Native Americans Desk
Native Americans Bills
5 bills in the Native Americans desk, ordered for current relevance and readability.
Native AmericansHR-41-119Latest action: Apr 2, 20264 readersIn Committee
Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act
Sponsored by Nicholas Begich
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 established a framework for recognizing Alaska Native villages and corporations, providing them with land and financial settlements. However, five southeastern Alaska communities—Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell—were omitted from this original settlement structure. These communities have remained unrecognized under federal law, unable to form Native corporations or receive land entitlements that other Alaska Native communities obtained decades ago. This exclusion has left Alaska Natives in these communities without the same legal standing and economic benefits available to their counterparts elsewhere in Alaska. This bill amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to authorize the five southeastern communities to establish Urban Corporations and receive land compensation. The Department of the Interior shall enroll eligible Alaska Natives from each community as shareholders in their respective Urban Corporations, granting each shareholder 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock. The bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey approximately 23,040 acres of federal surface land to each of the five Urban Corporations—totaling roughly 115,200 acres—while conveying the subsurface (mineral) rights to the existing Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska. These conveyances shall be considered full satisfaction of the communities' entitlements under the Act. The land conveyances must be completed within two years of each Urban Corporation's incorporation, though the Secretary may extend this deadline by up to one year for individual parcels pending appeal of easement decisions. The federal land is withdrawn from mining claims, mineral leasing, and other forms of disposition until conveyed. Shareholders in the new Urban Corporations will continue receiving distributions from the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska as at-large shareholders. The bill explicitly protects existing Native Corporation entitlements and does not alter revenue-sharing ratios among Alaska Native corporations, ensuring that recognizing these five communities does not diminish benefits to other established corporations.
Native Americans
Latest updateApr 2, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-579.
Native Americans
Native AmericansHR-165-119Latest action: Dec 19, 20253 readersEnacted
Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act
Sponsored by Dusty Johnson
The Wounded Knee Massacre site in South Dakota has long held profound historical and spiritual significance for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Currently, approximately 40 acres at the location—where federal troops killed hundreds of Lakota people on December 29, 1890—are not held in a status that grants the tribes full sovereign control and protection from state taxation and outside interference. The land's legal status creates uncertainty about tribal jurisdiction, potential state taxation, and the tribes' ability to manage the site according to their own governance and cultural practices without federal bureaucratic review. The Secretary of the Interior must complete all necessary actions within one year to transfer the 40-acre Wounded Knee site into restricted fee status held jointly by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Under restricted fee status, the tribes will own the land outright, exercise full civil and criminal jurisdiction over it as part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and be exempt from state and local taxation. The Secretary must also resolve utility agreements and survey documentation. The land will be governed by a covenant between the two tribes dated October 21, 2022, and cannot be transferred without congressional and tribal consent. Gaming activities are prohibited under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Once the Secretary completes the transfer process, the tribes gain permanent control over the sacred site and memorial. The change takes effect within one year of enactment, with no new federal funding required beyond Interior Department administrative costs. Existing utility easements and private agreements remain in place. The tribes can now develop and manage the site—including memorials, cultural programs, and educational facilities—according to their own priorities and tribal law, without state interference or federal approval for land use decisions. This establishes a model for tribal sovereignty over historically significant indigenous lands.
Native Americans
Latest updateDec 19, 2025
Became Public Law No: 119-61.
Native Americans
Native AmericansHR-42-119Latest action: Jul 7, 20251 readersEnacted
Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act
Sponsored by Nicholas Begich
Under current federal law, certain means-tested benefit programs—including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for elderly, blind, and disabled individuals—count most forms of income and assets when determining eligibility and benefit amounts. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 established Settlement Trusts that distribute payments to Alaska Native shareholders and their descendants. Historically, distributions from these trusts have been treated as countable income under SSI and related programs, reducing or eliminating benefits for recipients who receive trust payments, even when those payments are modest. This bill amends Section 29(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to exclude distributions and benefits from Settlement Trusts from being counted as income for purposes of determining eligibility for means-tested federal programs. Specifically, the amendment directs the Social Security Administration and other relevant federal agencies to disregard Settlement Trust distributions to Alaska Natives and descendants of Alaska Natives who are aged, blind, or disabled individuals—as defined under the Social Security Act—when calculating SSI eligibility and benefit levels. The exclusion applies for a five-year period beginning on the date the bill is enacted. In practice, Alaska Native beneficiaries who receive Settlement Trust distributions will retain their SSI eligibility and benefit amounts without reduction during the five-year window, allowing them to receive both trust payments and federal benefits simultaneously. The Social Security Administration will implement this change through updated income-counting rules in its SSI program regulations. After the five-year period expires, the exclusion terminates unless Congress extends it, and distributions will revert to being counted as income. The change carries no direct federal appropriation but may modestly increase SSI outlays by preventing benefit reductions for affected recipients during the implementation period.
Native Americans
Latest updateJul 7, 2025
Became Public Law No: 119-22.
Native Americans
Native AmericansHR-43-119Latest action: Jul 7, 20251 readersEnacted
Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025
Sponsored by Nicholas Begich
Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, Village Corporations—entities created to hold land and resources for Alaska Native communities—were required to convey certain acreage to the State of Alaska in trust for the future establishment of municipal governments. This requirement was intended to ensure that Alaska Native villages would have land available if they chose to incorporate as municipalities. However, many villages never established municipal corporations, leaving land held indefinitely in state trust that Village Corporations believed should revert to them. The Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025 amends Section 14(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to eliminate the mandatory conveyance requirement going forward and to allow reversal of past conveyances. The bill directs that Village Corporations are no longer required to convey additional land in trust to the State of Alaska for future municipal establishment. For land already conveyed to the state in trust where no municipal corporation was established, the bill authorizes Village Corporations and their residents to jointly request dissolution of the trust through formal resolution, upon which title reverts to the Village Corporation. The Department of the Interior implements these provisions in accordance with existing trust management rules. The reversion takes effect upon enactment. Reverted land remains subject to valid existing rights, easements, and public roadway access rights created under the original trust arrangement. Village Corporations assume all obligations tied to leases or use agreements on reverted land. The change affects only those lands held in trust where municipalities were never established; it does not disturb land already conveyed to municipalities or alter the status of active municipal corporations. No new federal funding is required, as the bill operates within existing trust administration frameworks.
Native Americans
Latest updateJul 7, 2025
Became Public Law No: 119-23.
Native Americans
Native AmericansHR-84-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20252 readersIn Committee
Native American Education Opportunity Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
Currently, Native American students attending Bureau of Indian Education schools have limited educational options. While federal funding flows to these schools, students and families have few alternatives if they seek different learning approaches, specialized services, or educational paths outside the traditional public school system. The existing framework channels resources primarily through institutional providers rather than giving families direct control over education spending decisions. The Native American Education Opportunity Act directs the Secretary of Education and Secretary of the Interior to establish tribal education savings account programs beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. Participating tribes receive federal funds—approximately one-half of one percent of Elementary and Secondary Education Act appropriations—and deposit $8,000 annually into individual accounts for eligible students. Parents can then withdraw funds to purchase tutoring, private school tuition, online learning programs, textbooks, technology, educational therapies, college preparation, vocational training, and other approved educational expenses. Tribes may contract with nonprofit entities to administer the accounts and can allocate up to 5 percent of funds for program administration. Implementation begins immediately for students applying after January 1, 2025, with semi-annual account distributions. Accounts remain available until students enroll full-time in public school, complete postsecondary education, reach age 25 (or 26 for students with disabilities), or funds remain unused for two years. States must recognize these accounts as satisfying compulsory attendance requirements. The program expires five years after enactment. Funds are considered student assistance rather than school funding, so they do not count as income for tax or federal benefit eligibility purposes. If students attend public school part-time, account funds must cover their attendance costs through agreements with local school districts.
Native Americans
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Native Americans