25 U.S.C. § 2217 — Reports to Congress

Page 464 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 2217 section, the Secretary shall not approve an ap- plication to terminate the trust status or re- move the restrictions of such an interest. (c) Acquisition of interest by Secretary An Indian, or the recognized tribal govern- ment of a reservation, in possession of an inter- est in trust or restricted lands, at least a por- tion of which is in trust or restricted status on November 7, 2000, and located within a reserva- tion, may request that the interest be taken into trust by the Secretary. Upon such a re- quest, the Secretary shall forthwith take such interest into trust. (d) Status of lands The sale, exchange, or conveyance by gift deed for no or nominal consideration of an interest in trust or restricted land under this section shall not affect the status of that land as trust or re- stricted land. (e) Land ownership information Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the names and mailing addresses of the owners of any interest in trust or restricted lands, and information on the location of the parcel and the percentage of undivided interest owned by each individual shall, upon written request, be made available to— (1) other owners of interests in trust or re- stricted lands within the same reservation; (2) the tribe that exercises jurisdiction over the land where the parcel is located or any person who is eligible for membership in that tribe; and (3) any person that is leasing, using, or con- solidating, or is applying to lease, use, or con- solidate, such trust or restricted land or the interest in trust or restricted lands. (f) Purchase of land by Indian tribe (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), before the Secretary approves an application to ter- minate the trust status or remove the restric- tions on alienation from a parcel of, or inter- est in, trust or restricted land, the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the parcel shall have the opportunity— (A) to match any offer contained in the ap- plication; or (B) in a case in which there is no purchase price offered, to acquire the interest in the parcel by paying the fair market value of the interest. (2) Exception for family farms (A) In general Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a parcel of, or interest in, trust or restricted land that is part of a family farm that is con- veyed to a member of the family of a land- owner (as defined in section 2205(c)(2)(A)(iv) of this title) if the conveyance requires that in the event that the parcel or interest is of- fered for sale to an entity or person that is not a member of the family of the land- owner, the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the land shall be afforded the oppor- tunity to purchase the interest pursuant to paragraph (1). (B) Applicability of other provision Section 2205(c)(2)(A) of this title shall apply with respect to the recording and mortgaging of any trust or restricted land referred to in subparagraph (A). (Pub. L. 97–459, title II, § 217, as added Pub. L. 106–462, title I, § 103(6), Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat. 2002; amended Pub. L. 108–374, § 6(a)(9), Oct. 27, 2004, 118 Stat. 1803; Pub. L. 109–157, § 7, Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2952.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2005—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–157 substituted ‘‘be made available to—’’ for ‘‘be made available to’’. 2004—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 108–374, § 6(a)(9)(A), added subpar. (B) and struck out heading and text of former subpar. (B). Text read as follows: ‘‘The require- ment for an estimate of value under subparagraph (A) may be waived in writing by an Indian selling, exchang- ing, or conveying by gift deed for no or nominal consid- eration an interest in land with an Indian person who is the owner’s spouse, brother, sister, lineal ancestor of Indian blood, lineal descendant, or collateral heir.’’ Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 108–374, § 6(a)(9)(B), added intro- ductory provisions and struck out former introductory provisions which read as follows: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the names and mailing address- es of the Indian owners of trust or restricted lands, and information on the location of the parcel and the per- centage of undivided interest owned by each individual, or of any interest in trust or restricted lands, shall, upon written request, be made available to—’’. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 108–374, § 6(a)(9)(C), struck out ‘‘Indian’’ before ‘‘owners’’. Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 108–374, § 6(a)(9)(D), substituted ‘‘any person that is leasing, using, or consolidating, or is applying to lease, use, or consolidate,’’ for ‘‘prospec- tive applicants for the leasing, use, or consolidation of’’. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 108–374, § 6(a)(9)(E), added subsec. (f) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (f). Text read as follows: ‘‘After the expiration of the limitation period provided for in subsection (b)(2) of this section and prior to considering an Indian applica- tion to terminate the trust status or to remove the re- strictions on alienation from trust or restricted land sold, exchanged or otherwise conveyed under this sec- tion, the Indian tribe that exercises jurisdiction over the parcel of such land shall be notified of the applica- tion and given the opportunity to match the purchase price that has been offered for the trust or restricted land involved.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2005 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 109–157 effective as if included in Pub. L. 108–374, see section 9 of Pub. L. 109–157, set out as a note under section 5107 of this title. § 2217. Reports to Congress (a) In general Prior to expiration of the authority provided for in section 2212(a)(2)(A) of this title, the Sec- retary, after consultation with Indian tribes and other interested parties, shall submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report that indicates, for the period covered by the report— (1) the number of fractional interests in trust or restricted lands acquired; and Page 465 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 2218 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a period. (2) the impact of the resulting reduction in the number of such fractional interests on the financial and realty recordkeeping systems of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. (b) Report The reports described in subsection (a) and section 2212(a) of this title shall contain findings as to whether the program under this chapter to acquire fractional interests in trust or re- stricted lands should be extended and whether such program should be altered to make re- sources available to Indian tribes and individual Indian landowners. (Pub. L. 97–459, title II, § 218, as added Pub. L. 106–462, title I, § 103(6), Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat. 2004.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, which was translated as reading ‘‘this title’’, meaning title II of Pub. L. 97–459, to re- flect the probable intent of Congress. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Resources of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Natural Resources of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hun- dred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007. § 2218. Approval of leases, rights-of-way, and sales of natural resources (a) Approval by the Secretary (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may approve any lease or agree- ment that affects individually owned allotted land or any other land held in trust or re- stricted status by the Secretary on behalf of an Indian, if— (A) the owners of not less than the applica- ble percentage (determined under subsection (b)) of the undivided interest in the allotted land that is covered by the lease or agree- ment consent in writing to the lease or agreement; and (B) the Secretary determines that approv- ing the lease or agreement is in the best in- terest of the owners of the undivided inter- est in the allotted land. (2) Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to leases involving coal or uranium. (3) Definition In this section, the term ‘‘allotted land’’ in- cludes any land held in trust or restricted sta- tus by the Secretary on behalf of one or more Indians. (b) Applicable percentage (1) Percentage interest The applicable percentage referred to in sub- section (a)(1) shall be determined as follows: (A) If there are 5 or fewer owners of the un- divided interest in the allotted land, the ap- plicable percentage shall be 90 percent. (B) If there are more than 5 such owners, but fewer than 11 such owners, the applica- ble percentage shall be 80 percent. (C) If there are more than 10 such owners, but fewer than 20 such owners, the applica- ble percentage shall be 60 percent. (D) If there are 20 or more such owners, the applicable percentage shall be a majority of the interests in the allotted land. (2) Determination of owners (A) In general For purposes of this subsection, in deter- mining the number of owners of, and their interests in, the undivided interest in the al- lotted land with respect to a lease or agree- ment, the Secretary shall make such deter- mination based on the records of the Depart- ment of the Interior that identify the owners of such lands and their interests and the number of owners of such land on the date on which the lease or agreement involved is submitted to the Secretary under this sec- tion. (B) Rule of construction Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be con- strued to authorize the Secretary to treat an Indian tribe as the owner of an interest in allotted land that did not escheat to the tribe pursuant to section 2206 of this title as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Babbitt v. Youpee (117 S 1 Ct. 727 (1997)). (c) Authority of Secretary to sign lease or agree- ment on behalf of certain owners The Secretary may give written consent to a lease or agreement under subsection (a)— (1) on behalf of the individual Indian owner if the owner is deceased and the heirs to, or devisees of, the interest of the deceased owner have not been determined; or (2) on behalf of any heir or devisee referred to in paragraph (1) if the heir or devisee has been determined but cannot be located 1 (d) Effect of approval (1) Application to all parties (A) In general Subject to paragraph (2), a lease or agree- ment approved by the Secretary under sub- section (a) shall be binding on the parties de- scribed in subparagraph (B), to the same ex- tent as if all of the owners of the undivided interest in allotted land covered under the lease or agreement consented to the lease or agreement. (B) Description of parties The parties referred to in subparagraph (A) are— (i) the owners of the undivided interest in the allotted land covered under the lease or agreement referred to in such sub- paragraph; and (ii) all other parties to the lease or agreement.