[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2917 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2917
To settle the land claims of the Pueblo of Santo Domingo.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 26, 2000
Mr. Domenici (for himself and Mr. Inouye) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
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