Sec. 2. Findings
356 words·~2 min read·
/bill/113/hr/4350/rh/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: The Northern Cheyenne Tribe has depended on its lands and land-based resources to support its way of life since time immemorial. The Tribe has made supreme and historic sacrifices to repossess and maintain its homeland, including its Reservation in Montana. The Tribe currently suffers from tremendous social and economic challenges, including a lack of employment opportunities on the Reservation, which can be improved by strengthening its control over its land base, natural resources, and trust funds.
The Tribe and its members are currently the beneficial owners of over 95 percent of the surface lands on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and all but approximately 5,000 subsurface acres of the Reservation. The Tribe seeks to obtain ownership of approximately 5,000 subsurface acres on its Reservation it does not own because of an error by the United States to secure that subsurface when the Reservation was expanded in 1900. In 2002, the Tribe agreed by settlement to dismiss its lawsuit against the United States, which alleged that the United States failed to protect the Reservation from the impacts of coal development, in return for assistance in securing tribal ownership of those subsurface rights substantially in the form of this Act, and to secure mitigation funding to address the impacts of coal development in areas adjacent to the Reservation, among other conditions.
To increase tribal ownership of the surface lands, the Tribe has purchased approximately 932 acres of land within its Reservation that were taken out of trust ownership status for various reasons. The Tribe has purchased approximately 635 acres of land near Bear Butte, South Dakota, which the Tribe considers sacred ground for its members, as well as for members of other tribes. The Tribe now seeks to have the aforementioned lands and subsurface within the Reservation and Bear Butte lands taken into trust on its behalf by the United States.
If the actions authorized by this Act are completed, the Tribe will waive all legal claims against the United States arising out of the longstanding loss of the subsurface rights and arising out of the United States management of the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund.