1.
(a)This Act may be cited as the Chemawa Indian School Trust Transfer and
Self-Determination Act of 2012
.
(b)Congress finds the following:
(1)The Chemawa Indian
School, originally opened in Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1880, is the longest
continuously operating off-reservation boarding school for Indian children in
the United States.
(2)Circa 1885,
Chemawa Indian School students and staff donated significant resources toward
the purchase of the Salem, Oregon, school property and expressed a desire that
the school lands and buildings belong to the Indians.
(3)All the land
purchased for the Chemawa Indian School was deeded directly to the Federal
Government, has never been converted to trust status, and is not considered
Indian country
under title 18, United States Code.
(4)The land that
comprises the Chemawa Indian School is now managed by the General Services
Administration.
(5)As much as
one-third of the Chemawa Indian School property has been sold or transferred by
the Federal Government for various purposes, without direct benefit to the
Chemawa students and without input from the Oregon tribes regarding whether
such sales or transfers would affect the mission of the Chemawa Indian School
or whether the property could be used for other Indian purposes.
(6)Consistent with principles of tribal
self-determination, decisions about the operation and future of the Chemawa
Indian school, lands, and purposes should be under the control and authority of
the Oregon tribes.
(7)Resolutions
supporting the transfer of the Chemawa Indian School into trust status for the
benefit of the federally recognized Indian tribes in Oregon have been passed by
the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes
of Coos, the Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, the Klamath Tribes, the Cow
Creek Band of Umpqua Indians, the Burns Paiute Tribe, the Chemawa Indian School
Board, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and the National Congress of
American Indians.
2.Chemawa Indian
School and Chemawa Cemetery land held in trust for benefit of Oregon
tribes
(a)Transfer of
administration and authorization to hold in trust
(1)Transfer of
administrative jurisdiction from the General Services
AdministrationThe Administrator of the General Services
Administration shall transfer to the Secretary, without reimbursement,
administrative jurisdiction over the land described in subsection (b).
(2)Holding in trust
by SecretaryUpon completion of the transfer of administrative
jurisdiction under paragraph (1) and subject to any existing encumbrances,
rights of way, restrictions, easements of record, or utility service agreements
in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act with respect to the land
described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall hold in trust for the benefit
of the Oregon tribes the land described in subsection (b).
(3)Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to prevent the future removal of the encumbrances referred to in
paragraph (2).
(b)
(1)The land to be held in trust under subsection (a) is the
land and improvements owned by the United States and occupied by the Chemawa
Indian School in Salem, Oregon, including the cemeteries on such land, but
excluding the approximately 1.4 acres comprising the former Indian Health
Service School Clinic that is located within the following sections:
(A)Section 36 of township 6 south, range 3
west.
(B)Section 31 of
township 6 south, range 2 west.
(C)Section 1 of
township 7 south, range 3 west.
(D)Section 6 of township 7 south, range 2
west.
(2)
(A)Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a survey of the trust land.
(B)Upon
completion of the survey conducted under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
provide an opportunity for public notice and comment on the survey, including
comments on any survey revision or adjustment. After the revisions or
adjustments have been completed, the Secretary shall provide notice to the
Board of Trustees that the survey has been completed.
(C)The Secretary shall place a copy of the completed survey
on file for public inspection at the appropriate office of the Secretary. The
survey placed on file shall thereafter be the official survey and legal
description of the Chemawa Indian School property and the Chemawa Cemetery
property.
(c)
(1)As a condition of the Secretary holding the trust land in
trust, the Oregon tribes shall agree that such land shall be used—
(A)in the case of
land that is Chemawa Indian School property only for—
(i)Indian educational
purposes;
(ii)the
direct support of the educational programs and services carried out on such
land and other activities that support Indian education carried out on such
land;
(iii)the cultural
benefit of the Oregon tribes; and
(iv)any
other purpose authorized by the Board of Trustees and approved by the
Secretary; and
(B)in the case of land that is Chemawa
Cemetery property, only for cemetery purposes.
(2)If
the Secretary determines that the trust land is not being used for the purposes
described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may initiate any remedial action the
Secretary determines is appropriate, including seeking injunctive
relief.
(3)As a condition of the
Secretary holding the trust land in trust, the Oregon tribes shall agree that
such land shall not be used to conduct gaming activities as a matter of claimed
inherent authority or under the authority of any Federal law, including the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under any regulations
thereunder promulgated by the Secretary or the National Indian Gaming
Commission.
3.
(a)Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall establish a Chemawa Indian School Board of Trustees.
(b)The
Board of Trustees shall be composed of nine trustees and two adjunct trustee
advisors appointed as follows:
(1)Each of the Oregon
tribes shall appoint one trustee.
(2)One adjunct trustee advisor shall be
appointed by the Secretary to jointly represent Indian tribes from each of the
following Bureau of Indian Affairs Regions:
(A)The Alaska
Region.
(B)The Northwest
Region.
(C)The Pacific
Region.
(D)The Rocky Mountain
Region.
(E)The Great Plains
Region.
(F)The Midwest
Region.
(3)One adjunct
trustee advisor shall be appointed by the Secretary to jointly represent tribes
from the following Bureau of Indian Affairs Regions:
(A)The Western
Region.
(B)The Navajo
Region.
(C)The Southwest
Region.
(D)The Eastern
Oklahoma Region.
(E)The Southern
Plains Region.
(F)The Eastern
Region.
(c)
(1)
(A)Each trustee shall be
appointed for a term of six years except as provided in subparagraph (B).
(B)Terms of initial
appointeesAs designated by
the Oregon tribes at the time of appointment, of the trustees first
appointed—
(i)one
trustee shall be appointed for a term of two years;
(ii)two trustees shall be appointed for a term
of three years;
(iii)two trustees shall be appointed for a term
of four years;
(iv)two trustees shall be appointed for a term
of five years; and
(v)two trustees shall be appointed for a term
of six years.
(2)
(A)Each adjunct trustee
advisor shall be appointed for a term of six years, except as provided in
subparagraph (B).
(B)Terms of initial
appointeesAs designated by
the Secretary at the time of appointment, of the adjunct trustee advisors first
appointed—
(i)one
adjunct trustee advisor shall be appointed for a term of three years;
and
(ii)one
adjunct trustee advisor shall be appointed for a term of six years.
(d)
(1)Five
trustees shall constitute a quorum to conduct the business of the Board of
Trustees.
(2)
(A)Each trustee shall
have one vote and an adjunct trustee advisor may not vote.
(B)Adoption of any action by the Board of Trustees
involving a material change or decision with respect to the use, protection, or
development of any of the trust land, or a material change in the status of the
educational institution operating on or activities conducted on such land shall
require the affirmative votes of at least seven trustees voting in the
majority.
(e)Duties and
responsibilities
(1)Subject
to any regulations that may be issued by the Secretary with respect to the
trust land, the Board of Trustees shall—
(A)establish
protocols and procedures for the organization and operation of the Board of
Trustees;
(B)during such time
as the Secretary directly operates a school on such land, coordinate with the
Chemawa School Board regarding the organization and operation of such School
Board;
(C)serve as the
beneficiary of such land regarding decisions made by the United States with
respect to the management, use, protection, and development of such land;
and
(D)provide guidance
and leadership relating to the long-term welfare of such land and the Indian
educational and cultural functions conducted on such land.
(2)Adjunct trustee advisors shall advise the Board of
Trustees on how the use, operation, protection, or development of the trust
land affects the Chemawa Indian School students from the Bureau of Indian
Affairs Regions the adjunct trustee advisors represent.
(f)Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.; relating to the termination of advisory committees) shall not
apply to the Board of Trustees.
4.Operation of
Chemawa Indian School
(a)Operation by the
SecretaryThe Secretary shall
directly operate the Chemawa Indian School unless the Board of Trustees assumes
operation of the school as described in subsection (b).
(b)Self-Determination
contract or self-Governance compact with the SecretaryThe Board of Trustees may assume operation
of the Chemawa Indian School or use the trust land for any use specified in
section 2(c) if the Board of Trustees, acting with the approval of a
super-majority of the Board of Trustees as provided in section 3(d)(2), enters
into a self-determination contract or self-governance compact with the
Secretary under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b et seq.) with respect to such assumption or use.
(c)
(1)The Board of
Trustees may undertake or authorize any educational activity on the trust land
during the operation of the Chemawa Indian School by the Secretary if such
activity does not interfere with such operation.
(2)If the Board of
Trustees assumes the operation of the School under an Indian self-determination
contract or self-governance compact as described in subsection (b), the Board
of Trustees may undertake or authorize any educational activity the Board of
Trustees determines is appropriate.
5.Use of the
Chemawa Indian school land if not needed for education purposes
(a)If the Secretary
determines, after consultation with the Board of Trustees, that the portion of
the trust land occupied by the Chemawa Indian School is no longer needed for
Indian education purposes, the Secretary shall certify that the land is not
needed for such purposes.
(b)Notwithstanding the conditions on the use of the trust
land specified in section 2(c), if the Secretary makes the certification under
subsection (a), the Board of Trustees shall require that such land be used for
the collective benefit of the Oregon tribes.
6.In this Act:
(1)The term
Board of Trustees
means the Chemawa Indian School Board of
Trustees established in section 3.
(2)The term Oregon tribes
means the following
federally recognized Indian tribes in Oregon:
(A)Burns Paiute
Tribe.
(B)Coquille Indian
Tribe.
(C)Confederated
Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.
(D)Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.
(E)Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon.
(F)Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
(G)Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
(H)Cow Creek Band of
Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
(I)Klamath
Tribes.
(3)The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of the Interior.
(4)The term trust land
means the land described
in section 2(b)(1).