§ 1773. — Congressional findings and purpose.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC1773]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 19--INDIAN LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS
SUBCHAPTER VII--WASHINGTON INDIAN (PUYALLUP) LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
Sec. 1773. Congressional findings and purpose
(a) Findings
The Congress finds and declares that:
(1) It is the policy of the United States to promote tribal
self-determination and economic self-sufficiency and to support the
resolution of disputes over historical claims through settlements
mutually agreed to by Indian and non-Indian parties.
(2) Disputes over certain land claims of the Puyallup Tribe and
other matters, including--
(A) ownership of the Commencement Bay tidelands and areas of
former Puyallup Riverbed, lands within the Puyallup Tribe's
Treaty Reservation, or intended reservation boundaries,
(B) railroad and other rights-of-way,
(C) control of fisheries resource and habitat,
(D) jurisdiction over law enforcement, environment,
navigation, and authority and control in the areas of land use,
(E) business regulation and zoning,
have resulted in difficult community relations and negative economic
impacts affecting both the Tribe and non-Indian parties.
(3) Some of the significant historical events that led to the
present circumstances include--
(A) the negotiation of the Treaty of Medicine Creek in
December 1854, by the Puyallup Indians and others, by which the
tribes ceded most of their territories but reserved certain
lands and rights, including fishing rights;
(B) the Executive Order of 1857 creating the Puyallup Indian
Reservation;
(C) the Executive Order of 1873, clarifying and extending
the Puyallup Reservation in the Washington Territory;
(D) the March 11, 1891, Report of the Puyallup Indian
Commission on allotments and the 1896 report by a second
Puyallup Indian Commission describing the problems with sales of
allotted lands; and
(E) the 1909 District Court for Tacoma decision of the
United States of America against J.M. Ashton and the 1910
Supreme Court decision of United States of America against J.M.
Ashton.
(4) It is recognized that both Indian and non-Indian parties
enter into this settlement to resolve certain problems and claims
and to derive certain benefits.
(5) There is a recognition that any final resolution of pending
disputes through a process of litigation would take many years and
entail great expense to all parties; continue economically and
socially damaging controversies; prolong uncertainty as to the
access, ownership, and jurisdictional status of issues in question;
and seriously impair long-term economic planning and development for
all parties.
(6) To advance the goals of Federal policy of Indian self-
determination and to carry out the trust responsibility of the
United States, and to advance the Federal policy of international
trade and economic development, and in recognition of the Federal
policy of settling these conflicts through comprehensive settlement
agreements, it is appropriate that the United States participate in
the funding and implementation of the Settlement Agreement.
(b) Purpose
Therefore, it is the purpose of this subchapter--
(1) to approve, ratify, and confirm the agreement entered into
by the non-Indian settlement parties and the Puyallup Tribe of
Indians,
(2) to authorize and direct the Secretary to implement the terms
of such agreement, and
(3) to authorize the actions and appropriations necessary to
implement the provisions of the Settlement Agreement and this
subchapter.
(Pub. L. 101-41, Sec. 2, June 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 83.)
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 101-41 provided that: ``This Act [enacting this
subchapter] may be cited as the `Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement
Act of 1989'.''
