary and inter-
mittent services to the same extent as is authorized
by law for agencies in the executive branch, but at
rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual
rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Execu-
tive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
(2) The Commission is authorized to—
(A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such
times;
(B) take such testimony;
(C) have such printing and binding done;
(D) enter into such contracts and other ar-
rangements, subject to the availability of funds;
(E) make such expenditures; and
(F) take such other actions,
as the Commission may deem advisable. Any member of
the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to
witnesses appearing before the Commission.
(3)(A) The Commission is authorized to secure di-
rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish-
ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such
information as the Commission may require for the pur-
pose of this Act, and each such officer, department, agen-
cy, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and di-
rected to furnish, to the extent permitted by law, such in-
formation, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to
the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman of
the Commission.
(B) Upon the request of the Chairman of the Com-
mission, the head of any Federal department, agency, or
instrumentality is authorized to make any of the facilities
and services of such department, agency, or instrumental-
ity available to the Commission and detail any of the per-
sonnel of such department, agency, or instrumentality to
the Commission, on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the
Commission in carrying out its duties under this section.
(C) The Commission may use the United States mails
in the same manner and under the same conditions as
other departments and agencies of the United States.
(f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The pro-
visions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not
apply to the Commission.
SEC. 5. PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Any Indian group may submit
to the Commission a petition requesting that the Commis-
sion recognize that the Indian group is an Indian tribe.
(2) The provisions of this Act do not apply to the
following groups or entities, which shall not be eligible for
recognition under this Act—
(A) Indian tribes, organized bands, pueblos,
communities, and Alaska Native entities which are
recognized by the Secretary as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act as eligible to receive services from
the Bureau;
(B) splinter groups, political factions, commu-
nities, or groups of any character which separate
from the main body of an Indian tribe that, at the
time of such separation, is recognized as being an
Indian tribe by the Secretary, unless it can be clear-
ly established that the group, faction, or community
has functioned throughout history until the date of
such petition as an autonomous Indian tribal entity;
(C) groups, or successors in interest of groups,
that prior to the date of enactment of this Act, have
petitioned for and been denied or refused recognition
as an Indian tribe under regulations prescribed by
the Secretary; and
(D) any Indian group whose relationship with
the Federal Government was expressly terminated
by an Act of Congress.
(3) No later than 30 days after the date on which
all of the members of the Commission have been appointed
and confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary shall transfer
to the Commission all petitions pending before the Depart-
ment that request the Secretary, or the Federal Govern-
ment, to recognize or acknowledge an Indian group as an
Indian tribe. On the date of such transfer, the Secretary
and the Department shall cease to have any authority to
recognize or acknowledge, on behalf of the Federal Gov-
ernment, any Indian group as an Indian tribe. Petitions
transferred to the Commission under this paragraph shall,
for purposes of this Act, be considered as having been sub-
mitted to the Commission as of the date of such transfer.
(b) PETITION FORM AND CONTENT.—Except as pro-
vided in subsection (c), any petition submitted under sub-
(D) Repeated identification of the peti-
tioner as an Indian entity by records in private
or public archives courthouses, churches, or
schools.
(E) Repeated identification of the peti-
tioner as an Indian entity by anthropologists,
historians, or other scholars.
(F) Repeated identification of the peti-
tioner as an Indian entity in newspapers, books,
or similar media.
(G) Repeated identification of the peti-
tioner as an Indian entity by, and dealings of
the petitioner as an Indian entity with, Indian
tribes, aboriginal groups or recognized national
Indian organizations.
(2) Evidence that—
(A) a substantial portion of the member-
ship of the petitioner lives in an Indian commu-
nity which is distinct from other populations in
the area; and
(B) members of the petitioner are descend-
ants of an Indian group or groups which his-
torically inhabited a specific area.
(3) A statement of facts which establishes that
the petitioner has maintained tribal political influ-
ence or other authority over its members as an au-
tonomous entity from historical times until the
present.
(4) A copy of the present governing document
of the petitioner describing in the full membership
criteria of the petitioner and the procedures through
which the petitioner currently governs its affairs and
members.
(5) A list of all current members of the peti-
tioner and their current addresses and a copy of
each available former list of members based on the
petitioner’s own defined criteria. The membership
must consist of individuals who have established
descendancy from an Indian group which existed
historically or from historical Indian groups which
combined and functioned as a single autonomous en-
tity. Evidence of tribal membership required by the
Commission includes (but is not limited to)—
(A) descendancy rolls prepared by the Sec-
retary for the petitioner for purposes of distrib-
uting claims money, providing allotments, or
other purposes;
(B) State, Federal, or other official records
or evidence identifying present members of the
petitioner, or ancestors of present members of
the petitioner, as being an Indian descendant
and a member of the petitioner;
(C) church, school, and other similar en-
rollment records indicating membership in the
petitioner;
(D) affidavits of recognition by tribal el-
ders, leaders, or the tribal governing body as
being an Indian descendant of the Indian group
and a member of the petitioner; and
(E) other records or evidence identifying
the person as a member of the petitioner.
(c) A petition from an Indian group which can dem-
onstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that it was
or is the successor in interest to—
(1) a party to a treaty or treaties with the Fed-
eral Government; or
(2) a group acknowledged by any agency of the
Federal Government as eligible to participate in the
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461
et. seq.),
shall be required to establish the criteria set forth in sub-
section (b)(1) only from the date of the treaty or acknowl-
edgement of eligibility to the present.
SEC. 6. NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION.
(a) PETITIONER.—Within 30 days after a petition is
submitted or transferred to the Commission under section
5(a), the Commission shall send an acknowledgement of
receipt in writing to the petitioner and shall have pub-
lished in the Federal Register a notice of such receipt, in-
cluding the name, location, and mailing address of the pe-
titioner and such other information that will identify the
entity who submitted the petition and the date the petition
was received by the Commission. The notice shall also in-
dicate where a copy of the petition may be examined.
(b) OTHERS.—The Commission shall also notify, in
writing, the Governor and attorney general of, and each
recognized Indian tribe within, any State in which a peti-
tioner resides.
(c) PUBLICATION; OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTING
OR OPPOSING SUBMISSIONS.—The Commission shall pub-
lish the notice of receipt of the petition in a major news-
paper of general circulation in the town or city nearest
the location of the petitioner. The notice shall include, in
addition to the information described in subsection (a), no-
tice of opportunity for other parties to submit factual or
legal arguments in support of or in opposition to, the peti-
tion. Such submissions shall be provided to the petitioner
upon receipt by the Commission. The petitioner shall be
provided an opportunity to respond to such submissions
prior to a determination on the petition by the Commis-
sion.
SEC. 7. PROCESSING THE PETITION.
(a) REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of a petition, the
Commission shall conduct a review to determine whether
the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an Indian
tribe.
(2) The review conducted under paragraph (1) shall
include consideration of the petition, supporting evidence,
and the factual statements contained in the petition.
(3) The Commission may also initiate other research
for any purpose relative to analyzing the petition and ob-
taining additional information about the petitioner’s sta-
tus and may consider any evidence which may be submit-
ted by other parties.
(b) NOTICE OF DEFICIENCIES.—Prior to actual con-
sideration of the petition and by no later than the date
that is 12 months after the date on which the petition
is submitted or transferred to the Commission, the Com-
mission shall notify the petitioner of any obvious defi-
ciencies, or significant omissions, that are apparent upon
an initial review of the petition and provide the petitioner
with an opportunity to withdraw the petition for further
work or to submit additional information or a clarification.
(c) CONSIDERATION.—(1) Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this subsection, petitions shall be considered on
a first come, first served basis, determined by the date
of the original filing of the petition with the Commission,
or the Department if the petition is one transferred to the
Commission pursuant to section 5(a). The Commission
shall establish a priority register including those petitions
pending before the Department on the date of enactment
of this Act.
(2) Petitions that are submitted to the Commission
by Indian groups that as set forth in subsection 5(c)
shall—
(A) receive priority consideration over petitions
submitted by any other Indian groups, and
(B) be considered on an expedited basis.
(d) NOTICE OF ACTIVE CONSIDERATION.—The Com-
mission shall provide notice of the date on which the peti-
tion comes under active consideration to the petitioner and
other parties submitting comments on the petition.
(e) WITHDRAWAL AND RESUBMITTAL.—A petitioner
may, at its option and upon written request, withdraw its
petition prior to publication in the Federal Register by the
Commission of proposed findings under section 8(a) and
may, if it so desires, resubmit a new petition. A petitioner
shall not lose its priority date by withdrawing and resub-
mitting its petitions, but the time periods provided in sec-
tion 8(a) shall begin to run upon active consideration of
the resubmitted petition.
SEC. 8. PROPOSED FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Within one year after notify-
ing the petitioner under section 7(d) that active consider-
ation of the petition has begun, the Commission shall
make a proposed finding on the petition and shall publish
the proposed finding in the Federal Register.
(2) The Commission may delay making proposed
findings on a petition under paragraph (1) for 180 days
upon a showing of good cause by the petitioner.
(3) In addition to the proposed findings, the Commis-
sion shall prepare a report on each petition which summa-
rizes the evidence for the proposed findings. Copies of such
report shall be available to the petitioner and to other par-
ties upon request.
(4) Upon publication of the proposed findings under
paragraph (1), any individual or organization wishing to
challenge the proposed findings shall have a response pe-
riod of 120 days to present factual or legal arguments and
evidence upon which the proposed findings are based.
(b) DETERMINATION OF RECOGNITION.—(1) After
consideration of any written arguments and evidence sub-
mitted to rebut the proposed findings made under sub-
section (a)(1), the Commission shall make a determination
of whether the petitioner is recognized by the Federal Gov-
ernment to be an Indian tribe. Except as otherwise pro-
vided by this Act, the determination shall be considered
to be a determination on such recognition by the Federal
Government, and shall also be treated as a determination
on such recognition by the Secretary, for all purposes of
law.
(2) By no later than the date that is 60 days after
the close of the 120 day response period described in sub-
section (a)(4), the Commission shall—
(A) make a determination of whether the peti-
tioner is a federally recognized Indian tribe;
(B) publish a summary of the determination in
the Federal Register; and
(C) deliver a copy of the determination and
summary to the petitioner.
(3) Any determination made under paragraph (1)
shall become effective on the date that is 60 days after
the date on which the summary of the determination is
published under paragraph (2).
(c) RECOGNITION CRITERIA.—In making the pro-
posed findings and determination under this section with
respect to any petition, the Commission shall recognize the
petitioner as an Indian tribe if the petition meets all the
requirements of section 5(b). The Commission shall not
make such findings or determination of recognition of the
petitioner if such requirements have not been met by the
petitioner.
(d) NOTIFICATION
OF OTHER OPTIONS.—If the
Commission determines under subsection (b)(1) that the
petitioner should not be recognized by the Federal Govern-
ment to be an Indian tribe, the Commission shall analyze
and forward to the petitioner other options, if any, under
which application for services and other benefits of the
Bureau may be made.
(e) SITUATIONS
NOT AFFECTED
BY DETERMINA-
TION.—A determination by the Commission that an In-
dian group is recognized by the Federal Government as
an Indian tribe shall not have the effect of—
(1) depriving or diminishing the right of any
other Indian tribe to govern its reservation as such
reservation existed prior to the recognition of such
Indian group;
(2) depriving or diminishing any property right
held in trust or recognized by the United States for
such other Indian tribe prior to the recognition of
such Indian group; or
(3) depriving or diminishing any previously or
independently existing claim by a petitioner to any
such property right held in trust by the United
States for such other Indian tribe prior to the rec-
ognition of such Indian group.
SEC. 9. APPEALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—By no later than 60 days after
the date on which the summary of the determination of
the Commission with respect to a petition is published
under section 8(b), the petitioner, or any other party, may
appeal the determination to the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia.
(b) ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS.—The prevailing
parties in the appeal described in subsection (a) shall be
eligible for an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs
under the provisions of section 504 of title 5, United
States Code, or section 2412 of title 28 of such Code, as
the case may be.
SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISIONS.
(a) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—(1)
Subject to paragraph (2), upon recognition by the Com-
mission that the petitioner is an Indian tribe, the Indian
tribe shall be eligible for the services and benefits from
the Federal Government that are available to other feder-
ally recognized Indian tribes by virtue of their status as
Indian tribes with a government-to-government relation-
ship with the United States, as well as having the respon-
sibilities and obligations of such Indian tribes. Such rec-
ognition shall subject the Indian tribes to the same au-
thority of Congress and the United States to which other
federally recognized tribes are subject.
(2) Recognition of the Indian tribe under this Act
does not create an immediate entitlement to existing pro-
grams of the Bureau. Such programs shall become avail-
able upon appropriation of funds by law. Requests for ap-
propriations shall follow a determination under subsection
(b) of the needs of the newly recognized Indian tribe.
(b) NEEDS
DETERMINATION.—Within 6 months
after an Indian tribe is recognized under this Act, the ap-
propriate area offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and
the Indian Health Service shall consult and develop in co-
operation with the Indian tribe, and forward to the respec-
tive Secretary, a determination of the needs of the Indian
tribe and a recommended budget required to serve the
newly recognized Indian tribe. The recommended budget
shall be considered along with other recommendations by
the appropriate Secretary in the budget-request process.
SEC. 11. LIST OF RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBES.
By no later than the date that is 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register an up-
to-date list of all Indian tribes which are recognized by
the Federal Government and receiving services from the
Bureau.
SEC. 12. ACTIONS BY PETITIONERS FOR ENFORCEMENT.
Any petitioner may bring an action in the district
court of the United States for the district in which the
petitioner resides, or the United States District Court for
the District of Columbia, to enforce the provisions of this
Act, including any time limitations within which actions
are required to be taken, or decisions made, under this
Act and the district court shall issue such orders (includ-
ing writs of mandamus) as may be necessary to enforce
the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 13. REGULATIONS.
The Commission is authorized to prescribe such regu-
lations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions
and purposes of this Act. All such regulations must be
published in accordance with the provisions of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 14. GUIDELINES AND ADVICE.
(a) GUIDELINES.—No later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make
available suggested guidelines for the format of petitions,
including general suggestions and guidelines on where and
how to research required information, but such examples
shall not preclude the use of any other format.
(b) RESEARCH ADVICE.—The Commission, upon re-
quest, is authorized to provide suggestions and advise to
any petitioner for his research into the petitioner’s histori-
cal background and Indian identity. The Commission shall
not be responsible for the actual research on behalf of the
petitioner.
SEC. 15. ASSISTANCE TO PETITIONERS.
(a) GRANTS.—(1) The Secretary of Health and
Human Services may award grants to Indian groups seek-
ing Federal recognition to enable the Indian groups to—
(A) conduct the research necessary to substan-
tiate petitions under this Act; and
(B) prepare documentation necessary for the
submission of a petition under this Act.
(2) The grants made under this subsection shall be
in addition to any other grants the Secretary of Health
and Human Services is authorized to provide under any
other provision of law.
(b) COMPETITIVE AWARD.—Grants provided under
subsection (a) shall be awarded competitively based on ob-
jective criteria prescribed in regulations promulgated by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated for the Commission for the purpose of carrying
out the provisions of this Act (other than section 15),
$1,500,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,500,000 for each
of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.
(b) SECRETARY OF HHS.—There are authorized to
be appropriated for the Administration for Native Ameri-
cans of the Department of Health and Human Services
for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section
15, $500,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $500,000 for each
of the 12 succeeding fiscal years.
Æ