WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont) – members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs – recently introduced legislation to reaffirm that any land taken into trust by the United States for Indian tribes is federally recognized from the day it was first taken into trust.

Under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) passed in 1934, the Secretary of the Interior was given authority and guidelines for taking land into trust for Indian Tribes. The Supreme Court’s 2009 decision in Carcieri v. Salazar denied the secretary’s authority for tribes who received federal recognition after IRA’s enactment. The senators’ legislation would ensure any land taken into trust after the IRA is still recognized and protected and shall remain in Indian country.

“Since the Carcieri decision, tribes throughout the country recognized after 1934 have faced uncertainty regarding their lands taken into trust,” said Sen. Moran. “Short of a full legislative fix, which I support, this bill will assure tribes of the status of their lands already in trust and enable stable economic development going forward.” 

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