110 HR 3699 IH: To provide for the use and distribution of the funds
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-09-27
text/xml
EN
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1.
(a)Congress finds the following:
(1)Pursuant to the Revised Constitution and
Bylaws of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, as approved by the Assistant Secretary
of the Interior on March 3, 1964, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Executive
Committee is the governing body of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, comprised of
the six member Reservations (Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech
Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth).
(2)The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe was the
plaintiff in cases referred to as Docket Nos. 19 and 188 (hereinafter referred
to as the Claims
) originally before the Indian Claims Commission
and, subsequently, before the United States Court of Federal Claims.
(3)The Claims arose from the disposition of
tribal lands, interests in lands, and other tribal assets.
(4)The expenses of prosecuting the Claims were
shared equally by the 6 member Reservations and the decisions regarding such
prosecution were made by the Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Executive
Committee.
(5)On July 1, 1998, the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribal Executive Committee enacted Resolution No. 01–99, approving a settlement
of the Claims by a vote of 6 for and 3 against with 10 members present.
(6)On January 7, 1999, the Associate
Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, advised the
United States Department of Justice that Resolution 01–99 was sufficient under
the tribal constitution to approve the settlement of the Claims.
(7)On May 17, 1999, the United States Court of
Federal Claims entered an order adopting certain findings including a finding
that the Tribal Executive Committee has the constitutional authority to
enter into the proposed settlement on behalf of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe
.
(8)On May 26, 1999, the United States Court of
Federal Claims approved the settlement of the Claims and entered a final
judgment in the amount of $20,000,000 against the United States in favor of the
plaintiff Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
(9)The Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Executive
Committee is authorized by the tribal constitution to make decisions to
administer, expend and apportion funds within the control of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe.
(10)On September 9, 1999, the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribal Executive Committee enacted Resolution No. 40–00, allocating
each member Reservation an equal share of the judgment funds from the Claims,
by a vote of 10 for and 2 against, with 12 members present.
(11)The judgment funds were deposited into
trust fund account JA1041696.
(12)For purposes of the Indian Tribal Judgment
Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), the sole present-day
beneficiary of the funds is the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
(b)The purposes of this Act are to acknowledge
that the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is the sole beneficiary entity of the
judgment funds, that its governing body, the Tribal Executive Committee, has
the sovereign authority under the tribal constitution to allocate funds amongst
its member Reservations, and accordingly that the judgment funds should be
allocated as determined by the Tribal Executive Committee in its Resolution No.
40–00.
2.
(a)Notwithstanding any other law, not later than 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior
(hereinafter referred to as the Secretary
) shall distribute the
funds awarded to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in Minnesota Chippewa Tribe v.
United States, Docket Nos. 19 and 188 in the United States Court of Federal
Claims together with all interest and investment income accrued on deposit in
trust account JA1041696 in equal shares to each of the following constituent
bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe:
(1)The Bois Forte
Band of Chippewa Indians.
(2)The Fond du Lac
Band of Chippewa Indians.
(3)The Grand Portage
Band of Chippewa Indians.
(4)The Leech Lake
Band of Chippewa Indians.
(5)The Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa Indians.
(6)The White Earth
Band of Chippewa Indians.
(b)The shares of the bands shall be available for use in the
manner determined by the governing body of each band, except not less than 20
percent of such funds shall be set aside for social and economic development,
education, reservation infrastructure needs, and other governmental
purposes.
(c)Section 7 of Public Law 93–134 (25 U.S.C. 1407) shall
apply to funds distributed pursuant to this Act.