A bill to amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and for other purposes.
Bill: S.3123 | Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff (D-OR)
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
This bill provides a process by which the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Oregon may negotiate to amend or replace the existing agreement defining the tribe's hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights.
The current agreement, which was made effective by a May 2, 1980, consent decree by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, serves as the exclusive and final determination of the tribe's hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering rights. This bill instead allows an April 22, 1980, agreement between the United States, Oregon, and the tribe (known as the Siletz Agreement) to define the tribe's rights until and unless it is amended or replaced upon mutual agreement of the tribe and Oregon.
The bill allows the tribe and Oregon to return to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to request the modification or termination of the May 2, 1980, consent decree.

To amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, 
  trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of 
                Siletz Indians, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SILETZ RESERVATION ACT AMENDMENT.

    Section 4 of Public Law 96-340 (commonly known as the ``Siletz 
Reservation Act'') (96 Stat. 1074) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 4. HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, AND ANIMAL GATHERING.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Consent decree.--The term `Consent Decree' means the 
        final judgment and decree of the United States District Court 
        for the District of Oregon, in the action entitled 
        `Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon against State 
        of Oregon', entered on May 2, 1980.
            ``(2) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            ``(3) Siletz agreement.--The term `Siletz Agreement' means 
        the agreement entitled `Agreement Among the State of Oregon, 
        the United States of America and the Confederated Tribes of the 
        Siletz Indians of Oregon to Permanently Define Tribal Hunting, 
        Fishing, Trapping, and Gathering Rights of the Siletz Tribe and 
        its Members' and entered into by the United States on April 22, 
        1980.
    ``(b) Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, and Animal Gathering 
Agreements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Siletz Agreement shall remain in 
        effect until and unless replaced, amended, or otherwise 
        modified by 1 or more successor government-to-government 
        agreements between the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians 
        and the State of Oregon relating to the hunting, fishing, 
        trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated 
        Tribes of Siletz Indians.
            ``(2) Amendments.--The Siletz Agreement or any successor 
        agreement entered into under paragraph (1) may be amended from 
        time to time by mutual consent of the Confederated Tribes of 
        Siletz Indians and the State of Oregon.
    ``(c) Judicial Review.--In any action brought in the United States 
District Court for the District of Oregon to rescind, overturn, modify, 
or provide relief under Federal law from the Consent Decree, the United 
States District Court for the District of Oregon shall review the 
application of the parties on the merits without regard to the defense 
of res judicata or collateral estoppel.
    ``(d) Effect.--Nothing in this section enlarges, confirms, 
adjudicates, affects, or modifies any treaty or other right of an 
Indian Tribe.''.
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