[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8982-8983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4838]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Receipt of Petition for Federal Acknowledgment of 
Existence as an Indian Tribe

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    This is published in the exercise of authority delegated by the 
Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 
209 DM 8. Pursuant to 25 CFR 83.9(a), notice is hereby given that the 
Biloxi, Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, Inc., 1112 Daisy Street, 
Houma, Louisiana 70363 (BCCM), has filed a letter of intent to be 
considered for acknowledgment by the Secretary of the Interior that the 
group exists as an Indian tribe. This letter was received by the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs (BIA) on October 24, 1995, and was signed by members 
of the group's governing body.
    This petitioner was part of the United Houma Nation, Inc. (UHN), 
which received a proposed finding December 22, 1994 (59 245:66118-
66119). In response, this portion of the UHN has requested that it be 
considered separately from the UHN. The BCCM has received an extension 
until May 13, 1997, to respond to the proposed finding. After receipt 
of the BCCM response to the proposed finding, the BIA will issue an 
amended proposed finding, which will be published in the Federal 
Register.
    Under Secs. 83.9(a) and 83.10(i) of the Federal regulations, the 
petitioner may then respond to the amended proposed finding, and 
interested and informed third parties may submit factual and/or legal 
arguments in support of or in opposition to the group's petition and 
the proposed finding. The comment period will end 180 days from the 
date of publication of the amended proposed finding pertaining to the 
Biloxi, Chitimacha Confederation of

[[Page 8983]]

Muskogees, Inc. in the Federal Register. Any information submitted will 
be made available on the same basis as other information in the BIA's 
files. Such submissions must be provided to the petitioner and the BIA 
simultaneously. The petitioner will have a 60-day period in which to 
respond to such submissions prior to a final determination regarding 
the petitioner's status.
    Under Sec. 83.10(h), a report summarizing the evidence upon which 
the UHN proposed finding was based is available upon written request to 
the BIA. The petition may be examined by appointment in the Department 
of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Branch of Acknowledgment and 
Research, MS-4603-MIB, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240. Phone: 
(202) 208-3592.

    Dated: February 11, 1997.
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-4838 Filed 2-26-97; 8:45 am]
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