OPA

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs expresses her approval that the United States Supreme Court decided Monday, May 13, 1996 not to hear the Katie John case which involves subsistence fishing rights in Alaska.

"This is a great victory for American Indians and Alaska Natives," said Ms. Deer. "Many of our people still depend on subsistence fishing and hunting as a means to provide food for their families. Subsistence living is a culturally based practice and I view it as a fundamental, aboriginal right."

The State of Alaska filed a petition for writ of certiorari requesting relief from a U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit decision authorizing the federal government to include within its subsistence management program certain navigable waters in Alaska where federal reserved water rights exist. Since most subsistence fishing takes place in navigable waters and lakes, the extension of federal management to many of these waters will help ensure protection of subsistence fishing rights for many Alaska Natives.

The case was originally filed by Ms. Katie John, Doris Charles, and others. Katie John is an upper Ahtna Athabaskan Indian from the Village of Mentasta, and Doris Charles is a tribal elder from the same area.

Katie John was denied her rights to fish for salmon at her traditional fishing camp at the confluence of Tanada Creek and the Copper River and sued first the State of Alaska and then the federal government to re-open her subsistence fishery. In the course of the litigation, the Department of the Interior agreed with Katie John that the subsistence priority should extend to those navigable waters. Other Alaska Native organizations, including the state-wide Alaska Federation of Natives, also joined Katie John in the long running litigation.

The State of Alaska initially argued that the federal government has no authority to take over management of subsistence hunting and fishing on federal public lands because it was an area of traditional State management authority. However, the State could not continue to manage in conformance with the federal rural subsistence priority contained in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) after the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that a similar subsistence priority included in State law violated the Alaska Constitution's requirement that fish and wildlife must be managed in common for the benefit of the Alaskans. In recent years, the State has amended its Constitution to bring it back into conformance with the federal rural subsistence priority required by ANILCA.

The Supreme Court's order this week clears the way for the Department to propose new subsistence regulations which will include subsistence fishing in designated navigable waters within the scope of federal subsistence protection. The Department's objective is to have regulations in place by the 1997 fishing season.

"There is a lot of work to be performed between now and the first of next year," said Ms. Deer. "We are currently conducting hearings across Alaska on proposed regulations which would implement the subsistence preference in conformity with the 9th Circuit's decision."

Rising enrollment at Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and a decline in federal funds per student mean that American Indian children will experience such serious problems as fewer teachers and less time in the classroom next fall.

"American Indian children deserve a decent education in accredited classrooms and safe, uncrowded dormitories to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st Century. These outrageous cuts are especially egregious because our schools already are drastically underfunded; says Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Ada Deer.

In FY 1996 Congress did not fund the Indian education increase requested by the BIA to meet the needs of an anticipated five-percent increase in student enrollment in School Year 1996-97. The impact of the FY 1996 cuts on the 187 BIA schools has been delayed until now because this is the time when the schools begin to make staffing decisions for the forthcoming school year. Basically, schools will not have sufficient funds to maintain an adequate teaching staff for the 50,000) Indian children attending BIA schools.

Initial cost-cutting measures include laying off 293 teachers and other school personnel at 16 of the schools the BIA operates in Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah. The Bureau operates 89 schools and funds 98 others that are operated by tribes. "I'm extremely concerned that schools will have to make additional staff cuts as the school year draws closer,” Deer said. "Any unanticipated increase in enrollment will cause more cutbacks. For many of our students who live on remote, isolated reservations with no access to public schools, there is no escape from this disgraceful situation." Other initial cutbacks necessitated by the FY 1996 budget are:

1996-97 School Year Cutbacks for BIA Schools and Dormitories;

• Three schools, including one of the larger high schools, have changed the school hours from eight to six.
• Some schools have shortened their school year from 180 days to 175 days.
• A few schools have indicated that they will have to accommodate new students by combining grades so that students in two grades must share one room with one teacher.
• The Bureau is concerned that it will not be able to provide aides to supervise students in dormitories, especially during the night. The potential for serious safety problems to arise is very great.
• Students may not be able to return home on weekends from dormitories and boarding schools because of the schools' lack of transportation money.
• Evening snacks for dormitory students also will be curtailed.
• Rising gasoline costs and increased lease rates for school buses will be passed on to the schools. The transportation funds will not be sufficient to cover the proposed 10.4-percent increase in lease rates or the 61 percent increase in repairs and maintenance.
• As a result, students and parents may have to drive or walk to more distant bus pickup points, which raises safety concerns. Additionally, student extracurricular activities will be curtailed because of the cost of after-school transportation.

Higher Education and Scholarships

• The Higher Education Scholarship program received a 10 percent reduction in its annual federal funding. This program is on the Tribal Priority Allocation budget line item. More than 1,000 deserving students will lose their only opportunity for higher education.
• The American Indian Graduate Center, which receives the Special Higher Education Grant Funds, was reduced by 50 percent. The Center funded 350 students who were continuing in a degree program. More than 900 students applied for graduate assistance. With the current drastic cut in funding, the center was unable to assist new students and estimates its unmet need at $8 million.

1997 BIA Education Budget

"These cutbacks are attacks on the future of American Indian students,” says Assistant Secretary Deer. "Adequate federal funding for their education is of the utmost importance. We must invest in our young people. President Clinton's FY 1997 Budget supports the Bureau of Indian Affairs' schools.” The 1997 President's budget requests an increase of $43.S million in order to accommodate increasing enrollment.

BIA schools provide one of the primary avenues for reducing future unemployment on reservations. However, it appears that recent Congressional action on next year's budget may put Indian children in even greater jeopardy. Just this week, the House Appropriations Committee made decisions on the FY 1997 spending limits for government-wide programs. The House Committee reduced the allocation for the programs funded in the Interior bill by $900 million, or 7.5 percent below the already reduced 1996 level. A reduction of this size means that it is very unlikely that dollars can be found to fund needed increases for Indian schools. Despite an anticipated 2,000 student increase, reductions below the 1996 level seem likely.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is pleased to announce that on June 3, 1996 the Department of Justice on behalf of the Department of the Interior petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Eighth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals holding that Sections of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, (IRA) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), is unconstitutional (69 F.3d 878).

Section 5 of the IRA provides in part that:

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, to acquire, through purchase, relinquishment, gift, exchange, or assignment, any interest in lands, water rights, or surface rights to lands, within or without existing reservations, including trust or otherwise restricted allotments, whether the allottee be living or deceased, for the purpose of providing land for Indians.

The IRA was enacted to reverse the disastrous massive loss of land suffered by the Indian tribes resulting from the Indian General Allotment Act (24 Stat. 388, (1887)). In the petition for writ of certiorari the Solicitor General for the Department of Justice states "The IRA's 'overriding purpose was to establish machinery whereby Indian tribes would be able to assume a greater degree of self-movement, both politically and economically."' The petition for Certiorari requests that the Supreme Court grant the petition, (1) vacate the holding of the court of appeals, and remanded the case to the district court. It further requests that the district court remand the matter to the Secretary of the Interior for reconsideration of his administrative decision - the placing of the 91 acres of fee land into trust for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, or (2) in the alternative, that the Supreme Court grant plenary review and set the case for briefing and argument. "Approximately nine million acres of land has been taken into trust since the IRA was passed. The declaration that this law is unconstitutional is potentially devastating to the Indian community. It attacks the ability of Indian tribal governments to govern, because it places at issue tribal jurisdiction which involves law enforcement, taxation, land-use regulation, housing, fishing and hunting rights," said Ms. Deer.

"The federal government has a trust responsibility to Indian tribes and mu t protect one of the most basic tribal 'rights," aid Ms. Deer. "American Indians have always had a special connection with the land. American Indians lost approximately 90 million acres of land after the Allotment Act was passed. The IRA was passed specifically to correct this problem and provide a basis for Indian tribal governments to form an economic foundation upon which to become self-sufficient." In 1990 the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe purchased 91 acres of fee land [land which was in private non-Indian ownership] to develop an industrial park. Under Section 5 of the IRA the Tribe requested that the Bureau of Indian Affairs place this land "in trust" for their benefit. The Bureau, following requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations (25 CFR 151), notified the local non-Indian government of the request. On July 13, 1992 the State of South Dakota and City of Oacoma filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Only after the land had been taken into trust, was the issue of the constitutionality of Section 5 of the IRA raised when the State and city filed an amended complaint. The district court ruled that this challenge was without merit. However, the court of appeals reversed the district court's decision which in effect sustained the proposition that Section 5 was unconstitutional.

Calling it "a tremendous step forward in addressing the needs of technologically needy students on remote Indian reservations," Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced today that Microsoft Corporation has contributed over $350,000 in software, computers and cash to Four Directions, a project of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that will electronically link Indian schools using the Internet and provide new technology opportunities to Native American students in eight states.

"Microsoft's donation will bring the power of the Internet to tribal communities that have been geographically and economically isolated," Secretary Babbitt said. "This program will supply rich new resources to the children in these communities, powerful new tools to the teachers in these formerly isolated schools, and new communications opportunities for adults throughout their communities. Yesterday, these eight communities were among the most technologically deprived in America; tomorrow, these communities will have the tools and skills to participate more fully in the information age." Four Directions is a Bureau of Indian Affairs project designed to bring technology to Indian schools. It seeks to expand student access to technology, improve communication among BIA schools, share learning resources and expose the wider community to new technologies, including the Internet.

"We view this as an opportunity to share the latest technology with students who otherwise might have little or no access," said Bill Neukom, Microsoft's Senior Vice President for Law and Corporate Affairs. He added: "Four Directions will help students, teachers, and the broader communities in which they live. At Microsoft, we understand the potential of the personal computer and the Internet - but we also understand that some communities do not have access to these technologies. This partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs is an important part of our efforts to help bridge the gap between 'haves' and 'have-nots' in the information age."

"Every school should have access to the intellectual and cultural resources of the Internet. This technology can help to connect schools with their communities, encourage communication among parents, teachers and students, and assist teachers in sharing resources and best practices," Neukom continued. "Today, students, teachers, librarians and community members can collaborate in new and productive ways. Four Directions is a marvelous example of making those important connections with PC technology." Microsoft will provide software, computers and cash to fund teacher training in eight pilot schools. Project goals include connecting teachers in the pilot schools around the country with one another to share learning resources, lesson plans and advice. Incorporation of Native American themes into curriculum and expanded access and use of technology by Indian students will also be part of the project.

"The Four Directions Project has the potential to transform teaching and learning in schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and those public schools educating American Indian children," Gilbert Sanchez, from the Pueblo of Laguna, lead Local Education Agency for the project, said. "Significant learning will occur when technology, Indian culture, language and subject matter is integrated holistically."

The Four Directions pilot schools are:

• Dilcon Boarding School; Winslow, Arizona
• Ahfachkee Day School; Clewiston, Florida
• Indian Island School; Old Town, Maine
• Hannahville Indian School; Wilson, Michigan
• Fond du Lac Education Division; Cloquet, Minnesota
• Laguna Middle School; Laguna, New Mexico
• Takini School; Howes, South Dakota ·
• Quileute Tribal School; La Push, Washington

Software titles donated to the pilot schools include: Microsoft NT Server, BackOffice Server 1.5, Microsoft Windows95 Upgrade, Microsoft Office Professional, Microsoft Project, Creative Writer, Fine Artist, Encarta96 Encyclopedia, 500 Nations, Art Gallery, Magic School Bus-Oceans, Magic School Bus-Solar System, Magic School Bus-Human Body, Ancient Lands, Dangerous Creatures, Explorapedia: World of Nature, Art Gallery, Automap Road Atlas, Bookshelf, Dinosaurs, Flight Simulator, World of Flight, Composer Collection, Cinemania and Microsoft Money."

As a former educator with a deep attachment to Indian students everywhere, I am very pleased to see Microsoft providing this hardware, software and training for teachers in these eight remote Indian schools," Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada Deer said. "These young people deserve the tools to be able to compete in the 21st century, and I look forward to hearing of their progress working with the Internet and being able to enrich their lives through

The accomplishments of Patrick A. Hayes, Esq., former Area Director of the Albuquerque Area Office will be recognized at the graduation ceremony of the Water Resource and Engineering Surveying Technical Training Programs on August 15, 1996, Hilda Manuel, Deputy Commissioner for Indian Affairs announced today. The Water Resource Technical Training is being held at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico in August 1996 through September 1996.

"Mr. Hayes, while Director, Office of Trust Responsibilities, was instrumental in promoting, developing and instructing the BIA's innovative Water Resource and Engineering Surveying Technical Training Programs," Ms. Manuel said. "Without Pat's commitment and dedication to this initiative, it could not have been the overwhelming success that it is today. In addition, to providing much needed training for Indian tribal governments regarding a very important tribal resource, 100% of the participants complete the program." The first Water Resource program was initiated in 1993. It began with sixteen students selected from a field of 115 applicants. The participants represented fifteen different tribes from a wide cross-section of the United States.

Since 1993 the popularity of this initiative has grown. There have now been 455 applications with a total of 122 students attending and completing the course. The objectives of this training initiative are to build tribal capabilities by providing American Indian individuals with practical skills to deal with physical, environmental, economic, legal, administrative, and cultural aspects of water resource development and management, and to enable the tribes to do their own surveying tasks. What is particularly unique about this training initiative is that it requires abstinence from drugs and alcohol throughout the I-year on-the job training. Graduates have gone on to complete further educational goals and have been promoted to more demanding, more highly paid job opportunities.

Mr. Hayes was born in Webster, South Dakota, on November 26, 1944 and was an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. He began work for the BIA after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government/Political Science in 1966. His BIA career was interrupted by military service (1967 - 1970) and to attend the University of New Mexico, Law School (1971 - 1974).

"Mr. Hayes held many significant, managerial positions for the Bureau and we are very grateful for his untiring work, dedication and contributions," Ms. Manuel said. Some of the positions Mr. Hayes held within the BIA were; Enrollment Coordinator for Alaska Native Enrollment Office, Anchorage, Alaska, Judicial Services Officer, Division Chief for Tribal Government Services, Superintendent, Colorado River Agency, Parker, e Arizona, he entered the Senior Executive Service in 1986, Realty Officer for the Phoenix Area, Phoenix, Arizona, Assistant Area Director for Indian Programs in the Phoenix Area, Deputy to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (Trust and Economic Development), Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Area Director, Billings, Area Director, Albuquerque.

Mr. Hayes, who dedicated his entire professional career to Indian Affairs, is being recognized for his ingenuity and support for the Water Resource and Engineering Surveying Technical Training Programs as well as his tenure and exemplary leadership as the Director, Office of Trust Responsibilities. "Mr. Hayes was truly a good Chief, Indian leader, mentor and friend to many individuals within the Bureau. Pat's loss has been deeply felt at the Bureau. I am sure that the American Indian people he served and his coworkers join me in this expression of our gratitude," Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs said.

PATRICK A. HAYES, Esq., 1944 - 1995

Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced today that the final rule to implement amendments to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act will be effective on August 23. "This rule, developed with tribal governments, will promote Indian self-sufficiency by allowing tribes and tribal organizations to more easily contract from the federal government for services provided to their members," Secretary Babbitt said. President Clinton signed the Self-Determination Contract Reform Act in 1994 which authorized the e Departments of Interior and Health and Human Services to convene a rulemaking committee to negotiate implementing regulations with representatives of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and tribal organizations. The committee included 48 tribal members, 9 Interior representatives and 6 Health and Human Services representatives, the largest rulemaking committee ever convened. The Committee completed its work in June, 1996, and achieved in just over one year consensus on virtually every rule to implement over two billion dollars in self-determination contracts funded by the Departments.

The final rule was published in the Federal Register on June 24, 1996. It standardizes requirements Indian tribes and the Departments must follow in applying for and operating Indian Self-Determination contracts and grants from the Departments of Interior and Health and Human Services.

The tribal co-chairs report on the process noted: "As a result of the rulemaking process, substantial trust and mutual understanding have developed between federal agency representatives and tribal representatives. This is because federal and tribal representatives on the committee have met as equals, reflecting a true government-to-government relationship between separate sovereigns."

The Devil's Lake Sioux Tribe of North Dakota has officially changed its name to SPIRIT LAKE TRIBE, Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced today.

According to the elders of the Tribe, who maintain the oral history of the lake for which the Tribe was named, it was always known to the Sioux as "Spirit Lake." Therefore, for members of the Tribe it has always been considered wrong to refer to the lake as "Devil's Lake."

The Spirit Lake Sioux are related to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Band of Mississippi or Eastern Sioux. This group's ancestral grounds were in Minnesota. The discovery of gold in Montana in 1862 brought a major influx of settlers and gold miners through Minnesota - Sioux country, which resulted in the Minnesota Uprising. Many members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Band migrated west in the wake of this conflict settling in the Fort Totten Area.

In the 1970s the Tribe changed their name to the "Sisseton-Wahpeton of North Dakota." This change was short lived because it caused confusion with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux of South Dakota and was abandoned.

Final approval of the name change was granted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on August 15, 1996. "This brings to a conclusion the dream of many tribal members as well as bringing closure to the memories of those whose grandparents handed down the true meaning of 'Mni Waukan Oyate' (Spirit Lake Family/Relatives)," Delbert E. Brewer, Area Director, Aberdeen Area Office said.

The Spirit Lake Tribe is located in northeast North Dakota. Their address is Spirit Lake Tribe, Sioux Community Center, Fort Totten, ND 58335, (701) 766-4221, fax (605) 226-7446.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada E. Deer signed a preliminary decision in which she proposes to deny Federal recognition of the Duwamish Tribal Organization of Renton, WA, a petitioner for Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe.

"The petitioner failed to meet three of the fundamental criteria contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 25, Section 83.7," Ms. Deer said.

This preliminary decision means that the Washington group would not be eligible for certain rights and benefits accorded tribes that are granted "Federal recognition" or "acknowledgment" and therefore have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) determined that the Duwamish group is an organization of Duwamish descendants that has existed since 1925. While the petitioner's individual members can trace their ancestry back to a historical Duwamish tribe, the petitioner has not existed as a tribal entity continuously since the time of first sustained contact between the historical Duwamish tribe and non-Indians. The petitioner has been identified by external observers as an Indian entity, but only since about 1940. The petitioner does not form, and has not formed, a distinct social or geographical community in western Washington. Its organization has functioned for limited purposes since 1925 and has exercised no meaningful political influence or authority over its members.

A historical Duwamish tribe was described as consisting of the Indians living at the confluence of the Black, Cedar, and Duwamish Rivers south of Lake Washington, as well as along the Green and White Rivers and the eastern shore of Puget Sound in the area of Elliott Bay. A distinct Duwamish community continued to exist in this area until about 1900. The petitioner's organization came into existence in 1925. This Duwamish Tribal Organization has not exercised political influence or authority over its members. No evidence shows that members were involved actively in making decisions for the group or resolving disputes among themselves. The petitioner's current members do not maintain a community that is distinct from the surrounding non-Indian population. The group's geographical dispersion is consistent with other evidence showing that members do not maintain, and have not maintained, significant social contact with each other. Since 1925, the social activities of the petitioner's members with other members, outside the organization's annual meetings, took place within their own extended families, but not outside their own family lines. Identifications made by outside observers of a Duwamish community before 1900 and an organization after 1940 do not identify the same entity and do not link the modern petitioner to the historical tribe as an Indian entity which has continued to exist over time.

The BIA employs historians, anthropologists, and genealogists to research the claims of groups seeking recognition as Indian tribes. Each case is evaluated individually according to the seven mandatory e criteria for Federal acknowledgment. Although revised acknowledgment regulations became effective March 28, 1994, the Duwamish Tribal Organization chose, as provided in 25 CFR 83.3(g) of the revised regulations, to complete their petitioning process under the previous acknowledgment regulations.

Currently, there are 554 federally-recognized American Indian tribes. Tribes recognized through the acknowledgment process within the past year are the Huron Potawatomi of MI and the Jena Band of Choctaws of LA.

Under the regulations, the Duwamish and interested parties have 120 days to comment on the Assistant Secretary's proposed finding that would deny Federal recognition. All comments must be in writing and should be addressed to the Branch of Acknowledgment and Research, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, will appear on ABC's Unity '99 hosted program which is a nationally televised electronic town hall meeting on Affirmative Action. The program is scheduled to be aired on Wednesday, June 12, 1996 which is telecasted from Chicago, on channel 7. This program is replacing ABC's Nightline on the 12th.

The broadcast will take place on WLS-TV (ABC), Channel 7, at 11:30 EDT; 10:30 CDT.

Featured panelists include Jesse Jackson, President, Operation PUSH; Deval Patrick, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; Antonio Monroig; Chair, Republican National Hispanic Assembly; Susan Au Allen, President, Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce; and Karen Narasaki, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium; Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (Menominee)

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs signed a final decision denying recognition of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe. The decision was based on the determination that the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe did not meet one of the mandatory criteria in the Code of Regulations (25 CFR 83.7(e)).

A notice of a Proposed Finding to Decline Recognition was published in the Federal Register on June 8, 1995 (60 FR 30430). A 180-day comment period was provided for public comment. Subsequently, a 60-day period was provided for the Golden Hill Paugussetts to respond to third-party comments resulting from this publication.

This decision is based upon a new analysis of all the information in the record. This includes the information available for the Proposed Finding, the information submitted by the petitioner in its response to the Proposed Finding, evidence and documentation submitted by interested and informed parties during the comment period, the petitioner's response to the third party comments, and new evidence and documentation collected by the BIA staff for evaluation purposes. None of the evidence and information used in this analysis demonstrated that the Golden Hill Paugussetts descended from a historic American Indian tribe.

The petitioner continued to claim ancestry from the historic Paugussett tribe through a single individual, William Sherman, a common ancestor of the entire present membership. Extensive research · by the petitioner, third parties, and the BIA has failed to document, using acceptable genealogical methods, that William Sherman was Paugussett or Indian. The evidence submitted in the Golden Hill Paugussett's response focused on William Sherman's ancestry. No document was submitted or located for the final determination that 0 identified the parents of William Sherman. No document was submitted or found for the final determination that provided sufficient evidence acceptable to the Assistant Secretary that William Sherman was descended from a historical Indian tribe, or had any Indian ancestry.

Therefore, it is determined that the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe has not demonstrated that its membership descends from a historic tribe , or tribes that combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity. For this reason, the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe does not meet the mandatory criterion, which is set out in the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 83.7(e).

There are seven criteria that a petitioner for Federal acknowledgment as a tribe must meet, ensuring that the petitioner has existed continuously as a tribe since first sustained contact with non-Indians. These criteria, found in 25 CFR 83 (a)-(g), call for demonstrating through documentary and other evidence that the group has been identified by outsiders as an Indian community, that it has continuously formed a distinct community with political influence or authority over its members, has provided its governing document, that its members are descended from a historic tribe and are not primarily enrolled in another, already recognized tribe, and the petitioner is not subject to Congressional legislation terminating the Federal relationship.

The Golden Hill Paugussett decision was made under the provisions of the acknowledgment regulations (83.10(e)) which calls for an expedited decision where an initial review demonstrates that the petitioner clearly does not meet the requirements of criterion 83.7(e). Where a petitioner clearly cannot demonstrate that its members descend from a historical Indian tribe, an expedited finding is made based on this single criterion. A full consideration under all seven criteria is not made under these circumstances. This is the first final decision made under the expedited review process. Two proposed decisions have been made under the expedited process, to deny acknowledgment of the Mowa Band of Choctaw and the Yuchi Tribal Organization.

This final decision will be published in the Federal Register. It will become effective 90 days after the date of publication, unless a request for reconsideration is filed with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (BIA) pursuant to 25 CFR 83.11.

Since the beginning of this Administration, 12 tribes have gained Federal acknowledgment status through the administrative process, Congressional recognition or restoration after previous termination. The Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe is only the second petitioner that has failed to meet the criteria for Federal acknowledgment during this Administration.