Federal Acknowledgment of American Indian Tribes

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <SUBAGY>Bureau of Indian Affairs</SUBAGY> <CFR>25 CFR Part 83</CFR> <DEPDOC>[BIA-2022-0001; 245A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1076-AF67</RIN> <SUBJECT>Federal Acknowledgment of American Indian Tribes</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Second notice of proposed rulemaking. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The United States Department of the Interior (Department) seeks input on a proposal to create a conditional, time-limited opportunity for denied petitioners to re-petition for Federal acknowledgment as an Indian Tribe. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> • <E T="03">Proposed Regulations:</E> Please submit your comments by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, September 13, 2024. • <E T="03">Virtual Meetings:</E> Consultation sessions with federally recognized Indian Tribes will be held on August 19, 2024 and September 3, 2024. A listening session for present, former, and prospective petitioners will be held on September 5, 2024. • <E T="03">Information Collection Requirements:</E> If you wish to comment on the information collection requirements in this proposed rule, please note that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to make a decision concerning the collection of information contained in this proposed rule between 30 and 60 days after publication of this proposed rule in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> . Therefore, comments should be submitted to OMB (see “Information Collection Requirements” section below under <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> ) by August 12, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> All comments received may be posted without change to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> including any personal information provided. You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal rulemaking portal:</E> Please visit <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Enter “RIN 1076-AF67” or “BIA-2022-0001” in the web page's search box and follow the instructions for sending comments. • <E T="03">Email: consultation@bia.gov.</E> Include “RIN 1076-AF67” or “25 CFR part 83” in the subject line of the message. • <E T="03">Hand Delivery/Courier:</E> Department of the Interior, Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, Attention: Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Mail Stop 4071 MIB, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240. <E T="03">• Consultation with Indian Tribes:</E> The Department will conduct two virtual consultation sessions and will accept oral and written comments. Federally recognized Indian Tribes may register for the August 19, 2024 consultation session at <E T="03">https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItc-qqqTsiH8cfOkrLr2UUOwkOq199siI</E> . Federally recognized Indian Tribes may register for the September 3, 2024 consultation session at <E T="03">https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItduGorjsoHgUodFTHwBMMQNlw9RwluIA.</E> • <E T="03">Listening session for present, former, and prospective petitioners:</E> The Department will host a listening session for present, former, and prospective petitioners and will accept oral and written comments. Present, former, and prospective petitioners may register for the September 5, 2024 listening session at <E T="03">https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIscuysqz8tGcSUvtGt7ETrNdXAQJScrXg</E> . • <E T="03">Accessible Format:</E> On request to the program contact person listed under <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> , individuals can obtain this document in an alternate format, usable by people with disabilities, at the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Room 4071, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240. • <E T="03">Information Collection Requirements:</E> Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection request (ICR) should be sent within 30 days of publication of this document to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) through <E T="03">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRA/icrPublicCommentRequest?ref_nbr=202310-1076-001</E> or by visiting <E T="03">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</E> and selecting “Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments” and then scrolling down to the “Department of the Interior” and selecting OMB control number “1076-0104.” <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Oliver Whaley, Director, Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action, Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, (202) 738-6065, <E T="03">comments@bia.gov.</E> Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> Since 1994, the regulations governing the Federal acknowledgment process, located at 25 CFR part 83 (part 83), have included an express prohibition on re-petitioning (ban). When the Department revised the part 83 regulations in 2015 (2015 regulations), the Department decided to retain the ban; however, two Federal district courts held that the Department's stated reasons for doing so, as articulated in the final rule updating the regulations (2015 final rule), were arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The courts remanded the ban to the Department for further consideration. After initially proposing to maintain the ban in 2022, the Department is now proposing to create a limited exception to the ban, through implementation of a re-petition authorization process. The Department invites comments on its proposal, as well as the reasoning in support of the proposed re-petition authorization process. <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Federal Acknowledgment Process</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Ban on Re-Petitioning</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Remand of the Ban</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. 2022 Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Summary of This Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Re-Petition Authorization Process</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Additional, Related Revisions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Technical Revisions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Discussion of the Comments on the 2022 Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Comments on the 2015 Final Rule's Changes to Part 83</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Comments on the Availability of New Evidence</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Comments on Alleged Inconsistencies in the Department's Previous, Negative Final Determinations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Comments on Interests in the Finality of the Department's Final Determinations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Third-Party Interests in Finality</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Departmental Interests in Finality</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Procedural Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866 and 13563)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Takings (E.O. 12630)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Federalism (E.O. 13132)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Consultation With Indian Tribes (E.O. 13175)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. National Environmental Policy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Effects on the Energy Supply (E.O. 13211)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">L. Clarity of This Regulation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">M. Public Availability of Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">N. Privacy Act of 1974, Existing System of Records</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Federal Acknowledgment Process</HD> Congress granted the Secretary of the Interior, and as delegated to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs (AS-IA), authority to “have management of all Indian affairs and of all matters arising out of Indian relations.”  <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> This authority includes the authority to implement an administrative process to acknowledge Indian Tribes. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> As the congressional findings that support the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 indicate, Indian Tribes may be recognized “by the administrative procedures set forth in part 83 of the Code of Federal Regulations.”  <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  25 U.S.C. 2 and 9; 43 U.S.C. 1457. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See, e.g., Muwekma Ohlone Tribe</E> v. <E T="03">Salazar,</E> 708 F.3d 209, 211 (D.C. Cir. 2013); <E T="03">James</E> v. <E T="03">United States Dep't of Health & Human Servs.,</E> 824 F.2d 1132, 1137 (D.C. Cir. 1987). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Public Law 103-454, section 103(3) (1994). </FTNT> Part 83 codifies the process through which a group may petition the Department for acknowledgment as a federally recognized Indian Tribe. Part 83 requires groups petitioning for Federal acknowledgment to meet seven mandatory criteria, the satisfaction of which has been central to the Federal acknowledgment process since its inception. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> The Department refers to the seven criteria as the (a) “Indian Entity Identification” criterion, (b) “Community” criterion, (c) “Political Authority” criterion, (d) “Governing Document” criterion, (e) “Descent” criterion, (f) “Unique Membership” criterion, and (g) “Congressional Termination” criterion. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  25 CFR 83.11(a) through (g) (2015 version of the criteria); <E T="03">id.</E> § 83.7(a) through (g) (1994) (1994 version); <E T="03">id.</E> § 54.7(a) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 112k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━