zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act - (Sec. 4) Establishes the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children in the Office of Tribal Justice of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Requires the President and Congress to appoint to the Commission individuals who have significant experience and expertise in Indian affairs and matters to be studied by the Commission, including health care issues facing Native children, Indian education, juvenile justice programs, and social service programs used by Native children.

Requires the Commission to establish a Native Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of Indian tribes from each region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and a native Hawaiian. Requires members of the Committee to be experienced in matters to be studied by the Commission.

Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of federal, state, local, and tribal programs that serve Native children, including an evaluation of:

 the impact of concurrent jurisdiction on child welfare systems; barriers Indian tribes and Native Hawaiians face in using public and private grant resources; obstacles to nongovernmental financial support for programs benefitting Native children; issues relating to the validity and statistical significance of data on Native children; barriers to the development of sustainable, multidisciplinary programs designed to assist high-risk Native children and their families, as well as any examples of successful program models; and barriers to interagency coordination. Directs the Commission to use the results of the study and analyses of existing federal data to:

 develop plans and goals for federal policy relating to Native children in the short-, mid-, and long-term informed by the development of accurate child well-being measures; recommend modifications and improvements to programs that serve Native children that integrate the cultural strengths of Native communities and result in improvements to the child welfare system, the mental and physical health of Native children, educational and vocational opportunities, and tribal juvenile detention programs. recommend improvements to the collection of data regarding Native children and the programs that serve them; and identify models of successful federal, state, and tribal programs in the areas studied by the Commission. Requires the Commission to submit a report to the President, Congress, and the White House Council on Native American Affairs on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislative and administrative action.

Terminates the Commission 90 days after the report is submitted.

Date: 2013-10-30
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to provide that nothing in such Act prohibits possessing, selling, bartering, purchasing, shipping, and transporting any authentic Alaska Native handicraft on the basis that it contains a nonedible migratory bird part. Makes such exemption inapplicable with respect to any handicraft containing any part of a migratory bird that was taken in a wasteful manner.

Date: 2013-11-05
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Animals
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the special rules for the accelerated depreciation of business property used on Indian reservations.

Date: 2013-12-17
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to tribes, tribal colleges or universities, tribal education agencies, schools, and private or tribal nonprofit organizations to develop and maintain, or improve and expand, programs that support the use by schools, from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, of Native American languages as their primary language of instruction.

Requires grant applicants to present the Secretary with specified assurances and demonstrations that the schools they will support have the capacity to provide education primarily through a Native American language.

Requires grantees to:

 support Native American language education and development; develop or refine instructional curricula for the schools they support, including distinctive teaching materials and activities; fund training opportunities for school staff that strengthen the overall language and academic goals of their schools; develop a Native Language alignment plan to create or refine assessments of student proficiency; and engage in other activities that promote Native American language education and development.

Date: 2014-01-16
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Native Adult Education and Literacy Act of 2014 - Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to include Tribal Colleges or Universities as eligible providers of services under that Act.

Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to Tribal Colleges or Universities and Native Hawaiian educational organizations to develop and implement innovative, effective, and replicable programs designed to enhance life skills and transition individuals to employability and postsecondary education.

Requires grantees to have a multiyear strategy, including performance measures, for increasing the number of adult American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska Natives that attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

Includes among the activities that may be funded by a grant:

 adult education and literacy services, including workplace literacy services; family literacy services; English literacy programs, including limited English proficiency programs; opportunities for American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives to qualify for a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent; and demonstration and research projects and professional development activities designed to develop and identify the most successful means of addressing the educational needs of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native adults.

Date: 2014-02-06
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on September 18, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of 2014 - (Sec. 4) Extinguishes all claims and all right, title, and interest in specified Indian and non-Indian land as part of the settlement of disputes within the Fort Hall Indian Reservation of the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Tribes in Idaho resulting from the realignment of the Blackfoot River by the Corps of Engineers in 1964.

(Sec. 5) Requires the non-Indian land to be held in trust by the United States for the Tribes.

(Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer the Indian land to the Blackfoot River Flood Control District No. 7 for use or sale. Requires any proceeds from the sale of the land to be used to compensate: (1) each non-Indian landowner at fair market value for his or her loss of land resulting from this Act's implementation, and (2) the Blackfoot River Flood Control District No. 7 for any expenses it incurs in carrying out this Act.

Authorizes the Blackfoot River Flood Control District No. 7 to dispose of the land or proceeds that remain in any manner it determines to be appropriate.

Date: 2014-02-25
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
May 31, 1918 Act Repeal Act - Repeals the Act of May 31, 1918 (authorized the Secretary of the Interior to set aside and reserve a tract of land within the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Idaho, for town-site purposes).

Gives the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation the exclusive right of first refusal to purchase at fair market value any land within the Fort Hall Townsite and offered for sale.

Directs the United States to hold in trust for the benefit of the Tribes or a member of the Tribes: (1) any land they owned or acquired within the Townsite before this Act's enactment, and (2) any land they owned or acquired within the Townsite on or after this Act's enactment.

Declares that, nothing in this Act affects any valid right to any land set aside or set apart under the 1918 Act.

Date: 2014-02-25
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Native American Seeds Protection Act of 2014 - Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to award grants to, and enter into agreements with, Indian tribes and 1994 Institutions to conduct research and education and training programs concerning the purity of Native American seeds. (1994 Institutions are Native American tribally-controlled colleges and universities that were granted land-grant status in 1994.)

Requires grant applicants to certify that any research conducted will be performed under a cooperative agreement with at least one other entity that has the capacity and infrastructure necessary to carry out agricultural research projects.

Authorizes the use of the grants to fund research to assess the impact of: (1) public law and policies on traditional ways of life and cultural practices relating to the harvesting and cultivating of Native American seeds, and (2) contaminants that compromise the integrity and purity of those seeds.

Authorizes the use of the grants to fund education and training programs on: (1) the methods necessary to conduct such research; and (2) the best methods to continuously test, monitor, and otherwise protect the purity of Native American seeds.

Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the use of grants under the community facilities grant program to expand, construct, and develop seed storage facilities that are used to protect and preserve Native American seeds.

Date: 2014-03-12
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Native American Children's Safety Act - Amends the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (Act) to prohibit any foster care placement over which an Indian tribe has exclusive jurisdiction from being ordered until the tribal social services agency: (1) completes an investigation of the character of each covered individual who resides in the household or is employed at the institution in which the foster care placement will be made, and (2) concludes that each of those individuals meets the standards of character the tribe is required to establish.

Defines a "covered individual" as an adult and any other individual the tribe determines is subject to such character investigation.

Requires the tribal social services agency, as part of those investigations, to: (1) perform criminal records checks, including fingerprint-based checks of national crime information databases; (2) check any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state in which the individual resides; and (3) request any other state in which the individual resided during the preceding five years to allow the agency to check its registry.

Prohibits a foster care placement from being ordered if the investigation reveals that the covered individual: (1) has been found guilty by a federal, state, or tribal court of a felony involving child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against a child, violence, or drugs; or (2) is listed on a child abuse and neglect registry in the state where the individual resides or resided within the preceding five years.

Excepts emergency foster care placements from such requirements.

Requires each Indian tribe to establish procedures to recertify homes or institutions in which foster care placements are made.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate a regulation establishing: (1) procedures for investigating the character of any covered individual who resides in the home or is employed at the institution in which the child is placed after the investigations that preceded that placement occurred, (2) self-reporting requirements for foster care homes or institutions that have knowledge that a covered individual residing on their premises would fail the character investigation, (3) procedures and guidelines for emergency foster care placements, and (4) procedures for certifying compliance with the Act.

Date: 2014-03-26
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Indian Reorganization Act to apply the Act to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when the tribe became recognized. (This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that the Secretary of the Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been federally recognized when the Act was enacted in 1934.) Ratifies and confirms any action taken by the Secretary pursuant to the Act for any Indian tribe that was federally recognized on the date of the action.

 Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the effects of Carcieri v. Salazar on Indian tribes and tribal land. Requires the Secretary to publish a list of each Indian tribe and parcel of tribal land affected by that decision in the Federal Register and on the Department of the Interior's website.

Date: 2014-03-31
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Grand Portage Band Per Capita Adjustment Act - Amends the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act to exclude funds paid by Minnesota to members of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, pursuant to the agreements of such Band to voluntarily restrict tribal rights to hunt and fish in territory ceded under the Treaty of September 30, 1854, from: (1) federal or state income taxes; or (2) use in denying or reducing a member's benefits under the Social Security Act or, except for payments in excess of $2,000, a federal or federally-assisted program.

Date: 2014-04-10
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
Native American Languages Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to reauthorize through FY2019 and revise a grant program administered by the Administration for Native Americans at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages.

Decreases the required minimum number of enrollees in educational programs funded by the grant program from:

 10 to 5 enrollees in Native American language nests, and 15 to 10 enrollees in the Native American language survival schools. Changes the duration of grants provided under the program.

Date: 2014-05-07
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Native Voting Rights Act of 2014 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make an individual's unexpired tribal identification document issued by an Indian tribe or Native Corporation a valid form of identification in states and political subdivisions that require an individual to present a valid form of identification to vote or register to vote.

Authorizes the Attorney General (DOJ) to bring actions against such jurisdictions for declaratory judgement or injunctive relief if the Attorney General finds a disparity between in-person voting opportunities for Indians and in-person voting opportunities for non-Indians.

Prohibits states and political subdivisions, without obtaining court approval or the nonobjection of the Attorney General, from:

 eliminating an Indian reservation's sole polling place or voter registration site; moving or consolidating a polling place or voter registration site one mile or more from the existing polling place or registration site on an Indian reservation; moving or consolidating a polling place or voter registration site on an Indian reservation across a natural boundary such that travel becomes difficult for a voter, regardless of distance; eliminating in-person voting on an Indian reservation by designating the reservation a permanent absentee voting location, unless the entire state is or becomes such a location; removing an early voting location or otherwise diminishing early voting opportunities on an Indian reservation; and decreasing the number of days or hours that an in-person or early voting location is open on an Indian reservation or changing the dates of in-person or early voting on such reservation. Authorizes the Attorney General to assign federal observers to elections on an Indian reservation if the applicable tribe: (1) requests such observers, and (2) provides the Attorney General with a written complaint that efforts to deny or abridge the right to vote may occur on such reservation. Terminates the assignment of such observers after the end of the next presidential election.

Provides that if the applicable language of a minority group is not oral or unwritten when voting materials or information become available, states and political subdivisions must provide that material or information in the language of the minority group and in English.

Requires federal election observer's reports to be made available to the public within six months after they are submitted to the Attorney General.

Directs the Attorney General, to the extent practicable, to consult annually with tribal organization regarding Indian voting issues.

Date: 2014-05-22
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to take into trust 4 tracts of federal land in New Mexico, the combined acreage of which is approximately 11.11 acres, that were historically part of the Albuquerque Indian School for the benefit of 19 specified pueblos immediately after the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) have been satisfied regarding the trust acquisition of such federal land.

 Requires the federal lands taken into trust to be used for the educational, health, cultural, business, and economic development of the 19 pueblos.

Requires the federal lands taken into trust to remain subject to any private or municipal encumbrance, right-of-way, restriction, easement of record, or utility service agreement in effect on this Act's enactment date.

Requires the 19 pueblos to allow the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to continue to use the federal lands taken into trust for the facilities and purposes as in existence on this Act's enactment date.

Prohibits gaming from being carried out on the federal lands taken into trust under this Act.

Date: 2014-06-11
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Nevada Native Nations Land Act -Title I: Elko Motocross Land Conveyance - (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to Elko County, Nevada, without consideration, approximately 275 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Elko District, Nevada. Requires the land conveyed to be used only: (1) as a motocross, bicycle, off-highway vehicle, or stock car racing area; or (2) for any other public purpose consistent with the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.

Title II: Conveyance of Land to Indian Tribes - (Sec. 201) Holds in trust the following lands:

 for the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (the Elko Band), approximately 373 acres of BLM land; for the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, approximately 19,094 acres of BLM land; for the Shoshone Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, approximately 82 acres of Forest Service land; for the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, approximately 941 acres of BLM land; for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, approximately 13,434 acres of BLM land; and for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, approximately 11,719 acres of BLM land. Makes the lands held for the Tribes part of their respective Reservations.

(Sec. 202) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to complete a survey to establish boundary lines of the land taken into trust for each Indian tribe.

Restricts gaming on lands held in trust under this Act.

Permits the Secretary, in consultation with the applicable Indian tribe, to carry out any fuel reduction and other landscape restoration activities (including restoration of the sage grouse habitat) on the land that is beneficial to the tribe and BLM.

Date: 2014-06-17
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014 - Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the Big Sandy River-Planet Ranch Water Rights Settlement Agreement between the Hualapai Tribe, the Department of of the Interior, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, the Arizona Department of Water Resources, and the Freeport Minerals Corporation.

 Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the Hualapai Tribe Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Agreement between the Tribe, the United States as trustee for the Tribe, and Freeport Minerals Corporation.

Directs the Secretary of Interior to execute both agreements.

 Sets forth provisions regarding the waiver, release, and retention of specified water rights claims.

Date: 2014-06-19
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Adoption Tax Credit Tribal Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Indian tribes to make the determination that a child is a child with special needs for purposes of the adoption tax credit.

Date: 2014-07-09
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
Alaska Native Conservation Parity Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Alaska Native Corporations an increased tax deduction for donations of conservation easements related to lands conveyed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Permits a 15-year carryover of contribution amounts that exceed annual limitations on the amount of such tax deduction.

Date: 2014-07-22
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
Self Determination Contract Reporting Commitment to Tribes Act - Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to presume absent fraud or mathematical error that the deficiency amounts reported to Congress for contract support costs accurately reflect the minimum damages due to any Indian tribe or tribal organization filing a claim, appeal, or civil action under the Act.

Requires each annual report and accompanying data prepared under the Act to be made available to the public.

Date: 2014-07-24
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Self Determination Commitment to Tribes Act - Changes from discretionary to mandatory the funding for payments to Indian tribes and tribal organizations for contract support costs arising out of self-determination or self-governance contracts, grants, compacts, or annual funding agreements entered into pursuant to the Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

Date: 2014-07-24
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey specified property (22.98 acres) to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation located in Bethel, Alaska, for use in connection with health and social services programs.

Shields the Corporation from liability for any environmental contamination on the conveyed property. Requires the Secretary to: (1) be accorded access to the conveyed property as may be reasonably necessary to satisfy any retained obligations and liability; and (2) comply with requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 regarding the transfer of U.S. real property on which any hazardous substance was stored for one year or more, disposed of, or known to have been released.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Amends the Public Health Service Act to make permanent the special diabetes programs for Indians, which provide services for prevention and treatment of diabetes through the Indian Health Service and Indian health programs.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Health
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act - Amends the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to repeal a provision prohibiting the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas from conducting gaming activities on its lands if those gaming activities are prohibited by Texas.

Requires the United States and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe to execute and file in each applicable court a motion for dismissal of any pending claim arising out of or relating to the aboriginal land of the Tribe or an interest in that land.

Deems any claim by or on behalf of the Tribe against the United States or the state of Texas for the loss of aboriginal title to be extinguished.

Date: 2014-11-13
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a rental assistance and supportive housing program, in conjunction with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), for the benefit of Indian veterans who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness and who are residing on or near Indian areas.

Requires rental assistance under such program to be: (1) made available to recipients eligible for housing assistance block grants under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996; and (2) awarded based on need, administrative capacity, and any other funding criteria established by the HUD Secretary in a notice published in the Federal Register after consulting with the VA Secretary.

Date: 2014-11-20
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Housing and community development
Northern Cheyenne Lands Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to take approximately 1,567 acres of land in Montana depicted on the map entitled "Northern Cheyenne Lands Act - Fee-to-Trust Lands" and dated March 26, 2014, into trust for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

Requires: (1) Great Northern Properties to convey to the Tribe its coal and iron ore mineral interests underlying the land on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation generally depicted on the map entitled "Northern Cheyenne Land Act - Coal Tracts" and dated February 27, 2014, and (2) the Secretary to convey to Great Northern Properties all of U.S. coal mineral interests underlying the land generally depicted as "Bull Mountains" and "East Fork" on the map entitled "Northern Cheyenne Federal Tracts" and dated February 27, 2014.

Conditions those conveyances on the Secretary receiving a notice from the Tribe that: (1) it has a revenue sharing agreement with Great Northern Properties regarding future development of the Northern Cheyenne Federal Tracts, and (2) Great Northern Properties has agreed to convey those coal and iron ore mineral interests to the Tribe.

Directs the Secretary to ensure that the deed for those federal coal mineral interests includes a covenant, running with the land, that precludes surface mining of the coal: (1) absent the written consent of the surface owner, and (2) except as determined to be acceptable for further consideration for leasing in a specified Bureau of Land Management (BLM) document.

Requires the coal and iron ore mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe under this Act to be held, upon the Tribe's request, in trust for the Tribe.

Prohibits Montana from taxing the mineral interests this Act conveys to the Tribe.

Requires that, in return for this Act's mineral conveyances:

 the Tribe must waive all of its claims relating to the failure of the United States to acquire those private coal and iron ore mineral interests in trust for the Tribe as part of its Reservation as directed by Congress in 1900, and Great Northern Properties must waive any claim against the United States relating to the value of the coal mineral interests it receives under this Act. Requires the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund (Fund) to be transferred to the Tribe and deposited into the Tribe's Permanent Fund. Requires the Tribe, in return for such transfer, to waive all of its claims arising from U.S. management of the Fund.

Date: 4/11/2014
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to enter into contracts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act with eligible Indian tribes to carry out activities related to them under the Land Consolidation Program.

Requires the Secretary to invest the amounts remaining in the Trust Land Consolidation Fund into public debt securities with maturities suitable to the needs of such Fund. Requires invested funds and the interest to be used for the purposes for which the Trust Land Consolidation Fund was established.

Makes the Secretary responsible for ensuring that all payments are made to beneficiaries within one year.

Date: 5/22/2014
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Northern Cheyenne Lands Act - (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to take approximately 932 acres of land in Montana into trust for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

(Sec. 5) Requires Great Northern Properties to convey to the Tribe its coal and iron ore mineral interests underlying the land on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in exchange for U.S. coal mineral interests underlying the land referred to as Bull Mountains and East Fork. Sets forth conditions on the conveyance to Great Northern Properties.

Directs the Secretary to ensure that the deed for those federal coal mineral interests includes a covenant that precludes surface mining of the coal unless certain conditions are met.

Prohibits Montana from taxing the mineral interests this Act conveys to the Tribe.

Sets forth conditions regarding waiver of claims by the Tribe and Great Northern Properties.

(Sec. 6) Requires the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund to be transferred to the Tribe in exchange for the Tribe waiving all of its claims arising from U.S. management of the Fund.

(Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary to prepare an inventory of fractionated land interests held by the United States in trust for the benefit of the Tribe or individual Indians on the Tribe's Reservation.

Date: 6/5/2014
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
American Indian Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness to borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan program or the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program who: (1) are a member of an Indian tribe, and (2) have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete school years in an Indian school or in a local educational agency that serves at least 10 Indian students or whose schools have an enrollment of students at least 25% of which are Indians.

Date: 6/10/2014
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Lumbee Recognition Act

 Extends federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, which makes its members eligible for the services and benefits provided to Indians because of their status as members of a federally recognized tribe.

Deems members of the Tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties in North Carolina to be within the delivery area for such services.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the Tribe.

Prohibits the Tribe from conducting gaming activities.

Requires North Carolina to exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses committed, and all civil actions that arise, on North Carolina lands owned by, or held in trust for, the Lumbee Tribe or any dependent Indian community of the Tribe.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Indian Reorganization Act to make it applicable to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when any tribe became recognized. (This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that the Secretary of the Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Act was enacted.)

Date: 2015-01-09
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2015

 Extends federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. Makes the Tribe and each member eligible for all services and benefits provided by the United States to Indians and federally recognized Indian tribes, without regard to the existence of a reservation for the Tribe or the location of the residence of any member on or near an Indian reservation.

Considers the federal service area of the Tribe to be the area comprised of Blaine, Cascade, Glacier, and Hill Counties, Montana.

 Directs the Tribe, as a condition of receiving recognition, services, and benefits pursuant to this Act, to submit to the Secretary of the Interior a membership roll consisting of the name of each individual enrolled as a member of the Tribe. Requires the Tribe to maintain such membership roll.

Directs the Secretary to acquire, for the benefit of the Tribe, trust title to 200 acres of land within the Tribe's service area to be used for a tribal land base.

Date: 2015-01-12
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Keep the Promise Act of 2015

 Restricts gaming on land within the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area acquired by the Secretary of the Interior in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe after April 9, 2013. Terminates the restriction on January 1, 2027.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
American Indian Empowerment Act of 2015

 Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer land the federal government holds in trust for a federally recognized Indian tribe to such tribe as restricted fee tribal land, subject to a restriction against alienation and taxation, after receiving the Indian tribe's request for such transfer. (Restricted fee tribal land is land to which a tribe holds legal title, but which carries legal restrictions against alienation or encumbrance.)

Allows Indian tribes to lease, or grant an easement or right-of-way on, restricted fee tribal land for any period of time without the Secretary's review and approval.

Gives the laws of a federally recognized Indian tribe that establish a system of land tenure governing the use of the land the tribe holds precedence over any federal law or regulation governing the use of such land, excepting a federal restriction against its alienation and taxation.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2016

 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 to rename the Act to the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act of 1992 and to revise the program that provides for the integration of employment, training, and related services programs for Indian tribes.

(Sec. 6) The bill revises the types of programs that may be integrated. (Sec. 8) The bill revises the process for: (1) federal agencies to grant or deny a tribe's request to waive statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements to efficiently implement an integration plan; and (2) the Department of the Interior to approve or disapprove an integration plan. A tribe is granted certain hearing and appeal rights if Interior disapproves its plan.

 (Sec. 10) Tribal authority to use funds to place participants in training positions with employers is revised.

 (Sec. 13) The Bureau of Indian Affairs must receive and distribute funds for use in accordance with an approved integration plan.

(Sec. 14) Funds transferred to a tribe must be treated as non-federal funds for purposes of meeting matching requirements, except funds administered by the Department of Labor or the Department of Health and Human Services. Civil liability limitations apply to approved integration plans.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Alaska Native Corporations an increased tax deduction for donations of conservation easements related to lands conveyed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Permits a 15-year carryover of contribution amounts that exceed annual limitations on the amount of such tax deduction.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
American Indian Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act of 2015

Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness to borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan program or the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program who: (1) are a member of an Indian tribe, and (2) have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete school years in an Indian school or in a local educational agency that serves at least 10 Indian students or whose schools have an enrollment of students at least 25% of which are Indians.

Date: 2015-01-14
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

Economic Development Through Tribal Land Exchange Act

(Sec. 3) This bill provides for the disposition of four parcels of land in California. The Department of the Interior must transfer 41.15 acres designated as Morongo lands to Lloyd L. Fields in exchange for 41.15 acres owned by Fields to be held in trust for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.

The City of Banning is granted a 1.76 acre easement for a public right-of-way in exchange for 1.21 acres of land to be held in trust for the Tribe.

Date: 2015-01-14
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Indian Health Service Advance Appropriations Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to authorize advance appropriations for the Indian Health Services and Indian Health Facilities accounts of the Indian Health Service. The advance appropriations provide new budget authority that first becomes available in the first fiscal year after the budget year. The bill requires the President's budget and the supporting documents submitted to Congress to include detailed estimates related to the advance appropriations.

Date: 2015-01-14
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Indian Reorganization Act to apply the Act to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when any tribe became recognized. (This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that the Secretary of the Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Act was enacted.)

Ratifies and confirms any action taken by the Secretary pursuant to such Act for any Indian tribe that was federally recognized on the date of that action.

Date: 2015-01-20
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)

(Sec. 1) Allows the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or transfer all or any part of its interests in any real property that is not held in trust by the United States for the tribe.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
(Sec. 1) Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation in Bethel, Alaska, all U.S. interest in specified property for use in connection with health and social services programs.

Declares that such conveyance shall not: (1) require any consideration from or impose any obligation, term, or condition on the Corporation; or (2) allow for any U.S. reversionary interest in the property.

(Sec. 3) Shields the Corporation from liability for any soil, surface water, groundwater, or other contamination resulting from the disposal, release, or presence of environmental contamination on any of the property on or before it is conveyed to the Corporation.

Accords to HHS any easement or access to the conveyed property as may be necessary to satisfy any retained obligations and liability. Requires HHS to comply with Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 requirements in carrying out such conveyance.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Accepts the request of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to revoke the charter of incorporation issued to that tribe and ratified by its members on June 1, 1940.

Date: 2015-01-26
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Non-Disparagement of Native American Persons or Peoples in Trademark Registration Act of 2015

Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to conclusively presume that a mark that uses the term "redskin" or any derivation of that term consists of matter which may disparage persons if: (1) it has been, is, or is intended to be used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans; or (2) the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans. (The possibility that a mark disparages persons is grounds for refusing its registration.)

Requires the USPTO to cancel the registration of a mark containing the term "redskin" or any derivation of that term if: (1) it has been or is used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans, or (2) the USPTO determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans.

Date: 2015-02-03
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on February 24, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Indian Trust Asset Reform Act

TITLE I--RECOGNITION OF TRUST RESPONSIBILITY

 (Sec. 102) This bill reaffirms the federal government's duty to promote tribal self-determination.

TITLE II--INDIAN TRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Indian Trust Asset Management Demonstration Project Act of 2016

(Sec. 203) The Department of the Interior must establish an Indian trust asset management demonstration project that allows tribes to propose Indian trust asset management plans. To be approved by Interior, these plans must establish objectives and priorities for trust assets and allocate sufficient funding for asset management to meet the objectives and priorities.

(Sec. 205) Interior may approve a trust asset management plan that allows the Indian tribe to enter into, approve, and carry out a surface leasing transaction or forest land management activity without Interior's approval, under certain conditions.

The United States is not liable for losses that result from: (1) a forest land management activity or lease under a trust asset management plan, or (2) management standards under a trust asset management plan that are less-stringent than Interior otherwise requires.

TITLE III--IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND STREAMLINING PROCESSES

 (Sec. 303) Interior may establish an Under Secretary for Indian Affairs who is to report directly to the Secretary of the Interior and coordinate with the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) to ensure an orderly transition of the functions of the OST to an agency or bureau within Interior.

(Sec. 304) Interior must prepare a transition plan and timetable for the termination of the OST.

(Sec. 305) Appraisals and valuations of Indian trust property must be administered by a single administrative entity within Interior.

Interior must establish minimum qualifications for individuals to prepare appraisals and valuations of Indian trust property. An appraisal or valuation by a qualified person is considered final without being reviewed or approved by Interior.

(Sec. 306) Representatives of entities that advise Interior on Indian program budget or funding issues may make recommendations regarding the use of savings realized from the transfer of the functions of the OST.

Date: 2015-02-09
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2015

 Extends federal recognition to the following Indian tribes of Virginia and establishes their relationship with the federal government as described below: (1) the Chickahominy Tribe, (2) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division, (3) the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, (4) the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., (5) the Monacan Indian Nation, and (6) the Nansemond Indian Tribe.

Makes the tribes and their members eligible for all services and benefits provided by the federal government to federally recognized Indian tribes. Establishes the service area of each tribe and requirements for each tribe regarding its membership roll, governing documents, and governing body.

Requires the Department of the Interior, on request of any of the tribes, to take specified lands into trust for the benefit of that tribe, to be considered part of that tribe's reservation.

Prohibits the tribes from conducting gaming activities.

Prohibits this Act from affecting the hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water rights of the tribes and their members.

Prohibits the use of eminent domain to acquire lands in fee or in trust for an Indian tribe recognized under this Act.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans