Gabrielino/Tongva Nation Recognition Act of 2023

Bill: 118-hr-6859
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]
Introduced: 2023-12-19
Policy area: Native Americans
Latest action: action_date: 2023-12-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6859 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 19, 2023 Ms. Kamlager-Dove introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To extend the Federal recognition to the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation Recognition Act of 2023 . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Member The term member means an individual who is a citizen of the Tribe pursuant to the Tribe’s Constitution, enacted February 17, 2007, and who is enrolled in the Tribe pursuant to section 7 of this Act. (2) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. (3) Tribe The term Tribe means the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, also known as Gabrielino-Tongva Indian Tribe and the Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe. 3. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The traditional homelands of the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation are the Los Angeles Basin and the islands of Santa Catalina, San Nicholas, San Clemente, and Santa Barbara, from Topanga Canyon to Laguna Beach, from the San Gabriel Mountains to the sea. Over 2,000 archaeological sites in the in the Los Angeles County Basin attest to the longevity of Gabrielino/Tongva presence in their homelands. (2) In 1891, in response to the impoverished conditions experienced by Indian Tribes sent to the California missions, Congress passed the Act of January 12, 1891 (26 Stat. 711) commonly known as the Mission Indian Relief Act, which created a special Indian agency with trust responsibilities over Mission Indians in California, including the Gabrielino/Tongva. (3) In 1928, members of the Gabrielino/Tongva community, many of whom were then living in their traditional homelands in the Los Angeles Basin, enrolled during the California Indian census taken pursuant to the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), which identified them as Mission San Gabriel or Gabrielino Indians and under the Federal jurisdiction of the Mission Indian Agency in Riverside, California. (4) In 1952, a congressional report named the Gabrielino/Tongva, known at that time as Gabrieleño or San Gabriel Indians, as one of the Indian Tribes or bands identified in dealings with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (82d Cong., 2d sess., House, Report No. 2503). (5) In 1972, Gabrielino/Tongva people received settlement funds from the judgment of the Indian Claims Commission in Docket 80 and 80–D under the Act of September 21, 1968 ( Public Law 90–507 ; 82 Stat. 860). (6) In 1994, the State of California recognized the Tongva in Assembly Joint Resolution 96, chaptered by the California Secretary of State as Resolution chapter 146, Statutes of 1994. The Joint Resolution states that the State of California recognizes the Gabrielinos as the aboriginal tribe of the Los Angeles Basin and takes great pride in recognizing the Indian inhabitance of the Los Angeles Basin and the continued existence of the Indian community . (7) In 1999, the Coastal Gabrielino-Diegueno Band of Mission Indians, the legal predecessor to the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, filed evidence of its members’ Gabrielino ancestry with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, using certificates of degree of Indian blood prepared by the Act of September 21, 1968. (8) In 2001, the Coastal Gabrielino-Diegueno Band of Mission Indians reorganized, ultimately changing its name to the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation, and opening enrollment to individuals with Gabrielino ancestry certified by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. (9) In 2013, the Los Angeles City Council, in Resolution 13-1285, declared its support of the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation in its efforts to restore a government-to-government relationship with the United States. (10) In 2019, the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles found that the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation was the legal successor in interest to the Coastal Gabrielino-Diegueno Band of Mission Indians. (11) The Gabrielino/Tongva Nation presently has a membership of more than 700 Tribal citizens, all of whom descend from a bona fide Gabrielino/Tongva ancestor enumerated on a California Indian Roll prepared by Bureau of Indian Affairs pursuant to the Act of May 18, 1928, Act of May 24, 1950 (64 Stat. 189), and Act of September 21, 1968, and whose ancestors have received Indian services, including education or health care, based upon their status as Indians. 4. Federal recognition (a) In general Federal recognition is extended to the Tribe. (b) Effect of Federal laws Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all Federal laws (including regulations) of general application to Indians and Indian Tribes, including the Act of June 18, 1934 ( 25 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. ) (commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act ), shall apply to the Tribe and each member. 5. Federal services and benefits (a) In general Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Tribe and each member shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided by the United States to Indians and federally recognized Indian Tribes, without regard to— (1) the existence of a reservation for the Tribe; or (2) the location of the residence of any member on or near an Indian reservation. (b) Service area For purposes of the delivery of services and benefits to members, and in regard to land and the transfer of land as set forth in section 8 of this Act, the service area of the Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of Los Angeles County, in the State of California. Such services and benefits shall be provided notwithstanding the establishment of a reservation or acquisition of additional land after the date of enactment of this Act. 6. Reaffirmation of rights (a) In general Nothing in this Act diminishes any right or privilege of the Tribe or any member that existed before the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Claims of Tribe Except as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing in this Act alters or affects any legal or equitable claim of the Tribe to enforce any right or privilege reserved by, or granted to, the Tribe that was wrongfully denied to, or taken from, the Tribe before the date of enactment of this Act. 7. Membership roll (a) In general The Tribe shall submit to the Secretary within thirty days after the date of enactment of this Act, a membership roll consisting of the name of each individual enrolled as a member of the Tribe. (b) Determination of membership The qualifications for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be determined in accordance with the Tribe’s Constitution, enacted February 17, 2007, any amendments or changes to the Constitution, or Tribal laws pertaining to membership. Upon receipt of the roll, the Secretary shall immediately publish notice of such in the Federal Register. (c) Maintenance of roll The Tribe shall have the sole authority and responsibility to maintain the membership roll of the Tribe. 8. Transfer of land (a) Initial resevation Within ninety days from the date of enactment of this Act, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall acquire and take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe title to land identified by the Tribe that is located within the service area of the Tribe, not to exceed 300 acres. (b) Eligibility Lands taken into trust will be deemed part of the restoration of lands for an Indian Tribe that is restored to Federal recognition pursuant to section 20(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ( 25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)(iii) ). (c) Additional lands The Secretary may acquire additional land for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 ( 25 U.S.C. 5108 ) (commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act ). (d) Tribal fee lands Notwithstanding any other provision of law, without further approval, ratification, or authorization by the United States, the Tribe may lease, sell, convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer all or any part its interest in any real property that is (1) not located within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation, and (2) not held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.