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wmasbington, 1D1lC 20515

March 26, 2015

The Honorable Sally Jewell
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
Dear Madam Secretary:
We are writing to request your cooperation in evaluating the procedures used for
acknowledging tribal status and the impacts of modifYing the regulations governing such
detenninations. The Department of the Interior has published proposed regulations to modify the
tribal acknowledgment regulations set forth at 25 C.F.R. Part 83. For years, the Part 83
procedures have been criticized as burdensome, time-consuming, confusing, and expensive. In
addition, the procedures are not based on standards or guidelines established by Congress, whose
power to regulate Indian affairs under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution has been
characterized by the Supreme Court as "plenary" and "exclusive." We are concerned that the
Department's proposed rules fail to address many of the issues that have been identified and
could create new problems that lead to unintended and unjustifiable outcomes.
Many of these potential problems would result from proposed changes that relax the
criteria for federal acknowledgement in section 83.7. Several of us have provided comments on
the proposed regulations, either to Department of the Interior officials or directly to you, raising
specific concerns. Many more commenters have identified problems with the proposed
regulations, including a number federally recognized Indian tribes, some of which argue the
proposal undennines the unique status of tribes and their relationship with the United States.
We do not support the sweeping changes that have been proposed to the criteria.
Before making any changes, the federal government must understand the impacts the
proposed changes will have on tribal and non-tribal communities to ensure that any rules the
Department ultimately adopts do not result in flawed decisions. Such impacts may include the
reduction of existing tribal shares of discretionary funding if deficit reduction rules prevent
budget increases necessary to meet new tribes' service needs.

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 States unfamiliar with tribal issues and acknowledgment must also be engaged because
they are likely to be affected by the proposed rules. While the states we represent have been
involved with tribal issues and are very familiar with the acknowledgment process, many other
states have no experience with the regulations the Department proposes to revise, let alone how
to establish sound tribal policies and strong intergovernmental relationships. Failure to engage
those states now will do a disservice to newly acknowledged tribes and undennine investment in
the process the Department ultimately establishes.
To that end, we request the Department to refrain from issuing final regulations until we
have conducted the oversight necessary to evaluate thoroughly the issues associated with
recognition, consider how best to address those issues, and engage further with you and your
staff. We must also ensure that any changes that are made promote fair, accurate, and
transparent decisions.
We would like to meet with you in the next two weeks to discuss how we will coordinate
with the Department as we undertake this Congressional oversight.
Sincerely,

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Chainnan
Committee on Natural Resources

Mike Thompson
Member of Congress
Fifth District of California

Subcommittee on Indian, Insular,
and Alaska Native Affairs

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Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
Second District of Connecticut

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Member of Congress
Fifth District of Connecticut

Cc:

Raul M. Grijalva, Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources
l329 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515