§ 1777c. — Resolution of disputes and claims.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC1777c]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 19--INDIAN LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS
SUBCHAPTER XI--SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
Sec. 1777c. Resolution of disputes and claims
(a) Relinquishment, extinguishment, and compromise of Santo Domingo
claims
(1) Extinguishment
(A) In general
Subject to paragraph (2), in consideration of the benefits
provided under this subchapter, and in accordance with the
Settlement Agreement pursuant to which the Pueblo has agreed to
relinquish and compromise certain claims, the Pueblo's land and
trespass claims described in subparagraph (B) are hereby
extinguished, effective as of the date specified in paragraph
(5).
(B) Claims
The claims described in this subparagraph are the following:
(i) With respect to the Pueblo's claims against the
United States, its agencies, officers, and
instrumentalities, all claims to land, whether based on
aboriginal or recognized title, and all claims for damages
or other judicial relief or for administrative remedies
pertaining in any way to the Pueblo's land, such as
boundary, trespass, and mismanagement claims, including any
claim related to--
(I) any federally administered lands, including
National Forest System lands designated in the
Settlement Agreement for possible sale or exchange to
the Pueblo;
(II) any lands owned or held for the benefit of any
Indian tribe other than the Pueblo; and
(III) all claims which were, or could have been
brought against the United States in docket No. 355,
pending in the United States Court of Federal Claims.
(ii) With respect to the Pueblo's claims against
persons, the State of New Mexico and its subdivisions, and
Indian tribes other than the Pueblo, all claims to land,
whether based on aboriginal or recognized title, and all
claims for damages or other judicial relief or for
administrative remedies pertaining in any way to the
Pueblo's land, such as boundary and trespass claims.
(iii) All claims listed on pages 13894-13895 of volume
48 of the Federal Register, published on March 31, 1983,
except for claims numbered 002 and 004.
(2) Rule of construction
Nothing in this subchapter (including paragraph (1)) shall be
construed--
(A) to in any way effectuate an extinguishment of or
otherwise impair--
(i) the Pueblo's title to lands acquired by or for the
benefit of the Pueblo since December 28, 1927, or in a tract
of land of approximately 150.14 acres known as the ``sliver
area'' and described on a plat which is appendix H to the
Settlement Agreement;
(ii) the Pueblo's title to land within the Santo Domingo
Pueblo Grant which the Pueblo Lands Board found not to have
been extinguished; or
(iii) the Pueblo's water rights appurtenant to the lands
described in clauses (i) and (ii); and
(B) to expand, reduce, or otherwise impair any rights which
the Pueblo or its members may have under existing Federal
statutes concerning religious and cultural access to and uses of
the public lands.
(3) Confirmation of determination
The Pueblo Lands Board's determination on page 1 of its Report
of December 28, 1927, that Santo Domingo Pueblo title, derived from
the Santo Domingo Pueblo Grant to the lands overlapped by the La
Majada, Sitio de Juana Lopez and Mesita de Juana Lopez Grants has
been extinguished is hereby confirmed as of the date of that Report.
(4) Transfers prior to November 1, 2000
(A) In general
In accordance with the Settlement Agreement, any transfer of
land or natural resources, prior to November 1, 2000, located
anywhere within the United States from, by, or on behalf of the
Pueblo, or any of the Pueblo's members, shall be deemed to have
been made in accordance with the Act of June 30, 1834 (4 Stat.
729; commonly referred to as the Trade and Intercourse Act),
section 17 of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 641; commonly
referred to as the Pueblo Lands Act), and any other provision of
Federal law that specifically applies to transfers of land or
natural resources from, by, or on behalf of an Indian tribe, and
such transfers shall be deemed to be ratified effective as of
the date of the transfer.
(B) Rule of construction
Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to affect or
eliminate the personal claim of any individual Indian which is
pursued under any law of general applicability that protects
non-Indians as well as Indians.
(5) Effective date
The provisions of paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) shall take effect
upon the entry of a compromise final judgment, in a form and manner
acceptable to the Attorney General, in the amount of $8,000,000 in
the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian Claims
Commission docket No. 355). The judgment so entered shall be paid
from funds appropriated pursuant to section 1304 of title 31.
(b) Trust funds; authorization of appropriations
(1) Establishment
There is hereby established in the Treasury a trust fund to be
known as the ``Pueblo of Santo Domingo Land Claims Settlement
Fund''. Funds deposited in the Fund shall be subject to the
following conditions:
(A) The Fund shall be maintained and invested by the
Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act of June 24, 1938
(25 U.S.C. 162a).
(B) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), monies
deposited into the Fund may be expended by the Pueblo to acquire
lands within the exterior boundaries of the exclusive aboriginal
occupancy area of the Pueblo, as described in the Findings of
Fact of the Indian Claims Commission, dated May 9, 1973, and for
use for education, economic development, youth and elderly
programs, or for other tribal purposes in accordance with plans
and budgets developed and approved by the Tribal Council of the
Pueblo and approved by the Secretary.
(C) If the Pueblo withdraws monies from the Fund, neither
the Secretary nor the Secretary of the Treasury shall retain any
oversight over or liability for the accounting, disbursement, or
investment of such withdrawn monies.
(D) No portion of the monies described in subparagraph (C)
may be paid to Pueblo members on a per capita basis.
(E) The acquisition of lands with monies from the Fund shall
be on a willing-seller, willing-buyer basis, and no eminent
domain authority may be exercised for purposes of acquiring
lands for the benefit of the Pueblo pursuant to this subchapter.
(F) The provisions of Public Law 93-134 [25 U.S.C. 1401 et
seq.], governing the distribution of Indian claims judgment
funds, and the plan approval requirements of section 4023 of
this title shall not be applicable to the Fund.
(2) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for deposit
into the Fund, in accordance with the following schedule:
(A) $5,000,000 to be deposited in the fiscal year which
commences on October 1, 2001.
(B) $5,000,000 to be deposited in the next fiscal year.
(C) The balance of the funds to be deposited in the third
consecutive fiscal year.
(3) Limitation on disbursal
Amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Fund under
paragraph (2) shall not be disbursed until the following conditions
are met:
(A) The case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael (No. CIV-83-
1888) in the United States District Court for the District of
New Mexico, has been dismissed with prejudice.
(B) A compromise final judgment in the amount of $8,000,000
in the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian
Claims Commission docket No. 355) in a form and manner
acceptable to the Attorney General, has been entered in the
United States Court of Federal Claims in accordance with
subsection (a)(5) of this section.
(4) Deposits
Funds awarded to the Pueblo consistent with subsection (c)(2) of
this section in docket No. 355 of the Indian Claims Commission shall
be deposited into the Fund.
(c) Activities upon compromise
On the date of the entry of the final compromise judgment in the
case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. United States (Indian Claims
Commission docket No. 355) in the United States Court of Federal Claims,
and the dismissal with prejudice of the case of Pueblo of Santo Domingo
v. Rael (No. CIV-83-1888) in the United States District Court for the
District of New Mexico, whichever occurs later--
(1) the public lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management and described in section 6 of the Settlement Agreement,
and consisting of approximately 4,577.10 acres of land, shall
thereafter be held by the United States in trust for the benefit of
the Pueblo, subject to valid existing rights and rights of public
and private access, as provided for in the Settlement Agreement;
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to sell and
convey National Forest System lands and the Pueblo shall have the
exclusive right to acquire these lands as provided for in section 7
of the Settlement Agreement, and the funds received by the Secretary
of Agriculture for such sales shall be deposited in the fund
established under section 484a of title 16 and shall be available to
purchase non-Federal lands within or adjacent to the National
Forests in the State of New Mexico;
(3) lands conveyed by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to
this section shall no longer be considered part of the National
Forest System and upon any conveyance of National Forest lands, the
boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest shall be deemed modified
to exclude such lands;
(4) until the National Forest lands are conveyed to the Pueblo
pursuant to this section, or until the Pueblo's right to purchase
such lands expires pursuant to section 7 of the Settlement
Agreement, such lands are withdrawn, subject to valid existing
rights, from any new public use or entry under any Federal land law,
except for permits not to exceed 1 year, and shall not be identified
for any disposition by or for any agency, and no mineral production
or harvest of forest products shall be permitted, except that
nothing in this subsection shall preclude forest management
practices on such lands, including the harvest of timber in the
event of fire, disease, or insect infestation; and
(5) once the Pueblo has acquired title to the former National
Forest System lands, these lands may be conveyed by the Pueblo to
the Secretary of the Interior who shall accept and hold such lands
in the name of the United States in trust for the benefit of the
Pueblo.
(Pub. L. 106-425, Sec. 5, Nov. 1, 2000, 114 Stat. 1892.)
References in Text
Act of June 30, 1834, referred to in subsec. (a)(4)(A), is act June
30, 1834, ch. 161, 4 Stat. 729, as amended. That act was incorporated
into the Revised Statutes as R.S. Secs. 533, 2111 to 2113, 2116 to 2118,
2124 to 2126, 2129 to 2135, 2137, 2141, 2145, 2147, 2150 to 2152, and
2154 to 2157. For complete classification of those sections of the
Revised Statutes to the Code, see Tables.
Act of June 7, 1924, referred to in subsec. (a)(4)(A), is act June
7, 1924, ch. 331, 43 Stat. 636, as amended, known as the Pueblo Lands
Act of 1924, which is set out as a note under section 331 of this title.
Act of June 24, 1938, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(A), is act June
24, 1938, ch. 648, 52 Stat. 1037, as amended, which enacted section 162a
of this title, repealed section 162 of this title, and enacted
provisions set out as a note under section 162a of this title. For
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
Public Law 93-134, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(F), is Pub. L. 93-
134, Oct. 19, 1973, 87 Stat. 466, as amended, known as the Indian Tribal
Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act, which is classified generally to
chapter 16 (Sec. 1401 et seq.) of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1401(c) of this
title and Tables.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1777, 1777a, 1777d, 1777e of
this title.
