[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9188-9190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03017]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Part 81

[2341A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Policy Guidance for Determining Eligibility for Organization 
Under the Alaska Indian Reorganization Act

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Policy guidance.

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SUMMARY: This policy guidance clarifies the Department of the 
Interior's (Department) criteria and procedures for determining whether 
an entity is eligible to organize under the Alaska amendment to the 
Indian Reorganization Act.

DATES: This policy guidance is effective February 13, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Oliver Whaley, Director, Office of 
Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative Action--Indian Affairs, (202) 738-
6065; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In 1936, Congress enacted an amendment to the Indian Reorganization 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5108), (Alaska IRA) to allow groups of Indians in 
Alaska, not previously recognized as bands or tribes by the United 
States, to organize under the IRA, provided they could demonstrate ``a 
common bond of occupation, or association, or residence within a well-
defined neighborhood, community or rural district.'' See 25 U.S.C. 
473a. In 1937, the Department of the Interior Secretary Harold Ickes 
approved ``Instructions'' describing the general characteristics of 
entities that may organize under the Alaska IRA and the procedural 
requirements for organizing such entities, but do not address the 
question of eligibility or the factors that should be considered in 
determining an entity's eligibility to organize under the Alaska IRA.

Policy Guidance

    This policy guidance clarifies the criteria and procedures for 
evaluating petitions for organization under the Alaska IRA and 
supersedes all prior guidance issued on the same subject. In 
particular, this guidance supersedes the ``Instructions'' approved by 
Department of the Interior Secretary Harold Ickes in 1937.
    The criteria and procedures outlined in this policy guidance are 
intended to guide the Department in making

[[Page 9189]]

consistent, substantive determinations as to whether an entity is 
eligible to organize under the Alaska IRA. The Alaska IRA establishes a 
``common bond'' basis of organization for certain entities in Alaska, 
but is otherwise silent on the question of eligibility and gives no 
clear direction as to the Department's statutory responsibilities under 
the provision. This guidance proposes establishing a process for 
determining eligibility in a manner consistent with Federal Indian law 
and policy.
    This process begins with the submission of an Alaska IRA petition 
to the Office of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs (Office of the 
AS-IA). The Office of the AS-IA then reviews the petition. If Assistant 
Secretary--Indian Affairs (AS-IA) determines that a petitioning group 
satisfies the criteria established below and is eligible to organize 
under the Alaska IRA, the group will be included on the next list of 
federally recognized Indian tribes and can proceed with conducting a 
Secretarial election under 25 CFR part 81. A favorable determination of 
eligibility thus results in Federal recognition as an Indian tribe and 
entitles the group to interact with the United States on a government-
to-government basis.
    By recognizing that organization is a step that necessarily 
follows, rather than precedes, Federal recognition, this policy 
guidance brings the Alaska IRA in line with the Department's current 
practices and the modern notion of Tribal ``organization'' under the 
IRA. See 25 CFR part 81 (establishing the Department's procedures for 
conducting Secretarial elections under the IRA and other laws, which 
apply exclusively to federally recognized Indian tribes). The criteria 
in this policy guidance is accordingly designed to ensure that a group 
seeking to organize under the Alaska IRA is a socio-political entity 
capable of maintaining a government-to-government relationship with the 
United States, and that only those entities entitled to Federal 
recognition are being organized under the Alaska IRA. See H. Rep. No. 
103-781 (1994) (explaining that Federal recognition is ``[a] formal 
political act'' that ``permanently establishes a government-to-
government relationship between the United States and the recognized 
tribe as a `domestic dependent nation,' '' and ``institutionalizes the 
tribe's quasi-sovereign status'').

Statutory Authority

    The Department is issuing these criteria and procedures under 25 
CFR part 81 and its authority over the management of all Indian Affairs 
under 25 U.S.C. 2.

Table of Contents

I. Criteria
    1. Common Bond
    2. Political Influence or Authority
    3. Governing Document
    4. Descent
II. Petition Requirements
III. Office of the AS-IA Review
IV. AS-IA Determination

I. Criteria

    The Department will apply the following criteria in evaluating 
requests for organization under the Alaska IRA, taking into account 
historical situations and time periods for which evidence is 
demonstrably limited or not available. Given the unique conditions in 
Alaska, the Department will evaluate each criteria in the context of 
the group's history, geographical location, culture, and social 
organization.

1. Common Bond

    The petitioning group has maintained a common bond of occupation, 
or association, or residence within a well-defined neighborhood, 
community, or rural district on a substantially continuous basis from 
May 1, 1936, until the present. For purposes of this criteria, having a 
common bond means that the petitioner is bound together by their common 
interest and actions taken in common, and is distinguishable from other 
groups or associations. The claimed common bond must be clear and 
capable of statement and definition:
    a. For petitioners seeking to organize on the basis of residence, 
there is no requirement that members of the group all live in one 
community or village.
    b. For petitioners seeking to organize on the basis of occupation 
or association, a substantial share of the persons within the 
petitioning group must demonstrate participation in the activities 
constituting the common bond.

2. Political Influence or Authority

    The petitioner has maintained political influence or authority over 
its members as an autonomous entity. Political influence or authority 
means the entity uses a council, leadership, internal process, or other 
mechanism as a means of influencing or controlling the behavior of its 
members in significant respects, making decisions for the entity which 
substantially affect its members, and/or representing the entity in 
dealing with outsiders in matters of consequence. This criteria is to 
be understood flexibly, taking into account the limitations inherent in 
demonstrating historical existence of political influence or authority.

3. Governing Document

    The petitioner has provided a copy of the entity's present 
governing document, including its membership criteria. In the absence 
of a governing document, the petitioner can provide a written statement 
describing in full its membership criteria and current governing 
procedures.

4. Descent

    A significant and meaningful portion of the petitioner's membership 
is comprised of individuals who descend from the Alaska IRA-eligible 
entity that existed on May 1, 1936. Any members who do not descend 
genealogically from members of the Alaska IRA-eligible entity that 
existed on May 1, 1936, must be able to document their integration into 
the petitioning group.

5. Unique Membership

    The petitioner's membership is composed principally of persons who 
are not members of any federally recognized Indian tribe. However, a 
petitioner is still eligible to organize under the Alaska IRA even if 
its membership is composed principally of persons whose names have 
appeared on the membership list of, or who have been otherwise 
associated with, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, if the petitioner 
demonstrates that:
    a. It has functioned as a separate politically autonomous community 
by satisfying criteria (1) and (2) of this section; and
    b. Its members have provided written confirmation of their 
membership in the petitioner.

6. Congressional Termination

    Neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of 
congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden 
the Federal relationship.

II. Petition Requirements

    A petition to organize under the Alaska IRA should be submitted to 
the Office of the AS-IA. The Office of the AS-IA will accept the 
petition in any readable form. The petition should include the 
following:
    a. A concise written narrative, with citations to supporting 
documentation, thoroughly explaining how the petitioner meets each of 
the criteria listed above;
    b. Supporting documentation cited in the written narrative and 
containing specific, detailed evidence that the petitioner meets each 
of the criteria listed above; and

[[Page 9190]]

    c. An official current membership list of all known current members 
of the petitioner, including each member's full name (including maiden 
name, if any), date of birth, and current residential address.
    If the petition contains any information that is protectable under 
Federal law such as the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, the 
petitioner should be required to provide a redacted version, an 
unredacted version of the relevant pages, and an explanation of the 
legal basis for withholding such information from public release.

III. Office of the AS-IA Review

    Upon receipt of a petition, the Office of the AS-IA will review the 
petition and supporting documentation to determine whether the 
petitioner has provided sufficient evidence to meet each of the 
criteria listed above. Prior to completing its review, the Office of 
the AS-IA will advise the petitioner of any evidentiary gaps for the 
criteria and provide the petitioner with an opportunity to supplement 
or revise the petition. As part of its review of the petition, the 
Office of the AS-IA may also:
    a. Initiate and consider other research for any purpose relative to 
analyzing the petition and obtaining additional information about the 
petitioner's status;
    b. Request and consider timely submitted additional explanations 
and information from the petitioner; and
    c. Consider any comments and evidence received from other parties 
to the extent they are relevant to the above criteria. The Office of 
Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), within the Office of the AS-IA, will 
provide the petitioner with any material received from other parties 
and provide the petitioner with the opportunity to respond to the 
material.

IV. AS-IA Determination

    After the review of the petition, AS-IA will issue a decision 
determining whether the petitioner meets the above criteria and is 
eligible for organization under the Alaska IRA. The decision will 
summarize the evidence, reasoning, and analyses that are the basis for 
AS-IA's determination.
    If AS-IA determines the petitioner is eligible for organization 
under the Alaska IRA, the petitioner can proceed with requesting a 
Secretarial election pursuant to 25 CFR part 81 and will be included on 
the next list of federally recognized Indian tribes published in the 
Federal Register.

Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-03017 Filed 2-10-23; 8:45 am]
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