This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to take land into trust for all federally recognized Indian tribes.
Specifically, the bill applies the Indian Reorganization Act to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when a tribe became recognized. The amendments made by this bill are retroactively effective as if included in the Indian Reorganization Act. This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act was enacted in 1934.
To amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the 
 Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY REAFFIRMED.

    (a) Reaffirmation.--Section 19 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 
Stat. 988, chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 5129) (commonly known as the ``Indian 
Reorganization Act''), is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``The term'' and inserting 
                ``Effective beginning on June 18, 1934, the term''; and
                    (B) by striking ``any recognized Indian tribe now 
                under Federal jurisdiction'' and inserting ``any 
                federally recognized Indian tribe''; and
            (2) by striking the third sentence and inserting the 
        following: ``In this Act, the terms `Indian tribe' and `tribe' 
        mean any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, 
        village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior 
        acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if included in the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984, 
chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Indian 
Reorganization Act''), on the date of the enactment of that Act.
                                 <all>
A bill to amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.
A bill to amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.
Official Titles - Senate
Official Title as Introduced
A bill to amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.
Sen. Tester, Jon