Navajo-Hopi Settlement Act

Page 251

§ 640d–9

TITLE 25—INDIANS

which is equal to the percentage of lands in
issue in which either tribe is determined to have
such interest.
(3) Neither laches nor the statute of limitations shall constitute a defense to such proceedings if they are either prosecuted as a part of
the action authorized by this section or in a proceeding supplemental thereto, if instituted not
later than twenty-four months following a final
order of partition and exhaustion of appeals in
an action filed pursuant to this section.
(d) Denial of Congressional interest in merits of
conflicting claims; liability of United States
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to be
a Congressional determination of the merits of
the conflicting claims to the lands that are subject to adjudication pursuant to this section, or
to affect the liability of the United States, if
any, under litigation now pending before the Indian Claims Commission.
(e) Payment of legal fees, court costs and other
expenses
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
pay any or all appropriate legal fees, court
costs, and other related expenses arising out of,
or in connection with, the commencing of, or defending against, any action brought by the Navajo, San Juan Southern Paiute or Hopi Tribe
under this section.
(f) Provision of attorney fees for San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe
(1) Any funds made available for the San Juan
Southern Paiute Tribe to pay for attorney’s fees
shall be paid directly to the tribe’s attorneys of
record until such tribe is acknowledged as an Indian tribe by the United States: Provided, That
the tribe’s eligibility for such payments shall
cease once a decision by the Secretary of the Interior declining to acknowledge such tribe becomes final and no longer appealable.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as a congressional acknowledgement of
the San Juan Southern Paiute as an Indian tribe
or as affecting in any way the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe’s Petition for Recognition currently pending with the Secretary of the Interior.
(3) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $250,000 to pay for the legal
expenses incurred by the Southern Paiute Tribe
on legal action arising under this section prior
to November 16, 1988.
(Pub. L. 93–531, § 8, Dec. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 1715;
Pub. L. 96–305, § 2, July 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 929; Pub.
L. 100–666, § 9, Nov. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 3933.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Act of June 14, 1934, referred to in subsecs. (a) and
(c)(1), is act June 14, 1934, ch. 521, 48 Stat. 960, which
was not classified to the Code.
The Indian Claims Commission, referred to in subsec.
(d), terminated Sept. 30, 1978. See Codification note set
out under former section 70 et seq. of this title.
AMENDMENTS
1988—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–666, § 9(a), inserted
‘‘, San Juan Southern Paiute’’ after ‘‘Navajo’’.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–666, § 9(b), added subsec. (f).
1980—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–305 substituted provision
authorizing, as part of the determination of tribal

rights and interests in land, actions for accounting, fair
value of grazing, and claims for damages, specifying
the formula for determining recovery, and limiting defenses for provision authorizing exchange of reservation lands.

§ 640d–8. Allotments in severalty to Paiute Indians now located on lands; issue of patents
declaring United States as trustee
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subchapter, the Secretary is authorized to allot
in severalty to individual Paiute Indians, not
now members of the Navajo Tribe, who are located within the area described in the Act of
June 14, 1934 (48 Stat. 960), and who were located
within such area, or are direct descendants of
Paiute Indians who were located within such
area, on the date of such Act, land in quantities
as specified in section 331 1 of this title, and patents shall be issued to them for such lands having the legal effect and declaring that the
United States holds such land in trust for the
sole use and benefit of each allottee and, following his death, of his heirs according to the laws
of the State of Arizona.
(Pub. L. 93–531, § 9, Dec. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 1716.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Act of June 14, 1934, referred to in text, is act June
14, 1934, ch. 521, 48 Stat. 960, which was not classified to
the Code.
Section 331 of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by Pub. L. 106–462, title I, § 106(a)(1), Nov. 7, 2000,
114 Stat. 2007.

§ 640d–9. Partitioned or other designated lands
(a) Lands to be held in trust for Navajo Tribe; exception
Subject to the provisions of sections 640d–8
and 640d–16(a) of this title, any lands partitioned
to the Navajo Tribe pursuant to sections 640d–2
and 640d–3 of this title and the lands described in
the Act of June 14, 1934 (48 Stat. 960), except the
lands as described in section 640d–7 of this title,
shall be held in trust by the United States exclusively for the Navajo Tribe and as a part of the
Navajo Reservation.
(b) Lands to be held in trust for Hopi Tribe
Subject to the provisions of sections 640d–8
and 640d–16(a) of this title, any lands partitioned
to the Hopi Tribe pursuant to sections 640d–2
and 640d–3 of this title and the lands as described
in section 640d–7 of this title shall be held in
trust by the United States exclusively for the
Hopi Tribe and as a part of the Hopi Reservation.
(c) Protection of rights and property of individuals subject to relocation
The Secretary shall take such action as may
be necessary in order to assure the protection,
until relocation, of the rights and property of
individuals subject to relocation pursuant to
this subchapter, or any judgment of partition
pursuant thereto, including any individual authorized to reside on land covered by a life estate conferred pursuant to section 640d–28 of this
title.
1 See

References in Text note below.

§ 640d–10

TITLE 25—INDIANS

(d) Protection of benefits and services of individuals subject to relocation
With respect to any individual subject to relocation, the Secretary shall take such action as
may be necessary to assure that such individuals are not deprived of benefits or services by
reason of their status as an individual subject to
relocation.
(e) Tribal jurisdiction over partitioned lands
(1) 1 Lands partitioned pursuant to this subchapter, whether or not the partition order is
subject to appeal, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the tribe to whom partitioned and the
laws of such tribe shall apply to such partitioned lands under the following schedule:
(A) Effective ninety days after July 8, 1980,
all conservation practices, including grazing
control and range restoration activities, shall
be coordinated and executed with the concurrence of the tribe to whom the particular
lands in question have been partitioned, and
all such grazing and range restoration matters
on the Navajo Reservation lands shall be administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Navajo Area Office and on the Hopi Reservation lands by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Phoenix Area Office, under applicable laws and
regulations.
(B) Notwithstanding any provision of law to
the contrary, each tribe shall have such jurisdiction and authority over any lands partitioned to it and all persons located thereon,
not in conflict with the laws and regulations
referred to in paragraph (A) above, to the
same extent as is applicable to those other
portions of its reservation. Such jurisdiction
and authority over partitioned lands shall become effective April 18, 1981.
The provisions of this subsection shall be subject to the responsibility of the Secretary to
protect the rights and property of life tenants
and persons awaiting relocation as provided in
subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
(f) Development of lands in litigation; exception
(1) Any development of lands in litigation pursuant to section 640d–7 of this title and further
defined as ‘‘that portion of the Navajo Reservation lying west of the Executive Order Reservation of 1882 and bounded on the north and south
by westerly extensions, to the reservation line,
of the northern and southern boundaries of said
Executive Order Reservation,’’ shall be carried
out only upon the written consent of each tribe
except for the limited areas around the village
of Moenkopi and around Tuba City. Each such
area has been heretofore designated by the Secretary. ‘‘Development’’ as used herein shall
mean any new construction or improvement to
the property and further includes public work
projects, power and water lines, public agency
improvements, and associated rights-of-way.
(2) Each Indian tribe which receives a written
request for the consent of the Indian tribe to a
particular improvement, construction, or other
development on the lands to which paragraph (1)
applies shall respond in writing to such request
by no later than the date that is 30 days after
1 So

in original. No par. (2) has been enacted.

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the date on which the Indian tribe receives the
request. If the Indian tribe refuse to consent to
the improvement, construction, or other development, the response shall include the reasons
why consent is being refused.
(3)(A) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any improvement, construction, or other development
if—
(i) such improvement, construction, or development does not involve new housing construction, and
(ii) after the Navajo Tribe or Hopi Tribe has
refused to consent to such improvement, construction, or development (or after the close of
the 30-day period described in paragraph (2), if
the Indian tribe does not respond within such
period in writing to a written request for such
consent), the Secretary of the Interior determines that such improvement, construction,
or development is necessary for the health or
safety of the Navajo Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, or
any individual who is a member of either
tribe.
(B) If a written request for a determination described in subparagraph (A)(ii) is submitted to
the Secretary of the Interior after the Navajo
Tribe or Hopi Tribe has refused to consent to
any improvement, construction, or development
(or after the close of the 30-day period described
in paragraph (2), if the Indian tribe does not respond within such period in writing to a written
request for such consent), the Secretary shall,
by no later than the date that is 45 days after
the date on which such request is submitted to
the Secretary, determine whether such improvement, construction, or development is necessary
for the health or safety of the Navajo Tribe, the
Hopi Tribe, or any individual who is a member
of either Tribe.
(C) Any development that is undertaken pursuant to this section shall be without prejudice
to the rights of the parties in the civil action
pending before the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona commenced pursuant
to section 640d–7 of this title, as amended.
(Pub. L. 93–531, § 10, Dec. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 1716;
Pub. L. 96–305, § 3, July 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 929; Pub.
L. 100–666, § 6, Nov. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 3932.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Act of June 14, 1934, referred to in subsec. (a), is act
June 14, 1934, ch. 521, 48 Stat. 960, which was not classified to the Code.
AMENDMENTS
1988—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–666 designated existing
provisions as par. (1) and added pars. (2) and (3).
1980—Subsecs. (c) to (f). Pub. L. 96–305 added subsecs.
(c) to (f).

§ 640d–10. Resettlement lands for Navajo Tribe
(a) Transfer of lands under jurisdiction of Bureau of Land Management; State and private
land exchanges; valuation; acquired private
lands; lands to be held in trust
The Secretary is authorized and directed to—
(1) transfer not to exceed two hundred and
fifty thousand acres of lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management
within the State 1 of Arizona and New Mexico
1 So

in original. Probably should be ‘‘States’’.