[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2879 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2879

     To restore recognition to the Winnemem Wintu Indian Tribe of 
                              California.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 30, 2004

 Mr. Campbell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To restore recognition to the Winnemem Wintu Indian Tribe of 
                              California.

    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 ``Winnemem Wintu Tribe Clarification 
and Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Winnemem Wintu Indian Tribe was entitled to have 
        been included in the 1979 acknowledgement process that created 
        a list of federally recognized California tribes;
            (2) in addition to its continuous historic relationship 
        with the Federal Government, the trust status of the Tribe was 
        reaffirmed by the provisions of the Act of July 30, 1941 (55 
        Stat. 612, chapter 334), which granted to the United States all 
        tribal and allotted Indian land within the area embraced by the 
        Central Valley Project;
            (3) under that Act, the Secretary, acting through the 
        Commissioner of Reclamation, on January 5, 1942, created the 
        Shasta Reservoir Indian Cemetery, which contains Winnemem Wintu 
        remains, markers, and other appurtenances held in trust by the 
        United States;
            (4) Winnemem Wintu remains were removed to that cemetery 
        from the traditional cemetery of the Tribe in the McCloud River 
        valley that was flooded by the Shasta Reservoir;
            (5) the Bureau of Reclamation informed the Area Director of 
        the Indian Service in writing on December 22, 1942, of the new 
        cemetery and its status as Federal trust land;
            (6) the Secretary, through an administrative oversight or 
        inaction of the Indian Service, overlooked the trust status of 
        the Tribe, which was reaffirmed by the making of partial 
        restitution by the Secretary for the taking of tribal land and 
        the 1941 relocation of the remains of tribal members, which 
        remain interred in the Shasta Reservoir Indian Cemetery;
            (7) the ongoing trust relationship of the Tribe with the 
        Federal Government should have been recognized by the 
        Secretary, and the Tribe should have been included in the 1979 
        listing of federally recognized California tribes; and
            (8) the Tribe, as a matter of sovereign choice, has 
        determined that the conduct of gaming by the Tribe would be 
        detrimental to the maintenance of its traditional tribal 
        culture.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (2) Service area.--The term ``service area'' means the 
        counties of Shasta and Siskiyou, California.
            (3) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Indians of the 
        Winnemem Wintu Tribe of northern California.

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL STATUS AND RESTORATION OF FEDERAL 
              RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES.

    (a) Federal Status.--Federal status is restored to the Tribe.
    (b) Applicable Law.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all 
laws (including regulations) of general applicability to Indians and 
nations, tribes, or bands of Indians that are not inconsistent with any 
provision of this Act shall be applicable to the Tribe and members of 
the Tribe.
    (c) Restorations of Rights and Privileges.--Except as provided in 
subsection (d), all rights and privileges of the Tribe and members of 
the Tribe under any Federal treaty, Executive order, agreement, or 
statute, or under any other authority that were diminished or lost 
under Public Law 85-671 (72 Stat. 619) are restored, and that Act shall 
be inapplicable to the Tribe or members of the Tribe after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (d) Federal Services and Benefits.--
            (1) Eligibility.--
                    (A) In general.--Without regard to the existence of 
                a reservation, the Tribe and its members shall be 
                eligible, on and after the date of enactment of this 
                Act, for all Federal services and benefits furnished to 
                federally recognized Indian tribes or their members.
                    (B) Residing on a reservation.--For the purposes of 
                Federal services and benefits available to members of 
                federally recognized Indian tribes residing on a 
                reservation, members of the Tribe residing in the 
                service area shall be deemed to be residing on a 
                reservation.
            (2) Relation to other laws.--The eligibility for or receipt 
        of services and benefits under paragraph (1) by the Tribe or a 
        member of the Tribe shall not be considered as income, 
        resources, or otherwise when determining the eligibility for or 
        computation of any payment or other benefit to the Tribe or 
        member under--
                    (A) any financial aid program of the United States, 
                (including grants and contracts under the Indian Self-
                Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
                450 et seq.); or
                    (B) any other benefit to which the Tribe or member 
                would otherwise be entitled under any Federal or 
                federally assisted program.
    (e) Hunting, Fishing, Trapping, Gathering, and Water Rights.--
Nothing in this Act expands, reduces, or otherwise affects in any 
manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, or water rights of 
the Tribe and members of the Tribe.
    (f) Certain Rights Not Altered.--Except as specifically provided in 
this Act, nothing in this Act alters any property right or obligation, 
any contractual right or obligation, or any obligation for taxes 
levied.

SEC. 5. RESERVATION OF THE TRIBE.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall take the 42.5-acre site presently occupied by the Tribe 
into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, and that land shall be the 
reservation of the Tribe.

SEC. 6. GAMING.

    The Tribe shall not have the right to conduct gaming (within the 
meaning of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.)).
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