Rule2023-03017
Policy Guidance for Determining Eligibility for Organization Under the Alaska Indian Reorganization Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 13, 2023
Effective
February 13, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentIndian Affairs Bureau
Abstract
This policy guidance clarifies the Department of the Interior's (Department) criteria and procedures for determining whether an entity is eligible to organize under the Alaska amendment to the Indian Reorganization Act.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 29 (Monday, February 13, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9188-9190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03017]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
25 CFR Part 81
[2341A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]
Policy Guidance for Determining Eligibility for Organization
Under the Alaska Indian Reorganization Act
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Policy guidance.
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SUMMARY: This policy guidance clarifies the Department of the
Interior's (Department) criteria and procedures for determining whether
an entity is eligible to organize under the Alaska amendment to the
Indian Reorganization Act.
DATES: This policy guidance is effective February 13, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Oliver Whaley, Director, Office of
Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative Action--Indian Affairs, (202) 738-
6065; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#caa5a6a3bcafb8e4bda2aba6afb38aa8a3abe4ada5bc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="214e4d485744530f5649404d4458614348400f464e57">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 1936, Congress enacted an amendment to the Indian Reorganization
Act (25 U.S.C. 5108), (Alaska IRA) to allow groups of Indians in
Alaska, not previously recognized as bands or tribes by the United
States, to organize under the IRA, provided they could demonstrate ``a
common bond of occupation, or association, or residence within a well-
defined neighborhood, community or rural district.'' See 25 U.S.C.
473a. In 1937, the Department of the Interior Secretary Harold Ickes
approved ``Instructions'' describing the general characteristics of
entities that may organize under the Alaska IRA and the procedural
requirements for organizing such entities, but do not address the
question of eligibility or the factors that should be considered in
determining an entity's eligibility to organize under the Alaska IRA.
Policy Guidance
This policy guidance clarifies the criteria and procedures for
evaluating petitions for organization under the Alaska IRA and
supersedes all prior guidance issued on the same subject. In
particular, this guidance supersedes the ``Instructions'' approved by
Department of the Interior Secretary Harold Ickes in 1937.
The criteria and procedures outlined in this policy guidance are
intended to guide the Department in making
[[Page 9189]]
consistent, substantive determinations as to whether an entity is
eligible to organize under the Alaska IRA. The Alaska IRA establishes a
``common bond'' basis of organization for certain entities in Alaska,
but is otherwise silent on the question of eligibility and gives no
clear direction as to the Department's statutory responsibilities under
the provision. This guidance proposes establishing a process for
determining eligibility in a manner consistent with Federal Indian law
and policy.
This process begins with the submission of an Alaska IRA petition
to the Office of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs (Office of the
AS-IA). The Office of the AS-IA then reviews the petition. If Assistant
Secretary--Indian Affairs (AS-IA) determines that a petitioning group
satisfies the criteria established below and is eligible to organize
under the Alaska IRA, the group will be included on the next list of
federally recognized Indian tribes and can proceed with conducting a
Secretarial election under 25 CFR part 81. A favorable determination of
eligibility thus results in Federal recognition as an Indian tribe and
entitles the group to interact with the United States on a government-
to-government basis.
By recognizing that organization is a step that necessarily
follows, rather than precedes, Federal recognition, this policy
guidance brings the Alaska IRA in line with the Department's current
practices and the modern notion of Tribal ``organization'' under the
IRA. See 25 CFR part 81 (establishing the Department's procedures for
conducting Secretarial elections under the IRA and other laws, which
apply exclusively to federally recognized Indian tribes). The criteria
in this policy guidance is accordingly designed to ensure that a group
seeking to organize under the Alaska IRA is a socio-political entity
capable of maintaining a government-to-government relationship with the
United States, and that only those entities entitled to Federal
recognition are being organized under the Alaska IRA. See H. Rep. No.
103-781 (1994) (explaining that Federal recognition is ``[a] formal
political act'' that ``permanently establishes a government-to-
government relationship between the United States and the recognized
tribe as a `domestic dependent nation,' '' and ``institutionalizes the
tribe's quasi-sovereign status'').
Statutory Authority
The Department is issuing these criteria and procedures under 25
CFR part 81 and its authority over the management of all Indian Affairs
under 25 U.S.C. 2.
Table of Contents
I. Criteria
1. Common Bond
2. Political Influence or Authority
3. Governing Document
4. Descent
II. Petition Requirements
III. Office of the AS-IA Review
IV. AS-IA Determination
I. Criteria
The Department will apply the following criteria in evaluating
requests for organization under the Alaska IRA, taking into account
historical situations and time periods for which evidence is
demonstrably limited or not available. Given the unique conditions in
Alaska, the Department will evaluate each criteria in the context of
the group's history, geographical location, culture, and social
organization.
1. Common Bond
The petitioning group has maintained a common bond of occupation,
or association, or residence within a well-defined neighborhood,
community, or rural district on a substantially continuous basis from
May 1, 1936, until the present. For purposes of this criteria, having a
common bond means that the petitioner is bound together by their common
interest and actions taken in common, and is distinguishable from other
groups or associations. The claimed common bond must be clear and
capable of statement and definition:
a. For petitioners seeking to organize on the basis of residence,
there is no requirement that members of the group all live in one
community or village.
b. For petitioners seeking to organize on the basis of occupation
or association, a substantial share of the persons within the
petitioning group must demonstrate participation in the activities
constituting the common bond.
2. Political Influence or Authority
The petitioner has maintained political influence or authority over
its members as an autonomous entity. Political influence or authority
means the entity uses a council, leadership, internal process, or other
mechanism as a means of influencing or controlling the behavior of its
members in significant respects, making decisions for the entity which
substantially affect its members, and/or representing the entity in
dealing with outsiders in matters of consequence. This criteria is to
be understood flexibly, taking into account the limitations inherent in
demonstrating historical existence of political influence or authority.
3. Governing Document
The petitioner has provided a copy of the entity's present
governing document, including its membership criteria. In the absence
of a governing document, the petitioner can provide a written statement
describing in full its membership criteria and current governing
procedures.
4. Descent
A significant and meaningful portion of the petitioner's membership
is comprised of individuals who descend from the Alaska IRA-eligible
entity that existed on May 1, 1936. Any members who do not descend
genealogically from members of the Alaska IRA-eligible entity that
existed on May 1, 1936, must be able to document their integration into
the petitioning group.
5. Unique Membership
The petitioner's membership is composed principally of persons who
are not members of any federally recognized Indian tribe. However, a
petitioner is still eligible to organize under the Alaska IRA even if
its membership is composed principally of persons whose names have
appeared on the membership list of, or who have been otherwise
associated with, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, if the petitioner
demonstrates that:
a. It has functioned as a separate politically autonomous community
by satisfying criteria (1) and (2) of this section; and
b. Its members have provided written confirmation of their
membership in the petitioner.
6. Congressional Termination
Neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of
congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden
the Federal relationship.
II. Petition Requirements
A petition to organize under the Alaska IRA should be submitted to
the Office of the AS-IA. The Office of the AS-IA will accept the
petition in any readable form. The petition should include the
following:
a. A concise written narrative, with citations to supporting
documentation, thoroughly explaining how the petitioner meets each of
the criteria listed above;
b. Supporting documentation cited in the written narrative and
containing specific, detailed evidence that the petitioner meets each
of the criteria listed above; and
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c. An official current membership list of all known current members
of the petitioner, including each member's full name (including maiden
name, if any), date of birth, and current residential address.
If the petition contains any information that is protectable under
Federal law such as the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, the
petitioner should be required to provide a redacted version, an
unredacted version of the relevant pages, and an explanation of the
legal basis for withholding such information from public release.
III. Office of the AS-IA Review
Upon receipt of a petition, the Office of the AS-IA will review the
petition and supporting documentation to determine whether the
petitioner has provided sufficient evidence to meet each of the
criteria listed above. Prior to completing its review, the Office of
the AS-IA will advise the petitioner of any evidentiary gaps for the
criteria and provide the petitioner with an opportunity to supplement
or revise the petition. As part of its review of the petition, the
Office of the AS-IA may also:
a. Initiate and consider other research for any purpose relative to
analyzing the petition and obtaining additional information about the
petitioner's status;
b. Request and consider timely submitted additional explanations
and information from the petitioner; and
c. Consider any comments and evidence received from other parties
to the extent they are relevant to the above criteria. The Office of
Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), within the Office of the AS-IA, will
provide the petitioner with any material received from other parties
and provide the petitioner with the opportunity to respond to the
material.
IV. AS-IA Determination
After the review of the petition, AS-IA will issue a decision
determining whether the petitioner meets the above criteria and is
eligible for organization under the Alaska IRA. The decision will
summarize the evidence, reasoning, and analyses that are the basis for
AS-IA's determination.
If AS-IA determines the petitioner is eligible for organization
under the Alaska IRA, the petitioner can proceed with requesting a
Secretarial election pursuant to 25 CFR part 81 and will be included on
the next list of federally recognized Indian tribes published in the
Federal Register.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-03017 Filed 2-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.