Daines Fights to Empower Tribes In Land Buy Back Program

Press Release

Representative Steve Daines announced legislation today to empower tribes and improve the implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program that was established through the landmark court settlement of Cobell v. Salazar.

Daines will introduce the Indian Tribal Self-Determination in Land Consolidation Act which would allow Indian tribes to enter into contracts and compacts with the Department of Interior to implement the Land Buy-Back Program and would make other improvements to the program.

In May, Daines sent a letter to the Department of Interior requesting that the Department improve the implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program and permit tribes to assume the program's functions that they have the capacity to administer. The Department has yet to respond.

"The Land Buy-Back Program, created through the Cobell Settlement, has provided Indian Country with a means to improve their future, but the Department of Interior's implementation of the program isn't working and the hope in Indian country is turning into frustration," Daines said. "The Indian Tribal Self-Determination in Land Consolidation Act will increase tribal participation in implementing the Land Buy-Back Program and help ensure its success."

Daines' legislation will also extend the time period for implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program by five years and permit tribes to invest and earn interest on the land consolidation funds, providing them more time and money to consolidate fractionated land.

The Cobell Settlement provided for the resolution of individual Indian claims to land and funds held in trust. This settlement called for a one-time payment of $1.9 billion to fund an Interior Department program to consolidate highly fractionated interests of Indian lands into tribal ownership.

Montana is home to some of the most fractionated reservations in the country. Resolving the fractionation problem will greatly improve manageability of land for productive, tribally-led development to produce jobs and revenues and to meet the cultural and social needs of Indian communities.

Montana tribes welcomed Daines' legislation.

"I commend Representative Daines for standing up for Indian self-determination, for recognizing the importance of Tribal involvement in matters affecting Tribal people, and recognizing the federal government's trust responsibility in the implementation of the Department of Interior's Land Buy-Back Program. Run properly, the Buy-Back Program will begin to address the growing problem of fractionalization of Indian land ownership on Reservation's like ours by restoring our tribal land base," A.T. Stafne, Chairman of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation, said.

"The Northern Cheyenne Tribe supports Congressman Daines' Indian Tribal Self-Determination in Land Consolidation Act of 2014 which addresses the major concerns expressed by many tribes in the Rocky Mountain Region and nationwide concerning the Cobell Land Buy-Back program. Allowing Tribes to enter into contracts or compacts to implement the Indian Land Buy-Back program is more reflective of the tenets of Tribal sovereignty and Indian self-determination," Northern Cheyenne President Llevando Fisher said.

As a member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs and the Congressional Native American Caucus, Daines has been a strong advocate for better implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program and improving the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the federal government.

At his request, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing in April entitled "Implementing the Cobell Settlement: Missed Opportunities and Lessons Learned."

During that hearing, Daines called for the Department of Interior to work cooperatively with Montana tribes and address the systemic problems that have led to delays and persistent challenges during the implementation of the Land Buy Back Program. Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribal Councilman Grant Stafne and Fort Belknap Tribal Council President Mark L. Azure also testified during the hearing.

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