25 U.S.C. § 1779d (INDIANS)
§ 1779d. Tribal trust funds
(a) Establishment, purpose, and management of trust funds
(1) Establishment
There are hereby established in the United States Treasury 3 separate tribal trust fund accounts for the benefit of each of the Indian Nations, respectively, for the purpose of receiving all appropriations made pursuant to section 1779c(c) of this title, and allocated pursuant to section 1779c(d) of this title.
(2) Availability of amounts in trust fund accounts
Amounts in the tribal trust fund accounts established by this section shall be available to the Secretary for management and investment on behalf of the Indian Nations and distribution to the Indian Nations in accordance with this subchapter. Funds made available from the tribal trust funds under this section shall be available without fiscal year limitation.
(b) Management of funds
(1) Land acquisition
(A) Trust land status pursuant to regulations
The funds appropriated and allocated to the Indian Nations pursuant to section 1779c(c) and (d) 1 of this title, and deposited into trust fund accounts pursuant to subsection (a), together with any interest earned thereon, may be used for the acquisition of land by the Indian Nations. The Secretary may accept such lands into trust for the beneficiary Indian Nation pursuant to the authority provided in section 465 of this title and in accordance with the Secretary’s trust land acquisition regulations at part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, in effect at the time of the acquisition, except for those acquisitions covered by paragraph (1)(B).
(B) Required trust land status
Any such trust land acquisitions on behalf of the Cherokee Nation shall be mandatory if the land proposed to be acquired is located within Township 12 North, Range 21 East, in Sequoyah County, Township 11 North, Range 18 East, in McIntosh County, Townships 11 and 12 North, Range 19 East, or Township 12 North, Range 20 East, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, and not within the limits of any incorporated municipality as of January 1, 2002, if—
(i) the land proposed to be acquired meets the Department of the Interior’s minimum environmental standards and requirements for real estate acquisitions set forth in 602 DM 2.6, or any similar successor standards or requirements for real estate acquisitions in effect on the date of acquisition; and
(ii) the title to such land meets applicable Federal title standards in effect on the date of the acquisition.
(C) Other expenditure of funds
The Indian Nations may elect to expend all or a portion of the funds deposited into its trust account for any other purposes authorized under paragraph (2).
(2) Investment of trust funds; no per capita payment
(A) No per capita payments
No money received by the Indian Nations hereunder may be used for any per capita payment.
(B) Investment by Secretary
Except as provided in this section and section 1779e of this title, the principal of such funds deposited into the accounts established hereunder and any interest earned thereon shall be invested by the Secretary in accordance with current laws and regulations for the investing of tribal trust funds.
(C) Use of principal funds
The principal amounts of said funds and any amounts earned thereon shall be made available to the Indian Nation for which the account was established for expenditure for purposes which may include construction or repair of health care facilities, law enforcement, cultural or other educational activities, economic development, social services, and land acquisition. Land acquisition using such funds shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (b) and (d).2
(3) Disbursement of funds
The Secretary shall disburse the funds from a trust account established under this section pursuant to a budget adopted by the Council or Legislature of the Indian Nation setting forth the amount and an intended use of such funds.
(4) Additional restriction on use of funds
None of the funds made available under this subchapter may be allocated or otherwise assigned to authorized purposes of the Arkansas River Multipurpose Project as authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1946,1 as amended by the Flood Control Act of 1948 and the Flood Control Act of 1950.
(Pub. L. 107–331, title VI, § 606, Dec. 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 2851.)
heading: References in Text
text: Section 1779c(c) and (d) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(A), was in the original “sections 205(c) and (d)” and was translated as reading “section 605(c) and (d)”, meaning section 605(c) and (d) of Pub. L. 107–331, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
The River and Harbor Act of 1946, as amended by the Flood Control Act of 1948 and the Flood Control Act of 1950, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), probably means the act July 24, 1946, ch. 596, 60 Stat. 641, known as the Flood Control Act of 1946, as amended by act June 30, 1948, ch. 771, title II, 62 Stat. 1175, and act May 17, 1950, ch. 188, title II, 64 Stat. 170. For complete classification of these acts to the Code, see Tables.