zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Native American Employment Act of 2010 - Amends the Indian Financing Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a tier system of guaranteed or insured loans to Indian tribes for energy development or manufacturing jobs carried out on Indian lands. Allows the Secretary to guarantee up to 100% of surety bonds issued to cover construction, renovation, or demolition work performed by an Indian individual or Indian economic enterprise. Amends the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992 to revise requirements regarding Indian tribe or tribal organization plans to integrate employment, training, and related services programs. Requires their integration into a single, coordinated, comprehensive program. Amends the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to require the Administrator of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to establish the Native Initiatives as a component of the Fund. Declares the purposes of the Native Initiatives are to assist Native community development financial institutions to provide access to credit, capital, and financial services in Native communities. Amends the Buy Indian Act to direct the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, to require that: (1) Indian labor be employed; and (2) any contract to fulfill requirements for goods or services, manufacturing, or construction, renovation, or demolition work be awarded competitively to an Indian organization or economic enterprise. Requires the Secretary to establish an Indian Economic Enterprise Data Center. Amends the Small Business Act to establish within the Small Business Administration (SBA) the Office of Native American Affairs. Directs the SBA Administrator to appoint an Associate Administrator of the Office to administer the Native American small business development program. Requires the SBA, acting through the Associate Administrator, to establish Native American business centers to overcome obstacles impeding the establishment, development, and expansion of Native American small businesses and other underserved small businesses located on or near tribal land. Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to require either the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the Secretary of the Interior, or both, to establish a qualified school construction bond escrow account to which shall be allocated specified funds derived from qualified school construction bonds for construction, rehabilitation, and repair of schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Date: 2010-06-09
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Native American Small Business Assistance and Entrepreneurial Growth Act of 2010 - Amends the Small Business Act to establish within the Small Business Administration (SBA) the Office of Native American Affairs, headed by an Associate Administrator, to implement SBA programs for the development of business enterprises by Native Americans. Requires the Office to assist Native American entrepreneurs to: (1) develop small businesses; (2) develop management and technical skills; (3) seek federal procurement opportunities; (4) increase Native American employment opportunities; and (5) increase Native American access to capital markets. Requires: (1) SBA to provide financial assistance to tribal colleges, certain nonprofit organizations, and small business development or women's business centers to create Native American business centers; (2) each business center to conduct five-year projects for business education aid to such entities; and (3) each assistance applicant to submit a five-year plan on proposed assistance and training activities.

Date: 2010-06-24
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Commerce
Pick-Sloan Tribal Commission Act of 2010 - Establishes the Pick-Sloan Tribal Commission for Comprehensive Resolution to consult with Indian tribes affected by the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program and study: (1) the Program's impact on those tribes and federal measures taken to address that impact; (2) other proposed measures addressing that impact; (3) the results of any other studies regarding that impact and potential solutions, including any related studies conducted by the Joint Tribal Advisory Committee; and (4) comparisons involving other situations in which federal or federally licensed hydroelectric projects have resulted in the taking or occupation of Indian land and the compensation or other measures Indian tribes have been or are being provided in those situations. Authorizes the Commission also to study the Program's impact on lands owned by members of an affected Indian tribe on the reservation of such tribe. Lists the affected Indian tribes as: (1) the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe; (2) the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe; (3) the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe; (4) the Santee Sioux Tribe; (5) the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; (6) the Three Affiliated Tribes; and (7) the Yankton Sioux Tribe. Requires the seven member Commission to include at least three members of federally recognized Indian tribes and at least: (1) one Indian law and policy expert; (2) one expert on the operation and history of federal water projects; (3) one environmental justice expert; (4) one economist; and (5) one authority on cultural preservation. Directs the Commission to: (1) maintain an information website beginning on the date of its first meeting; (2) hold at least three hearings; (3) develop a proposal that comprehensively resolves the Program's impact on, and provides for full and final compensation to, the affected Indian tribes; and (4) issue a report.

Date: 2010-07-26
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Requires the Secretary of Education, beginning in FY2011, to pay to Fort Lewis College in Colorado an amount equal to the charges for tuition for Indian students who are not residents of Colorado and who are enrolled in the College. Limits the amount paid to Fort Lewis College per fiscal year to an amount equal to the charges for tuition for Indian students who were Colorado non-residents and who were enrolled for the academic year 2009-2010. Treats amounts received under this Act as a reimbursement from Colorado to Fort Lewis College for complying with federal law requiring the admission of Indian students at the College free of charge of tuition. Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed as relieving Colorado from reimbursing Fort Lewis College for each academic year: (1) with respect to Indian students who are not Colorado residents and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College, any amount of the charges for tuition for such enrolled Indian students which exceeds the amount received under this Act; and (2) with respect to Indian students who are Colorado residents and who are enrolled in Fort Lewis College, an amount equal to the charges for tuition for such enrolled Indian students.

Date: 2010-08-05
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Education
Alaska Safe Families and Villages Act of 2010 - Directs the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to carry out, with up to nine Indian tribes in Alaska, the Alaska Safe Families and Villages Demonstration Project. Requires each Indian tribe selected from among those tribes applying for Project participation to complete a specified planning phase. Provides that upon certification of the planning phase by the Office of Tribal Justice an Indian tribe shall exercise jurisdiction, concurrent with the civil jurisdiction of Alaska, over: (1) the drug, alcohol, or related matters within the project area of the Indian tribe; and (2) persons of Indian or Alaska Native descent or other persons with consensual relationships with the Indian tribe or a member of the Indian tribe. Permits a participating tribe to impose specified sanctions, including incarceration. Requires the Office of Justice Services of the Department of the Interior to carry out a specified contract program for the employment by Indian tribes of Village Peace Officers in Alaska Native villages. Authorizes Alaska, its political subdivisions, Indian tribes in Alaska, and the United States to enter into intergovernmental agreements, including agreements concerning: (1) the employment of law enforcement officers, probation, and parole officers; (2) cross-appointment and cross-deputization of tribal, state, municipal, or federal officials; (3) the detention or incarceration of offenders; and (4) jurisdictional or financial matters.

Date: 2010-08-05
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Indian Energy Parity Act of 2010 - Authorizes an Indian tribe or tribal energy development organization to submit to the Secretary of the Interior, and to applicable federal agencies, a plan to fully integrate into a single, coordinated, comprehensive program federally funded energy-related activities and programs, including programs for employment training, energy planning, financing, construction, and related physical infrastructure and equipment. Requires a plan to meet specified requirements and prohibits an agency from imposing additional requirements. Prohibits any other federal funding from being reduced, denied, or withheld as a result of plan participation by an Indian tribe or tribal energy development organization. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 with respect to: (1) Indian tribal energy resource development, including to direct the Secretary to provide assistance to interested Indian tribes or tribal energy resource development organizations in developing an energy resource development program; and (2) tribal energy resource agreements. Amends the Federal Power Act to include Indian tribes, along with states and municipalities, as having preference for the receipt of preliminary hydroelectric licenses. Amends the Indian Land Consolidation Act: (1) to revise the definition of "parcel of highly fractionated Indian land"; (2) with respect the purchase of trust, restricted, or controlled lands at no less than fair market value and the partition of highly fractioned Indian lands; (3) with respect to tribal authority to apply revenue against liens; and (4) to revise provisions concerning owner-managed interests. Amends the Indian Financing Act of 1974 concerning loan guarantees and insurance to direct the Secretary to consider more favorable equity terms or allow an increase in loan guarantees from 90% up to 95% of the unpaid principal and interest due on any loan made for energy development or manufacturing carried out on Indian land or within a tribal service area recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Amends provisions concerning leases on Indian land with respect to: (1) access, including access under the Indian Mineral leasing Act of 1938; (2) the Long-Term Leasing Act; and (3) leases on restricted land, including concerning tribal approval of leases. Amends provisions concerning oil and gas leases on Indian land, including to prohibit the collection of any oil or gas inspection fees. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to conduct at least 10 distributed energy demonstration projects to increase the energy resources available to Indian tribes for use in homes and community or government buildings. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide for: (1) a competitive process for making grants for an Indian energy efficiency program; and (2) direct grants to Indian tribes for the weatherization of Indian homes. Amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to provide for at least four demonstration projects to promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities.

Date: 2010-08-05
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Permits land held in trust for the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (New Mexico) to be leased for a term of up to 99 years.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2010 - Establishes the U.S. Office of Hawaiian Relations within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior. Establishes the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group. Recognizes the right of the qualified Native Hawaiian constituents to reorganize the single Native Hawaiian governing entity to provide for their common welfare and to adopt appropriate organic governing documents. Establishes a Commission to: (1) prepare and maintain a roll of such constituents; and (2) certify that individuals on the roll meet the definition of qualified Native Hawaiian. Outlines the process for the reorganization, which includes forming a Native Hawaiian Interim Governing Council. Reaffirms the special political and legal relationship between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people upon the Secretary's approval of the organic governing documents and the installation of officers elected to the Native Hawaiian governing entity. Extends federal recognition to the governing entity as the representative sovereign governing body of the Native Hawaiian people. Authorizes the United States, upon the reaffirmation of such political and legal relationship, together with the state of Hawaii, to enter into negotiations with the governing entity to lead to an agreement addressing specified matters, including the transfer of lands, natural resources, and other assets, and the protection of existing rights related to such lands or resources.

Date: 2010-11-15
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Small Business Act to exclude from the definition of "Indian tribe" any Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) or Alaska Native Village (ANV). Amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that, for purposes of eligibility for procurement contracts provided through the Small Business Administration (SBA), whether an ANC or ANV is socially or economically disadvantaged shall be determined by the SBA Administrator according to eligibility standards for SBA 8(a) general small business loans. Makes members of socially and economically disadvantaged ANCs or ANVs eligible for such loans. Directs the Administrator to apply to small businesses owned by an ANC or ANV the competitive thresholds for awarding SBA sole source contracts that are applicable to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Prohibits the Administrator from extending or waiving, for small businesses owned by an ANC or ANV, the time limitations applicable to participants in the small business capital ownership development program. Outlines annual report requirements for program participants who are ANCs or ANVs. Requires the Administrator to amend SBA regulations to incorporate amendments made by this Act.

Date: 2010-11-17
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Commerce
Amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to reauthorize appropriations, through FY2016, for programs that: (1) promote the economic and social self-sufficiency of Native Americans; (2) improve the capability of their governing bodies to regulate environmental quality pursuant to federal and tribal environmental laws; and (3) assist Native Americans in ensuring the survival and continuing vitality of their languages.

Date: 2010-12-01
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: 2011-01-05
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act of 2012 or HEARTH Act of 2012 - Extends to any Indian tribe the discretion granted under current law only to the Navajo Nation to lease restricted lands for business, agricultural, public, religious, educational, recreational, or residential purposes without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. (The Secretary must still approve the tribal regulations under which those leases are executed and mining leases still require the Secretary's approval.) Sets forth the environmental review process required under tribal lease regulations before those regulations obtain the Secretary's approval. Requires the process to identify and evaluate any significant effects a proposed lease may have on the environment and allow public comment on those effects. Authorizes the Secretary to provide a tribe, upon the tribe's request, with technical assistance in developing a regulatory environmental review process. Allows tribes to rely on a federal environmental review process rather than the tribal environmental review process if the project under review is federally funded. Directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to report to Congress on the history and experience of Indian tribes that have chosen to assume the BIA's responsibility for operating the Indian Land Title and Records Office.

Date: 2011-01-06
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act - Ratifies the Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement, which was executed between the United States, the state of Alaska, and the Bering Straits Native Corporation on July 18, 2007. Requires the land conveyance to the Bering Straits Native Corporation to include the reservation of specified easements that were developed by the parties to the Agreement in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to carry out all actions allowed or required under the Agreement.

Date: 2011-01-12
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey specified property, including all land appurtenances, in Kotzebue, Alaska, to the Maniilaq Association for use in connection with health and social services programs. Requires such conveyance to be made by a warranty deed without consideration and without imposing any obligation, term, or condition, on the Maniilaq Association, or U.S. reversionary interest, other than that as required by this Act or under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. Supersedes and renders of no future effect the Secretary's conveyance of title on any quitclaim deed for such properties that was executed by the Secretary and the Maniilaq Association. Shields the Maniilaq Association from liability for soil, surface water, groundwater, or other contamination resulting from the disposal, release, or presence of environmental contamination, including oil or petroleum products, or hazardous substances on any of the property on or before the date on which all of the properties were conveyed by quitclaim deed. Accords to the Secretary any easement or access to the conveyed property as may be necessary to satisfy any retained obligations and liability. Requires the Secretary to be in compliance with requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) respecting certain deeds for the transfer of U.S. owned real property on which any hazardous substance was stored for one year or more, disposed of, or known to have been released.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium specified property in Anchorage, Alaska, for use in connection with health and related programs.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Fountainhead Property Land Transfer Act - Requires the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over specified federal property in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, within the boundary of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (the Tribe), from the Secretary of the Army to the Secretary of the Interior, who shall take such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

Date: 2011-01-26
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Indian Healthcare Improvement Act of 2011 - Reaffirms existing amendments to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and certain other provisions of law relating to health care for Native Americans. Prohibits federal funds provided by those amendments from being used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that covers abortion, except when a women's life would otherwise be endangered or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Date: 2011-02-08
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to approve, through December 31, 2016, a request by a state to provide state public transportation and federal-aid highway project funds to federal agencies (including the Department of Transportation), state agencies, and Indian tribes participating in the environmental review process or approved state process for such projects to support activities that contribute to expediting and improving project planning and delivery in the state.

Date: 2011-02-08
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Amends the Small Business Act to exclude from the definition of "Indian tribe" any Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) or Alaska Native Village (ANV). Amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that, for purposes of eligibility for procurement contracts provided through the Small Business Administration (SBA), whether an ANC or ANV is socially or economically disadvantaged shall be determined by the SBA Administrator according to eligibility standards for SBA 8(a) general small business loans. Makes members of socially and economically disadvantaged ANCs or ANVs eligible for such loans. Directs the Administrator to apply to small businesses owned by an ANC or ANV the competitive thresholds for awarding SBA sole source contracts that are applicable to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Prohibits the Administrator from extending or waiving, for small businesses owned by an ANC or ANV, the time limitations applicable to participants in the small business capital ownership development program. Outlines annual report requirements for program participants who are ANCs or ANVs. Requires the Administrator to amend SBA regulations to incorporate amendments made by this Act.

Date: 2011-02-09
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Commerce
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept title to any additional number of acres of real property located within the boundaries of the original 1857 reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (comprising land within the political boundaries of Polk and Yamhill Counties, Oregon), if such real property is conveyed or otherwise transferred to the United States by or on behalf of the Tribe. States that: (1) the Secretary shall treat all applications to take land into trust within the boundaries of the original 1857 reservation as an on-reservation trust acquisition, and (2) all real property taken into trust within those boundaries after September 9, 1988, shall be part of the Tribe's reservation.

Date: 2011-02-15
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Mowa Band of Choctaw Indians Recognition Act - Extends federal recognition and associated services and benefits to the Mowa Band of Choctaw Indians of Alabama. Restores federal rights and privileges abrogated by earlier statutes. Approves and ratifies the cession to the United States of all historical tribal lands of the Band. Extinguishes all claims against the United States, a state or local government, or any other person or entity, by the Band arising subsequent to such cession, and based upon any interest in or right involving the land. Prohibits the Band from using its federal recognition to assert any historical land claim. Transfers all interests in lands held by the Band upon enactment of this Act to the United States, to be held in trust for the benefit of the Band.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center Act - Establishes the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York, New York. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the National Park Service (NPS), to: (1) acquire for the Museum property that is located adjacent to the National Monument or in any other area of the African Burial Ground National Historic Landmark in the city other than the location adjacent to the Monument, and (2) construct the Museum on the acquired property. Establishes within the Department of the Interior the African Burial Ground Advisory Council to: (1) make recommendations to the Secretary on the construction of the Museum, and (2) advise and assist the Secretary on all matters relating to the operation and preservation of the Museum.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Social sciences and history
Native Hawaiian Medicaid Coverage Act of 2011 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide full reimbursement (100% of the federal medical assistance percentage or FMAP) for medical assistance given to a Native Hawaiian through a Native Hawaiian health care system or a federally-qualified health center.

Date: 2011-03-01
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Health
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to report to Congress on: (1) Indian land fractionation; (2) the Secretary's plan for consolidating highly fractionated Indian lands pursuant to the Indian Land Consolidation Act and the Class Action Settlement Agreement dated December 7, 2009, in the case entitled Elouise Cobell et al. v. Ken Salazar et al.; and (3) any alternative to that plan that meets specified conditions. (Indian land fractionation occurs when lands allotted to Indian individuals and their families, and held in trust by the federal government, passes to succeeding generations of heirs through intestate succession.) Caps the total amount that may be awarded for legal fees and costs in the Class Action Settlement Agreement cited above.

Date: 2011-03-02
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the Indian employment tax credit and the depreciation rules for property used predominantly within an Indian reservation.

Date: 2011-03-11
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes Utah to relinquish for the benefit of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation certain of its school or subsurface mineral lands south of the border between Grand County and Uintah County, Utah, in exchange for certain federal subsurface mineral lands north of that border.

Date: 2011-03-11
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Removes certain federal land within Olympic National Park, Washington, that is designated as part of the Olympic Wilderness from inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Takes specified federal land within the Park into trust for the Quileute Indian Tribe. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to take specified nonfederal land owned by the Tribe into trust for the Tribe, upon completion and acceptance of an environmental hazard assessment. Includes those lands taken into trust for the Tribe in the Quileute Indian Reservation. Subjects portions of the federal land conveyed to the Tribe to easements and conditions that preserve the natural condition of the land and provide the public with recreational access to the land and Park. Exempts land conveyed to the Tribe along the southern boundary of the Reservation from any easements or conditions. Allows that land to be altered to allow for the relocation of Tribe members and structures outside the tsunami and Quillayute River flood zones. Extinguishes the Tribe's claims against the United States relating to the Park's past or present ownership, entry, use, surveys, or other activities upon the taking of the lands into trust for the Tribe and a formal Tribal Council resolution. Prohibits gaming on lands taken into trust for the Tribe pursuant to this Act.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Act commonly known as 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: 2011-03-29
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2011 - Establishes the U.S. Office for Native Hawaiian Relations within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior. Establishes the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group. Recognizes the right of the qualified Native Hawaiian constituents to reorganize the single Native Hawaiian governing entity to provide for their common welfare and to adopt appropriate organic governing documents. Establishes a Commission to: (1) prepare and maintain a roll of such constituents, and (2) certify that individuals on the roll meet the definition of qualified Native Hawaiian. Outlines the process for the reorganization, which includes forming a Native Hawaiian Interim Governing Council. Reaffirms the special political and legal relationship between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people upon the Secretary's approval of the organic governing documents and the installation of officers elected to the Native Hawaiian governing entity. Extends federal recognition to the governing entity as the representative sovereign governing body of the Native Hawaiian people. Authorizes the United States, upon the reaffirmation of such political and legal relationship, together with the state of Hawaii, to enter into negotiations with the governing entity for an agreement addressing matters that include: (1) land, natural resource, and asset transfers; (2) governing powers and responsibilities; and (3) grievances. Prohibits Native Hawaiians or their governing entity from conducting gaming activities as a matter of claimed inherent authority or under the authority of federal law.

Date: 2011-03-30
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012 - (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to reimburse the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe for the amount, plus interest, that the Tribe contributed for the payment of attorneys' fees and litigation expenses associated with the litigation of Docket No. 19 and No. 188 before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the distribution of judgment funds. Requires the Tribe's claim for reimbursement of expended funds to be certified by the Tribe as being unreimbursed to it from other funding sources. Requires payment of interest on such funds at the rate of 6% per year from the date such funds were expended until they are reimbursed to the Tribe. Requires use of the judgment funds to reimburse the Tribe for those attorneys' fees and litigation expenses. (Sec. 5) Requires the Tribe to provide the Secretary with updated membership rolls for the Boise Forte Band, Fond du Lac Band, Grand Portage Band, Leech Lake Band, Mille Lacs Band, and White Earth Band of the Tribe. Directs the Secretary to: (1) distribute to each Band, from the remaining judgment funds, an amount sufficient to enable each Band to pay $300 to each Band member; and (2) divide the funds that remain after that distribution, as well as unclaimed payments, into equal shares for each Band. (Sec. 6) Prohibits funds disbursed under this Act from being liable for the payment of a recipient's previously contracted obligations.

Date: 2011-03-30
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Act commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act to except lands in Alaska from the Secretary of the Interior's authority to acquire any interest in lands, water rights, or surface rights to lands, within or without existing reservations, for the purpose of providing land for Indians. Applies that 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 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: 2011-03-31
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act - Amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to permit the Native residents of each of the Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska, to organize as Urban Corporations and to receive certain settlement land pursuant to this Act. Authorizes those Urban Corporations to establish a settlement trust to promote the health, education, and welfare of the trust beneficiaries, and preserve the Native heritage and culture of their communities.

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to modify provisions authorizing the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to design and construct hydroelectric generating facilities at the W.D. Mayo Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. Authorizes such Nation to market the electricity generated from any such facility. Requires such Nation to obtain any permit required by federal or state law before the date on which construction begins on such facilities, except that the Nation shall be exempt from any licensing requirements under the Federal Power Act related to the construction, operation, and maintenance of hydroelectric generating facilities. Authorizes: (1) such Nation to initiate design and construction only after the Secretary of the Army reviews and approves the plans and specifications, and (2) the Secretary to accept and use funds offered by such Nation to carry out the design and construction. Requires such Nation to: (1) bear all costs associated with the design and construction, and (2) provide any funds necessary for such design and construction to the Secretary prior to the Secretary initiating related activities. Provides that such Nation shall hold all title to any hydroelectric generating facility constructed under this Act and may assign such title to a third party, subject to the Secretary's approval. Requires such Nation to: (1) be solely responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and rehabilitation of, and the marketing of the electricity generated by, any such facility; and (2) release and indemnify the United States from all liabilities that may arise out of any activity undertaken to carry out this Act. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to provide any technical and construction management assistance that is requested by such Nation relating to such design and construction, and (2) such Nation to enter into agreements necessary to carry out this Act with the Secretary or a third party.

Date: 2011-04-07
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Water resources development
Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act - Authorizes the Mescalero Apache Tribe to lease or transfer water rights that were adjudicated to the Tribe in State v. Lewis, provided the lease or transfer is for no more than 99 years and complies with the laws of New Mexico. Makes this Act inapplicable to the lease or transfer of the adjudicated water rights for use on the Tribe's reservation.

Date: 2011-04-08
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to allow certain land taken into trust for the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico to be used for economic development projects that fund the educational, health, or cultural functions of the Santa Fe Indian School. (Currently, the land is to be used solely for the educational, health, or cultural functions of that school.)

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Amends the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to revise tribal membership requirements to provide tribal membership to any person of Tigua Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Indian blood enrolled by the tribe.

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Land-In-Trust Schools and Local Governments Equitable Compensation Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to attempt to negotiate an agreement among a local educational agency (LEA) or local government, the Secretary, the state, and, if appropriate, a federally recognized Indian tribe or individual Indian under which the parties agree that payments representing property tax revenues lost as a result of the Secretary's taking land into trust for such tribe or Indian shall be: (1) waived in whole or in part; (2) limited for an agreed upon number of years; or (3) otherwise adjusted, including the timing of such payments. Directs the Secretary to pay each LEA or local government for each fiscal year for which such an agreement is not in effect amounts necessary to ensure that the LEA or local government receives full payment for the amount of property tax revenues lost as a result of lands being held in trust by the Secretary for the benefit of a federally recognized Indian tribe or an individual Indian. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the amounts necessary for such payments directly to the Secretary from the Treasury's general fund without further appropriation.

Date: 2011-05-11
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Land-In-Trust Schools and Local Governments Equitable Compensation Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to attempt to negotiate an agreement among a local educational agency (LEA) or local government, the Secretary, the state, and, if appropriate, a federally recognized Indian tribe or individual Indian under which the parties agree that payments representing property tax revenues lost as a result of the Secretary's taking land into trust for such tribe or Indian shall be: (1) waived in whole or in part; (2) limited for an agreed upon number of years; or (3) otherwise adjusted, including the timing of such payments. Directs the Secretary to pay each LEA or local government for each fiscal year for which such an agreement is not in effect amounts necessary to ensure that the LEA or local government receives full payment for the amount of property tax revenues lost as a result of lands being held in trust by the Secretary for the benefit of a federally recognized Indian tribe or an individual Indian. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the amounts necessary for such payments directly to the Secretary from the Treasury's general fund without further appropriation.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Cocopah Lands Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land in Yuma County, Arizona, into trust for the Cocopah Indian Tribe, if the Tribe transfers title of the land to the Secretary and there are no recognized environmental problems with, or adverse legal claims to, the land. Considers such land to be part of the Tribe's initial reservation. Designates Yuma County, Arizona, as the Tribe's service area for the delivery of federal services to enrolled Tribe members. Prohibits using the trust land for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Fair Allocation of Internal Revenue Credit for Renewable Electricity Distribution by Indian Tribes Act of 2011 or the FAIR CREDIT Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an Indian tribe, in the case of a facility that uses a renewable energy resource to produce electricity in which such tribe has an ownership interest in the gross sales from such facility, to assign to any other person who has such an ownership interest in such facility any portion of the production from the facility that would, but for this Act, be allocated to such tribe for purposes of the renewable electricity production tax credit.

Date: 2011-05-25
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Taxation
Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Reaffirmation Act - Reaffirms federal recognition and the rights and privileges of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in Cheboygan County, Michigan. Extends to the Band eligibility for all federal services and benefits available to other federally recognized Indian tribes. Designates the service area for the delivery of federal services to the Band and to other Indians in the area of Cheboygan County, Michigan.Directs the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land in Cheboygan County, Michigan, and in other geographic areas and to hold such lands in trust for the benefit of the Band. Sets forth criteria and evidentiary requirements for determining the initial membership of the Band. Requires the Band to provide a copy of its base roll to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs within one year of this Act's enactment. Provides that the initial constitution of the Band shall be the constitution submitted by the Band to the Office of Federal Acknowledgment on May 2, 2005.

Date: 2011-06-23
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2011 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that any enterprise or institution owned and operated by an Indian tribe and located on its lands is not considered an employer (thus excluding such enterprises or institutions from coverage by such Act).

Date: 2011-06-23
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Indian Tribal Trade and Investment Demonstration Project Act of 2011 - (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to select up to six Indian tribes or consortia of Indian tribes to participate in an Indian Tribal Trade and Investment Demonstration Project that facilitates trade and financial investment in Indian tribal economies by private entities from Turkey. Allows participating tribes or consortia to lease land held in trust for them by the federal government without the Secretary's approval if the lease: (1) is in furtherance of a community, economic, or business development undertaking with a Turkish entity; (2) is entered into within 1 year of this Act's enactment; (3) is not for mineral exploration, development, or extraction; (4) does not include land held in trust for an individual Indian; (5) is executed under tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this Act; and (6) has a term that does not exceed 25 years, though it may include certain renewal options. Requires the Secretary to approve tribal lease regulations if they are consistent with any regulations the Secretary issues under this Act and subject proposed activities to an environmental review process. Requires that process to identify and evaluate significant impacts the proposed activity may have on the environment and give the public an opportunity to be heard regarding those impacts before a lease is approved by the tribe or consortium. Allows participating tribes or consortia to rely on federal environmental reviews if proposed actions are federally funded. Authorizes the Secretary, pursuant to federal trust obligations, to enforce the provisions of, or cancel, any lease executed by a participating Indian tribe or consortium under this Act. Absolves the federal government from liability for any loss sustained by a party to such a lease. Allows an interested party, after exhausting applicable tribal remedies, to petition the Secretary to review the compliance of a participating tribe or consortium with tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this Act. (Sec. 4) Requires tribes and consortia to demonstrate financial stability and financial management capability for the three fiscal years that precede their request to participate in the demonstration project by showing that there were no material audit exceptions in the required annual audit of their self-determination contracts. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary, within one year of this Act's enactment, to report to Congress on the effects of the demonstration project and on ways to improve its effectiveness.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Requirements, Expectations, and Standard Procedures for Executive Consultation with Tribes Act or RESPECT Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that consultation with Indian tribes involves more than simply notifying a tribe about a planned undertaking, but entails a process of seeking, discussing, and considering the views of an affected tribe, and, where feasible, working out an agreement with the tribe regarding proposed activities and other matters. Outlines the consultation procedures which require federal agencies to: (1) have an accountable process to ensure meaningful and timely input by Indian tribes before undertaking any activity that may have substantial direct impacts on the lands or interests of one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the federal government and Indian tribes; (2) consult with Indian tribes concerning all activities that would affect any part of any federal land that shares a border with Indian country; (3) recognize and respect Indian tribal self-government and sovereignty, honor tribal treaty and other rights, and strive to meet the responsibilities that arise from the unique legal relationship between the federal government and Indian tribal governments; and (4) review the processes under which Indian tribes apply for waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements and take appropriate steps to streamline those processes. Permits an Indian tribe alleging that the requirements of this Act have not been met to bring a civil action in a U.S. district court.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans
Department of the Interior Tribal Self-Governance Act of 2011 - Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to revise tribal self-governance requirements. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the Office of Self-Governance, to select up to 50 new Indian tribes per year from those eligible to participate in self-governance.

Date: 2011-07-07
Topic: Public Lands (Indigenous Affairs)
Subject: Native Americans