Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 3.djvu/970

 114 STAT. 1992 PUBLIC LAW 106-462—NOV. 7, 2000 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) to the facts presented in that case to be unconstitutional, forcing the Department of the Interior to address the status of thousands of undivided interests in trust and restricted lands; (11)(A) on February 19, 1999, the Secretary of the Interior issued a Secretarial Order which officially reopened the probate of all estates where an interest in land was ordered to escheat to an Indian tribe pursuant to section 207 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206); and (B) the Secretarial Order also directed appropriate officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to distribute such interests "to the rightful heirs and beneficiaries without regard to 25 U.S.C. 2206"; (12) in the absence of comprehensive remedial legislation, the number of the fractional interests will continue to grow exponentially; (13) the problem of the fractionation of Indian lands described in this section is the result of a policy of the Federal Government, cannot be solved by Indian tribes, and requires a solution under Federal law. (14) any devise or inheritance of an interest in trust or restricted Indian lands is a matter of Federal law; and (15) consistent with the Federal policy of tribal self-determination, the Federal Government should encourage the recognized tribal government that exercises jurisdiction over a reservation to establish a tribal probate code for that reservation. 25 USC 2201 SEC. 102. DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is the policy of the United States— (1) to prevent the further fractionation of trust allotments made to Indians; (2) to consolidate fractional interests and ownership of those interests into usable parcels; (3) to consolidate fractional interests in a manner that enhances tribal sovereignty; (4) to promote tribal self-sufficiency and self-determination; and (5) to reverse the effects of the allotment policy on Indian tribes. 25 USC 2201 SEC. 103. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN LAND CONSOLIDATION ACT. "°*®" The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended— (1) in section 202— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking "(1) 'tribe'" and inserting "(1) 'Indian tribe' or 'tribe'"; (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: "(2) 'Indian' means any person who is a member of any Indian tribe or is eligible to become a member of any Indian tribe, or any person who has been found to meet the definition of 'Indian' under a provision of Federal law if the Secretary determines that using such law's definition of Indian is consistent with the purposes of this Act;"; (C) by striking "and" at the end of paragraph (3); (D) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting "; and"; and (E) by adding at the end the following:

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