Sec. 3. Findings
183 words·~1 min read·
/bill/117/s/4423/is/section-3A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds that— the Federal Government manages more than 640,000,000 acres of public land that was carved out of the ancestral homeland of Indian Tribes; Indians Tribes and members of Indian Tribes— have maintained historical, religious, and spiritual connections to land now designated as public land; continue to exercise treaty rights on public land; and use public land to pray, conduct ceremonies, visit burial sites, gather plants, and undertake other traditional cultural activities; treaties, Executive orders, court decisions, and Federal laws and regulations— acknowledge the rights of Indian Tribes and members of Indian Tribes on public land; and require public land managers to consult with Indian Tribes prior to taking action that would impact those rights; and efforts to commercially develop or transfer ownership of public land often ignore the rights and protections of Indian Tribes and have resulted in— the desecration of sacred sites; the diminishment of Tribal treaty rights; and the mismanagement of sacred sites, including the looting of sacred objects and burial sites and the diminishment of harvests of traditional native plants used in religious ceremonies and for other purposes.