[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 477 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 477

  To extend Federal recognition to the Duwamish Tribe, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2003

Mr. McDermott introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To extend Federal recognition to the Duwamish Tribe, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Duwamish Tribal 
Recognition Act''.
    (b) Findings. Congress finds the following:
    (1) In 1855, the Duwamish Tribe signed the Treaty of Point Elliott, 
which guaranteed fishing rights and reservations to all tribes 
represented by the Native signatories.
    (2) The Duwamish signatory was their Chief, Chief Si'ahl, for whom 
the City of Seattle is named.
    (3) In 1859, the Treaty of Point Elliott was ratified by Congress. 
However, the promises made by the United States in the treaty were 
never fulfilled as to the Duwamish Tribe or its members.
    (4) In 1925, the Duwamish Tribe officially adopted its constitution 
and bylaws.
    (5) The Duwamish Tribe filed suit before the Indian Claims 
Commission for the value of its lands taken without compensation and a 
$62,000 judgment ultimately was awarded to the Duwamish. The settlement 
was eventually distributed per capita at $64 per person to the Duwamish 
people.
    (6) In 1976, the Duwamish Tribe first submitted a petition for 
Federal recognition to the Secretary of the Interior. That petition 
subsequently was returned to the tribe for revision due to changes in 
regulations governing the administrative federal acknowledgment 
process.
    (7) In 1988, the Duwamish Tribe submitted its completed petition 
for Federal recognition.
    (8) In 1996, after years of delay, the Duwamish Tribe received a 
negative preliminary determination. In response, the tribe addressed 
the identified problems in its final submission of October 21, 1998.
    (9) On January 19, 2001, the Duwamish Tribe received a favorable 
determination for federal recognition from the Assistant Secretary of 
the Interior for Indian Affairs.
    (10) On September 26, 2001, the new Assistant Secretary for Indian 
Affairs unilaterally reversed the January 19, 2001, decision and 
rejected the Duwamish petition for recognition.
    (11) On January 4, 2002, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals 
referred several questions raised by the circumstances of the 
administrative reversal to the Secretary of the Interior along with 
directions to decide whether to request further reconsideration by the 
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in light of those questions.
    (12) On May 8, 2002, the Secretary of the Interior refused to refer 
the Duwamish petition back to the Assistant Secretary for Indian 
Affairs for further consideration.
    (13) Nearly 150 years after the Duwamish Tribe signed the Point 
Elliott Treaty, the Duwamish people still seek the recognition which 
was established by the treaty.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Member.--The term ``member'' means an enrolled member 
        of the Duwamish Tribe, as of the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, or an individual who has been placed on the membership 
        roles in accordance with this Act.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Duwamish Tribe.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

    Federal recognition is hereby extended to the Duwamish Tribe. All 
laws and regulations of the United States of general application to 
Indians, or nations, tribes, or band of Indians, including the Act of 
June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) which are not inconsistent with 
any specific provision of this Act, shall be applicable to the Tribe 
and its members.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--The Tribe and its members shall be eligible, on 
and after the date of the enactment of this Act, for all services and 
benefits provided by the Federal Government to federally recognized 
tribes without regard to the existence of a reservation for the Tribe 
or the location of the residence of any member on or near any Indian 
reservation.
    (b) Service Area.--For purposes of the delivery of Federal services 
to enrolled members of the Tribe, the Tribe's service area shall 
consist of the following: King County, Kitsap County, Pierce County, 
Lewis County, and Mason County.

SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

    Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary a membership roll 
consisting of all individuals enrolled in the Tribe. The qualifications 
for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be determined 
by the membership clauses in the Tribe's governing document, in 
consultation with the Secretary. Upon completion of the roll, the 
Secretary shall immediately publish notice of the roll in the Federal 
Register. The Tribe shall ensure that such roll is maintained and kept 
current.

SEC. 6. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.

    (a) Constitution.--
            (1) Adoption.--Not later than 9 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Tribe shall conduct, by secret 
        ballot, an election to adopt a constitution and bylaws for the 
        Tribe.
            (2) Interim governing documents.--Until such time as a new 
        constitution is adopted under paragraph (1), the governing 
        documents in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
        shall be the interim governing documents for the Tribe which 
        were submitted to the Department of the Interior during the 
        acknowledgment petition process.
    (b) Officials.--Not later than 6 months after the Tribe adopts a 
constitution and bylaws pursuant to subsection (a), the Tribe shall 
elect a governing body in accordance with the procedures set forth in 
its constitution and bylaws. Until such time as a new governing body is 
elected, the governing body of the Tribe shall be the governing body 
selected under the election procedures specified in the interim 
governing documents of the Tribe.

SEC. 7. LAND IN TRUST.

    (a) Requirement to Take Land Into Trust.--If, not later than 10 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Tribe transfers 
all right, title, and interest in and to any land within the Tribe's 
service area identified under section 4(b) or land identified under 
subsection (b) as its aboriginal homelands to the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall take such land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
    (b) Identification of Aboriginal Lands.--Not later than 10 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall identify those lands 
which shall be considered the aboriginal homelands of the Tribe for the 
purposes of subsection (a).
    (c) No Federal Liability on Trust Acceptance.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the United States should not incur any 
liability for conditions on any parcels of land taken into trust under 
this section.
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