§5362 — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

Creates and runs a Tribal Self-Governance Program inside the Department. The Secretary, through the Office of Self-Governance Director, may choose up to 50 new Indian Tribes each year to join. To be chosen, a tribe must finish a planning phase, pass an official tribal resolution asking to join, and show three fiscal years of financial stability with no major unanswered audit problems. The planning phase must include legal and budget research and tribal planning, training, and organization work. Two or more eligible tribes can join together and be treated as one. A tribe can authorize another tribe or a tribal organization to run programs for it; that authorized group then has the same rights and duties unless the tribe says otherwise. Tribes that are not eligible on their own may combine as a tribal organization if every tribe in the group agrees and the organization or at least one tribe meets eligibility. If a tribe leaves a tribal organization, it can still join on its own if eligible and must get its share of funds and resources for the programs it will run. A leaving tribe can choose to take its funds and enter its own self-determination contract or compact (with certain statutory rules applying), or it can have the organization return the funds to the Secretary. Withdrawals take effect on the date in the tribe’s resolution and agreed to by the parties, or otherwise within 1 year or when the funding agreement ends. Subject to available money, eligible tribes may get grants to plan and to negotiate compacts, but grants are not required to join.

Title 25, §5362

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall establish and carry out a program within the Department to be known as the “Tribal Self-Governance Program”.

(b)(1)(A)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Self-Governance, may select not more than 50 new Indian Tribes per year from those tribes eligible under subsection (c) to participate in self-governance.

(B)On the request of each participating Indian Tribe, 2 or more otherwise eligible Indian Tribes may be treated as a single Indian Tribe for the purpose of participating in self-governance.

(2)If an Indian Tribe authorizes another Indian Tribe or a Tribal organization to plan for or carry out a program on its behalf under this subchapter, the authorized Indian Tribe or Tribal organization shall have the rights and responsibilities of the authorizing Indian Tribe (except as otherwise provided in the authorizing resolution).

(3)Two or more Indian Tribes that are not otherwise eligible under subsection (c) may be treated as a single Indian Tribe for the purpose of participating in self-governance as a Tribal organization if—

(A)each Indian Tribe so requests; and

(B)the Tribal organization itself, or at least one of the Indian Tribes participating in the Tribal organization, is eligible under subsection (c).

(4)(A)An Indian Tribe that withdraws from participation in a Tribal organization, in whole or in part, shall be entitled to participate in self-governance if the Indian Tribe is eligible under subsection (c).

(B)If an Indian Tribe withdraws from participation in a Tribal organization, the Indian Tribe shall be entitled to its Tribal share of funds and resources supporting the programs that the Indian Tribe is entitled to carry out under the compact and funding agreement of the Indian Tribe.

(C)The withdrawal of an Indian Tribe from a Tribal organization shall not affect the eligibility of the Tribal organization to participate in self-governance on behalf of one or more other Indian Tribes, if the Tribal organization still qualifies under subsection (c).

(D)(i)An Indian Tribe may, by Tribal resolution, fully or partially withdraw its Tribal share of any program in a funding agreement from a participating Tribal organization.

(ii)The Indian Tribe shall provide a copy of the Tribal resolution described in clause (i) to the Secretary.

(iii)(I)A withdrawal under clause (i) shall become effective on the date that is specified in the Tribal resolution and mutually agreed upon by the Secretary, the withdrawing Indian Tribe, and the Tribal organization that signed the compact and funding agreement on behalf of the withdrawing Indian Tribe or Tribal organization.

(II)In the absence of a date specified in the resolution, the withdrawal shall become effective on—

(aa)the earlier of—

(AA)1 year after the date of submission of the request; and

(BB)the date on which the funding agreement expires; or

(bb)such date as may be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary, the withdrawing Indian Tribe, and the Tribal organization that signed the compact and funding agreement on behalf of the withdrawing Indian Tribe or Tribal organization.

(E)If an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization eligible to enter into a self-determination contract or a compact or funding agreement fully or partially withdraws from a participating Tribal organization, the withdrawing Indian Tribe—

(i)may elect to enter into a self-determination contract or compact, in which case—

(I)the withdrawing Indian Tribe or Tribal organization shall be entitled to its Tribal share of unexpended funds and resources supporting the programs that the Indian Tribe will be carrying out under its own self-determination contract or compact and funding agreement (calculated on the same basis as the funds were initially allocated to the funding agreement of the Tribal organization); and

(II)the funds referred to in subclause (I) shall be withdrawn by the Secretary from the funding agreement of the Tribal organization and transferred to the withdrawing Indian Tribe, on the condition that section 5321 and 5324(i) of this title, as appropriate, shall apply to the withdrawing Indian Tribe; or

(ii)may elect not to enter into a self-determination contract or compact, in which case all unexpended funds and resources associated with the withdrawing Indian Tribe’s returned programs (calculated on the same basis as the funds were initially allocated to the funding agreement of the Tribal organization) shall be returned by the Tribal organization to the Secretary for operation of the programs included in the withdrawal.

(F)If an Indian Tribe elects to operate all or some programs carried out under a compact or funding agreement under this subchapter through a self-determination contract under subchapter I, at the option of the Indian Tribe, the resulting self-determination contract shall be a mature self-determination contract as long as the Indian Tribe meets the requirements set forth in section 5304(h) of this title.

(c)To be eligible to participate in self-governance, an Indian Tribe shall—

(1)successfully complete the planning phase described in subsection (d);

(2)request participation in self-governance by resolution or other official action by the Tribal governing body; and

(3)demonstrate, for the 3 fiscal years preceding the date on which the Indian Tribe requests participation, financial stability and financial management capability as evidenced by the Indian Tribe having no uncorrected significant and material audit exceptions in the required annual audit of its self-determination or self-governance agreements with any Federal agency.

(d)(1)An Indian Tribe seeking to begin participation in self-governance shall complete a planning phase as provided in this subsection.

(2)The planning phase shall—

(A)be conducted to the satisfaction of the Indian Tribe; and

(B)include—

(i)legal and budgetary research; and

(ii)internal Tribal government planning, training, and organizational preparation.

(e)(1)Subject to the availability of appropriations, an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization that meets the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c) shall be eligible for grants—

(A)to plan for participation in self-governance; and

(B)to negotiate the terms of participation by the Indian Tribe or Tribal organization in self-governance, as set forth in a compact and a funding agreement.

(2)Receipt of a grant under paragraph (1) shall not be a requirement of participation in self-governance.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subchapter I, referred to in subsec. (b)(4)(F), was in the original “title I”, meaning title I of Pub. L. 93–638, known as the Indian Self-Determination Act, which is classified principally to subchapter I (§ 5321 et seq.) of this chapter. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 458bb of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2020—Pub. L. 116–180 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to selection of Indian tribes to participate in Self-Governance. 1996—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 104–208 amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: “In addition to those Indian tribes participating in Self-Governance under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Self-Governance, may select up to 20 new tribes per year from the applicant pool described in subsection (c) of this section to participate in Self-Governance.”

§5362 Tribal Self-governance Program