[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2917 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.2917

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
             the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand


                                 An Act


 
        To settle the land claims of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Santo Domingo Pueblo Claims 
Settlement Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) For many years the Pueblo of Santo Domingo has been 
    asserting claims to lands within its aboriginal use area in north 
    central New Mexico. These claims have been the subject of many 
    lawsuits, and a number of these claims remain unresolved.
        (2) In December 1927, the Pueblo Lands Board, acting pursuant 
    to the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924 (43 Stat. 636) confirmed a survey 
    of the boundaries of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo Grant. However, at 
    the same time the Board purported to extinguish Indian title to 
    approximately 27,000 acres of lands within those grant boundaries 
    which lay within 3 other overlapping Spanish land grants. The 
    United States Court of Appeals in United States v. Thompson (941 
    F.2d 1074 (10th Cir. 1991), cert. denied 503 U.S. 984 (1992)), held 
    that the Board ``ignored an express congressional directive'' in 
    section 14 of the Pueblo Lands Act, which ``contemplated that the 
    Pueblo would retain title to and possession of all overlap land''.
        (3) The Pueblo of Santo Domingo has asserted a claim to another 
    25,000 acres of land based on the Pueblo's purchase in 1748 of the 
    Diego Gallegos Grant. The Pueblo possesses the original deed 
    reflecting the purchase under Spanish law but, after the United 
    States assumed sovereignty over New Mexico, no action was taken to 
    confirm the Pueblo's title to these lands. Later, many of these 
    lands were treated as public domain, and are held today by Federal 
    agencies, the State Land Commission, other Indian tribes, and 
    private parties. The Pueblo's lawsuit asserting this claim, Pueblo 
    of Santo Domingo v. Rael (Civil No. 83-1888 (D.N.M.)), is still 
    pending.
        (4) The Pueblo of Santo Domingo's claims against the United 
    States in docket No. 355 under the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 
    1049; commonly referred to as the Indian Claims Commission Act) 
    have been pending since 1951. These claims include allegations of 
    the Federal misappropriation and mismanagement of the Pueblo's 
    aboriginal and Spanish grant lands.
        (5) Litigation to resolve the land and trespass claims of the 
    Pueblo of Santo Domingo would take many years, and the outcome of 
    such litigation is unclear. The pendency of these claims has 
    clouded private land titles and has created difficulties in the 
    management of public lands within the claim area.
        (6) The United States and the Pueblo of Santo Domingo have 
    negotiated a settlement to resolve all existing land claims, 
    including the claims described in paragraphs (2) through (4).
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act--
        (1) to remove the cloud on titles to land in the State of New 
    Mexico resulting from the claims of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, 
    and to settle all of the Pueblo's claims against the United States 
    and third parties, and the land, boundary, and trespass claims of 
    the Pueblo in a fair, equitable, and final manner;
        (2) to provide for the restoration of certain lands to the 
    Pueblo of Santo Domingo and to confirm the Pueblo's boundaries;
        (3) to clarify governmental jurisdiction over the lands within 
    the Pueblo's land claim area; and
        (4) to ratify a Settlement Agreement between the United States 
    and the Pueblo which includes--
            (A) the Pueblo's agreement to relinquish and compromise its 
        land and trespass claims;
            (B) the provision of $8,000,000 to compensate the Pueblo 
        for the claims it has pursued pursuant to the Act of August 13, 
        1946 (60 Stat. 1049; commonly referred to as the Indian Claims 
        Commission Act);
            (C) the transfer of approximately 4,577 acres of public 
        land to the Pueblo;
            (D) the sale of approximately 7,355 acres of national 
        forest lands to the Pueblo; and
            (E) the authorization of the appropriation of $15,000,000 
        over 3 consecutive years which would be deposited in a Santo 
        Domingo Lands Claims Settlement Fund for expenditure by the 
        Pueblo for land acquisition and other enumerated tribal 
        purposes.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to effectuate an extinguishment of, or to otherwise impair, the 
Pueblo's title to or interest in lands or water rights as described in 
section 5(a)(2).

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
        (1) Federally administered lands.--The term ``federally 
    administered lands'' means lands, waters, or interests therein, 
    administered by Federal agencies, except for the lands, waters, or 
    interests therein that are owned by, or for the benefit of, Indian 
    tribes or individual Indians.
        (2) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Pueblo of Santo Domingo 
    Land Claims Settlement Fund established under section 5(b)(1).
        (3) Pueblo.--The term ``Pueblo'' means the Pueblo of Santo 
    Domingo.
        (4) Santo domingo pueblo grant.--The term ``Santo Domingo 
    Pueblo Grant'' means all of the lands within the 1907 Hall-Joy 
    Survey, as confirmed by the Pueblo Lands Board in 1927.
        (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior unless expressly stated otherwise.
        (6) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement Agreement'' 
    means the Settlement Agreement dated May 26, 2000, between the 
    Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Justice and the 
    Pueblo of Santo Domingo to Resolve All of the Pueblo's Land Title 
    and Trespass Claims.

SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

    The Settlement Agreement is hereby approved and ratified.

SEC. 5. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES AND CLAIMS.

    (a) Relinquishment, Extinguishment, and Compromise of Santo Domingo 
Claims.--
        (1) Extinguishment.--
            (A) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), in consideration 
        of the benefits provided under this Act, and in accordance with 
        the Settlement Agreement pursuant to which the Pueblo has 
        agreed to relinquish and compromise certain claims, the 
        Pueblo's land and trespass claims described in subparagraph (B) 
        are hereby extinguished, effective as of the date specified in 
        paragraph (5).
            (B) Claims.--The claims described in this subparagraph are 
        the following:
                (i) With respect to the Pueblo's claims against the 
            United States, its agencies, officers, and 
            instrumentalities, all claims to land, whether based on 
            aboriginal or recognized title, and all claims for damages 
            or other judicial relief or for administrative remedies 
            pertaining in any way to the Pueblo's land, such as 
            boundary, trespass, and mismanagement claims, including any 
            claim related to--

                    (I) any federally administered lands, including 
                National Forest System lands designated in the 
                Settlement Agreement for possible sale or exchange to 
                the Pueblo;
                    (II) any lands owned or held for the benefit of any 
                Indian tribe other than the Pueblo; and
                    (III) all claims which were, or could have been 
                brought against the United States in docket No. 355, 
                pending in the United States Court of Federal Claims.

                (ii) With respect to the Pueblo's claims against 
            persons, the State of New Mexico and its subdivisions, and 
            Indian tribes other than the Pueblo, all claims to land, 
            whether based on aboriginal or recognized title, and all 
            claims for damages or other judicial relief or for 
            administrative remedies pertaining in any way to the 
            Pueblo's land, such as boundary and trespass claims.
                (iii) All claims listed on pages 13894-13895 of volume 
            48 of the Federal Register, published on March 31, 1983, 
            except for claims numbered 002 and 004.
        (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act (including 
    paragraph (1)) shall be construed--
            (A) to in any way effectuate an extinguishment of or 
        otherwise impair--
                (i) the Pueblo's title to lands acquired by or for the 
            benefit of the Pueblo since December 28, 1927, or in a 
            tract of land of approximately 150.14 acres known as the 
            ``sliver area'' and described on a plat which is appendix H 
            to the Settlement Agreement;
                (ii) the Pueblo's title to land within the Santo 
            Domingo Pueblo Grant which the Pueblo Lands Board found not 
            to have been extinguished; or
                (iii) the Pueblo's water rights appurtenant to the 
            lands described in clauses (i) and (ii); and
            (B) to expand, reduce, or otherwise impair any rights which 
        the Pueblo or its members may have under existing Federal 
        statutes concerning religious and cultural access to and uses 
        of the public lands.
        (3) Confirmation of determination.--The Pueblo Lands Board's 
    determination on page 1 of its Report of December 28, 1927, that 
    Santo Domingo Pueblo title, derived from the Santo Domingo Pueblo 
    Grant to the lands overlapped by the La Majada, Sitio de Juana 
    Lopez and Mesita de Juana Lopez Grants has been extinguished is 
    hereby confirmed as of the date of that Report.
        (4) Transfers prior to enactment.--
            (A) In general.--In accordance with the Settlement 
        Agreement, any transfer of land or natural resources, prior to 
        the date of enactment of this Act, located anywhere within the 
        United States from, by, or on behalf of the Pueblo, or any of 
        the Pueblo's members, shall be deemed to have been made in 
        accordance with the Act of June 30, 1834 (4 Stat. 729; commonly 
        referred to as the Trade and Intercourse Act), section 17 of 
        the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 641; commonly referred to as 
        the Pueblo Lands Act), and any other provision of Federal law 
        that specifically applies to transfers of land or natural 
        resources from, by, or on behalf of an Indian tribe, and such 
        transfers shall be deemed to be ratified effective as of the 
        date of the transfer.
            (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subparagraph (A) 
        shall be construed to affect or eliminate the personal claim of 
        any individual Indian which is pursued under any law of general 
        applicability that protects non-Indians as well as Indians.
        (5) Effective date.--The provisions of paragraphs (1), (3), and 
    (4) shall take effect upon the entry of a compromise final 
    judgment, in a form and manner acceptable to the Attorney General, 
    in the amount of $8,000,000 in the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo 
    v. United States (Indian Claims Commission docket No. 355). The 
    judgment so entered shall be paid from funds appropriated pursuant 
    to section 1304 of title 31, United States Code.
    (b) Trust Funds; Authorization of Appropriations.--
        (1) Establishment.--There is hereby established in the Treasury 
    a trust fund to be known as the ``Pueblo of Santo Domingo Land 
    Claims Settlement Fund''. Funds deposited in the Fund shall be 
    subject to the following conditions:
            (A) The Fund shall be maintained and invested by the 
        Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act of June 24, 1938 
        (25 U.S.C. 162a).
            (B) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), monies 
        deposited into the Fund may be expended by the Pueblo to 
        acquire lands within the exterior boundaries of the exclusive 
        aboriginal occupancy area of the Pueblo, as described in the 
        Findings of Fact of the Indian Claims Commission, dated May 9, 
        1973, and for use for education, economic development, youth 
        and elderly programs, or for other tribal purposes in 
        accordance with plans and budgets developed and approved by the 
        Tribal Council of the Pueblo and approved by the Secretary.
            (C) If the Pueblo withdraws monies from the Fund, neither 
        the Secretary nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall retain 
        any oversight over or liability for the accounting, 
        disbursement, or investment of such withdrawn monies.
            (D) No portion of the monies described in subparagraph (C) 
        may be paid to Pueblo members on a per capita basis.
            (E) The acquisition of lands with monies from the Fund 
        shall be on a willing-seller, willing-buyer basis, and no 
        eminent domain authority may be exercised for purposes of 
        acquiring lands for the benefit of the Pueblo pursuant to this 
        Act.
            (F) The provisions of Public Law 93-134, governing the 
        distribution of Indian claims judgment funds, and the plan 
        approval requirements of section 203 of Public Law 103-412 
        shall not be applicable to the Fund.
        (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized to 
    be appropriated $15,000,000 for deposit into the Fund, in 
    accordance with the following schedule:
            (A) $5,000,000 to be deposited in the fiscal year which 
        commences on October 1, 2001.
            (B) $5,000,000 to be deposited in the next fiscal year.
            (C) The balance of the funds to be deposited in the third 
        consecutive fiscal year.
        (3) Limitation on disbursal.--Amounts authorized to be 
    appropriated to the Fund under paragraph (2) shall not be disbursed 
    until the following conditions are met:
            (A) The case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael (No. CIV-
        83-1888) in the United States District Court for the District 
        of New Mexico, has been dismissed with prejudice.
            (B) A compromise final judgment in the amount of $8,000,000 
        in the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian 
        Claims Commission docket No. 355) in a form and manner 
        acceptable to the Attorney General, has been entered in the 
        United States Court of Federal Claims in accordance with 
        subsection (a)(5).
        (4) Deposits.--Funds awarded to the Pueblo consistent with 
    subsection (c)(2) in docket No. 355 of the Indian Claims Commission 
    shall be deposited into the Fund.
    (c) Activities Upon Compromise.--On the date of the entry of the 
final compromise judgment in the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. 
United States (Indian Claims Commission docket No. 355) in the United 
States Court of Federal Claims, and the dismissal with prejudice of the 
case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael (No. CIV-83-1888) in the United 
States District Court for the District of New Mexico, whichever occurs 
later--
        (1) the public lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
    Management and described in section 6 of the Settlement Agreement, 
    and consisting of approximately 4,577.10 acres of land, shall 
    thereafter be held by the United States in trust for the benefit of 
    the Pueblo, subject to valid existing rights and rights of public 
    and private access, as provided for in the Settlement Agreement;
        (2) the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to sell and 
    convey National Forest System lands and the Pueblo shall have the 
    exclusive right to acquire these lands as provided for in section 7 
    of the Settlement Agreement, and the funds received by the 
    Secretary of Agriculture for such sales shall be deposited in the 
    fund established under the Act of December 4, 1967 (16 U.S.C. 484a) 
    and shall be available to purchase non-Federal lands within or 
    adjacent to the National Forests in the State of New Mexico;
        (3) lands conveyed by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to 
    this section shall no longer be considered part of the National 
    Forest System and upon any conveyance of National Forest lands, the 
    boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest shall be deemed modified 
    to exclude such lands;
        (4) until the National Forest lands are conveyed to the Pueblo 
    pursuant to this section, or until the Pueblo's right to purchase 
    such lands expires pursuant to section 7 of the Settlement 
    Agreement, such lands are withdrawn, subject to valid existing 
    rights, from any new public use or entry under any Federal land 
    law, except for permits not to exceed 1 year, and shall not be 
    identified for any disposition by or for any agency, and no mineral 
    production or harvest of forest products shall be permitted, except 
    that nothing in this subsection shall preclude forest management 
    practices on such lands, including the harvest of timber in the 
    event of fire, disease, or insect infestation; and
        (5) once the Pueblo has acquired title to the former National 
    Forest System lands, these lands may be conveyed by the Pueblo to 
    the Secretary of the Interior who shall accept and hold such lands 
    in the name of the United States in trust for the benefit of the 
    Pueblo.
SEC. 6. AFFIRMATION OF ACCURATE BOUNDARIES OF SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO 
GRANT.
    (a) In General.--The boundaries of the Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant, 
as determined by the 1907 Hall-Joy Survey, confirmed in the Report of 
the Pueblo Lands Board, dated December 28, 1927, are hereby declared to 
be the current boundaries of the Grant and any lands currently owned by 
or on behalf of the Pueblo within such boundaries, or any lands 
hereinafter acquired by the Pueblo within the Grant in fee simple 
absolute, shall be considered to be Indian country within the meaning 
of section 1151 of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Limitation.--Any lands or interests in lands within the Santo 
Domingo Pueblo Grant, that are not owned or acquired by the Pueblo, 
shall not be treated as Indian country within the meaning of section 
1151 of title 18, United States Code.
    (c) Acquisition of Federal Lands.--Any Federal lands acquired by 
the Pueblo pursuant to section 5(c)(1) shall be held in trust by the 
Secretary for the benefit of the Pueblo, and shall be treated as Indian 
country within the meaning of section 1151 of title 18, United States 
Code.
    (d) Land Subject to Provisions.--Any lands acquired by the Pueblo 
pursuant to section 5(c), or with funds subject to section 5(b), shall 
be subject to the provisions of section 17 of the Act of June 7, 1924 
(43 Stat. 641; commonly referred to as the Pueblo Lands Act).
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or in the Settlement 
Agreement shall be construed to--
        (1) cloud title to federally administered lands or non-Indian 
    or other Indian lands, with regard to claims of title which are 
    extinguished pursuant to section 5; or
        (2) affect actions taken prior to the date of enactment of this 
    Act to manage federally administered lands within the boundaries of 
    the Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.