SETTLEMENT ACT

Consent Decree Arkansas Riverbed Settlement Act.pdf

PUBLIC LAW 107–331—DEC. 13, 2002, arrow down to page 2684

One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two
An Act
TITLE VI--CHEROKEE, CHOCTAW, AND CHICKASAW NATIONS CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT
Sec. 601. Short title.
Sec. 602. Findings.
Sec. 603. Purposes.
Sec. 604. Definitions.
Sec. 605. Settlement and claims; appropriations; allocation of funds.
Sec. 606. Tribal trust funds.
Sec. 607. Attorney fees.
Sec. 608. Release of other tribal claims and filing of claims.
Sec. 609. Effect on claims.

TITLE VI--CHEROKEE, CHOCTAW, AND CHICKASAW NATIONS CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the `Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations Claims Settlement Act'.
SEC. 602. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) It is the policy of the United States to promote tribal self-determination and economic self-sufficiency and to encourage the resolution of disputes over historical claims through mutually agreed-to settlements between Indian Nations and the United States.
(2) There are pending before the United States Court of Federal Claims certain lawsuits against the United States brought by the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations seeking monetary damages for the alleged use and mismanagement of tribal resources along the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma.
(3) The Cherokee Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe with its present tribal headquarters south of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, having adopted its most recent constitution on June 26, 1976, and having entered into various treaties with the United States, including but not limited to the Treaty at Hopewell, executed on November 28, 1785 (7 Stat. 18), and the Treaty at Washington, D.C., executed on July 19, 1866 (14 Stat. 799), has maintained a continuous government-to-government relationship with the United States since the earliest years of the Union.
(4) The Choctaw Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe with its present tribal headquarters in Durant, Oklahoma, having adopted its most recent constitution on July 9, 1983, and having entered into various treaties with the United States of America, including but not limited to the Treaty at Hopewell, executed on January 3, 1786 (7 Stat. 21), and the Treaty at Washington, D.C., executed on April 28, 1866 (7 Stat. 21), has maintained a continuous government-to-government relationship with the United States since the earliest years of the Union.
(5) The Chickasaw Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe with its present tribal headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, having adopted its most recent constitution on August 27, 1983, and having entered into various treaties with the United States of America, including but not limited to the Treaty at Hopewell, executed on January 10, 1786 (7 Stat. 24), and the Treaty at Washington, D.C., executed on April 28, 1866 (7 Stat. 21), has maintained a continuous government-to-government relationship with the United States since the earliest years of the Union.
(6) In the first half of the 19th century, the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations were forcibly removed from their homelands in the southeastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi in the Indian Territory that were ceded to them by the United States. From the `Three Forks' area near present day Muskogee, Oklahoma, downstream to the point of confluence with the Canadian River, the Arkansas River flowed entirely within the territory of the Cherokee Nation. From that point of confluence downstream to the Arkansas territorial line, the Arkansas River formed the boundary between the Cherokee Nation on the left side of the thread of the river and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations on the right.
(7) Pursuant to the Act of April 30, 1906 (34 Stat. 137), tribal property not allotted to individuals or otherwise disposed of, including the bed and banks of the Arkansas River, passed to the United States in trust for the use and benefit of the respective Indian Nations in accordance with their respective interests therein.
(8) For more than 60 years after Oklahoma statehood, the Bureau of Indian Affairs believed that Oklahoma owned the Riverbed from the Arkansas State line to Three Forks, and therefore took no action to protect the Indian Nations' Riverbed resources such as oil, gas, and Dry bed Lands suitable for grazing and agriculture.
(9) Third parties with property near the Arkansas River began to occupy the Indian Nations' Dry bed Lands--lands that were under water at the time of statehood but that are now dry due to changes in the course of the river.
(10) In 1966, the Indian Nations sued the State of Oklahoma to recover their lands. In 1970, the Supreme Court of the United States decided in the case of Choctaw Nation vs. Oklahoma (396 U.S. 620), that the Indian Nations retained title to their respective portions of the Riverbed along the navigable reach of the river.
(11) In 1987, the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of United States vs. Cherokee Nation (480 U.S. 700) decided that the riverbed lands did not gain an exemption from the Federal Government's navigational servitude and that the Cherokee Nation had no right to compensation for damage to its interest by exercise of the Government's servitude.
(12) In 1989, the Indian Nations filed lawsuits against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims (Case Nos. 218-89L and 630-89L), seeking damages for the United States' use and mismanagement of tribal trust resources along the Arkansas River. Those actions are still pending.
(13) In 1997, the United States filed quiet title litigation against individuals occupying some of the Indian Nations' Dry bed Lands. That action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, was dismissed without prejudice on technical grounds.
(14) Much of the Indian Nations' Dry bed Lands have been occupied by a large number of adjacent landowners in Oklahoma. Without Federal legislation, further litigation against thousands of such landowners would be likely and any final resolution of disputes would take many years and entail great expense to the United States, the Indian Nations, and the individuals and entities occupying the Dry bed Lands and would seriously impair long-term economic planning and development for all parties.
(15) The Councils of the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations and the Legislature of the Chickasaw Nation have each enacted tribal resolutions which would, contingent upon the passage of this title and the satisfaction of its terms and in exchange for the moneys appropriated hereunder--
(A) settle and forever release their respective claims against the United States asserted by them in United States Court of Federal Claims Case Nos. 218-89L and 630-89L; and
(B) Forever disclaim any and all right, title, and interest in and to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands, as set forth in those enactments of the respective councils of the Indian Nations.
(16) The resolutions adopted by the respective Councils of the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations each provide that, contingent upon the passage of the settlement legislation and satisfaction of its terms, each Indian Nation agrees to dismiss, release, and forever discharge its claims asserted against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims, Case Nos. 218-89L and 630-89L, and to forever disclaim any right, title, or interest of the Indian Nation in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands, in exchange for the funds appropriated and allocated to the Indian Nation under the provisions of the settlement legislation, which funds the Indian Nation agrees to accept in full satisfaction and settlement of all claims against the United States for the damages sought in the aforementioned claims asserted in the United States Court of Federal Claims, and as full and fair compensation for disclaiming its right, title, and interest in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands.
(17) In those resolutions, each Indian Nation expressly reserved all of its beneficial interest and title to all other Riverbed lands, including minerals, as determined by the Supreme Court in Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma, 397 U.S. 620 (1970), and further reserved any and all right, title, or interest that each Nation may have in and to the water flowing in the Arkansas River and its tributaries.
SEC. 603. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are to resolve all claims that have been or could have been brought by the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations against the United States, and to confirm that the Indian Nations are forever disclaiming any right, title, or interest in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands, which are contiguous to the channel of the Arkansas River as of the date of the enactment of this title in certain townships in eastern Oklahoma.
SEC. 604. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this title, the following definitions apply:
(1) DISCLAIMED DRYBED LANDS- The term `Disclaimed Dry bed Lands' means all Dry bed Lands along the Arkansas River that are located in Township 10 North in Range 24 East, Townships 9 and 10 North in Range 25 East, Township 10 North in Range 26 East, and Townships 10 and 11 North in Range 27 East, in the State of Oklahoma.
(2) DRYBED LANDS- The term `Dry bed Lands' means those lands which, on the date of enactment of this title, lie above and contiguous to the mean high water mark of the Arkansas River in the State of Oklahoma. The term `Dry bed Lands' is intended to have the same meaning as the term `Upland Claim Area' as used by the Bureau of Land Management Cadastral Survey Geographic Team in its preliminary survey of the Arkansas River. The term `Dry bed Lands' includes any lands so identified in the `Holway study.'
(3) INDIAN NATION; INDIAN NATIONS- The term `Indian Nation' means the Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, or Chickasaw Nation, and the term `Indian Nations' means all 3 tribes collectively.
(4) RIVERBED- The term `Riverbed' means the Dry bed Lands and the Wet bed Lands and includes all minerals therein.
(5) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(6) WETBED LANDS- The term `Wet bed Lands' means those Riverbed lands which lie below the mean high water mark of the Arkansas River in the State of Oklahoma as of the date of the enactment of this title, exclusive of the Dry bed Lands. The term `Wet bed Lands' is intended to have the same meaning as the term `Present Channel Claim Areas' as utilized by the Bureau of Land Management Cadastral Survey Geographic Team in its preliminary survey of the Arkansas River.
SEC. 605. SETTLEMENT AND CLAIMS; APPROPRIATIONS; ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.
(a) EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS- Pursuant to their respective tribal resolutions, and in exchange for the benefits conferred under this title, the Indian Nations shall, on the date of enactment of this title, enter into a consent decree with the United States that waives, releases, and dismisses all the claims they have asserted or could have asserted in their cases numbered 218-89L and 630-89L pending in the United States Court of Federal Claims against the United States, including but not limited to claims arising out of any and all of the Indian Nations' interests in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands and arising out of construction, maintenance and operation of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation Way. The Indian Nations and the United States shall lodge the consent decree with the Court of Federal Claims within 30 days of the enactment of this title, and shall move for entry of the consent decree at such time as all appropriations by Congress pursuant to the authority of this title have been made and deposited into the appropriate tribal trust fund account of the Indian Nations as described in section 606. Upon entry of the consent decree, all the Indian Nations' claims and all their past, present, and future right, title, and interest to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands, shall be deemed extinguished. No claims may be asserted in the future against the United States pursuant to sections 1491, 1346(a)(2), or 1505 of title 28, United States Code, for actions taken or failed to have been taken by the United States for events occurring prior to the date of the extinguishment of claims with respect to the Riverbed.
(b) RELEASE OF TRIBAL CLAIMS TO CERTAIN DRYBED LANDS-
(1) IN GENERAL- Upon the deposit of all funds authorized for appropriation under subsection (c) for an Indian Nation into the appropriate trust fund account described in section 606--
(A) all claims now existing or which may arise in the future with respect to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands and all right, title, and interest that the Indian Nations and the United States as trustee on behalf of the Indian Nation may have to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands, shall be deemed extinguished;
(B) any interest of the Indian Nations or the United States as trustee on their behalf in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands shall further be extinguished pursuant to the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790, Act of July 22, 1790 (ch. 33, 1 Stat. 137), and all subsequent amendments thereto (as codified at 25 U.S.C. 177);
(C) to the extent parties other than the Indian Nations have transferred interests in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands in violation of the Trade and Intercourse Act, Congress does hereby approve and ratify such transfers of interests in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands to the extent that such transfers otherwise are valid under law; and
(D) the Secretary is authorized to execute an appropriate document citing this title, suitable for filing with the county clerks, or such other county official as appropriate, of those counties wherein the foregoing described lands are located, disclaiming any tribal or Federal interest on behalf of the Indian Nations in such Disclaimed Dry bed Lands. The Secretary is authorized to file with the counties a plat or map of the disclaimed lands should the Secretary determine that such filing will clarify the extent of lands disclaimed. Such a plat or map may be filed regardless of whether the map or plat has been previously approved for filing, whether or not the map or plat has been filed, and regardless of whether the map or plat constitutes a final determination by the Secretary of the extent of the Indian Nations' original claim to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands. The disclaimer filed by the United States shall constitute a disclaimer of the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands for purposes of the Trade and Intercourse Act (25 U.S.C. 177).
(2) SPECIAL PROVISIONS- Notwithstanding any provision of this title--
(A) the Indian Nations do not relinquish any right, title, or interest in any lands which constitute the Wet bed Lands subject to the navigational servitude exercised by the United States on the Wet bed Lands. By virtue of the exercise of the navigational servitude, the United States shall not be liable to the Indian Nations for any loss they may have related to the minerals in the Wet bed Lands;
(B) no provision of this title shall be construed to extinguish or convey any water rights of the Indian Nations in the Arkansas River or any other stream or the beneficial interests or title of any of the Indian Nations in and to lands held in trust by the United States on the date of enactment of this title which lie above or below the mean high water mark of the Arkansas River, except for the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands; and
(C) The Indian Nations do not relinquish any right, title, or interest in any lands or minerals of certain unallotted tracts which are identified in the official records of the Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs. The disclaimer to be filed by the Secretary of the Interior under section 605(b) (1) of this title shall reflect the legal description of the unallotted tracts retained by the Nations.
(3) SETOFF- In the event the Court of Federal Claims does not enter the consent decree as set forth in subsection (a), the United States shall be entitled to setoff against any claims of the Indian Nations as set forth in subsection (a), any funds transferred to the Indian Nations pursuant to section 606, and any interest accrued thereon up to the date of setoff.
(4) QUIET TITLE ACTIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the United States nor any department of the United States nor the Indian Nations shall be made parties to any quiet title lawsuit or other lawsuit to determine ownership of or an interest in the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands initiated by any private person or private entity after execution of the disclaimer set out in section 605(b) (1). The United States will have no obligation to undertake any future quiet title actions or actions for the recovery of lands or funds relating to any Dry bed Lands retained by the Indian Nation or Indian Nations under this title, including any lands which are Wet bed Lands on the date of enactment of this title, but which subsequently lie above the mean high water mark of the Arkansas River and the failure or declination to initiate any quiet title action or to manage any such Dry bed Lands shall not constitute a breach of trust by the United States or be compensable to the Indian Nation or Indian Nations in any manner.
(5) LAND TO BE CONVEYED IN FEE- To the extent that the United States determines that it is able to effectively maintain the McClellan-Kerr Navigation Way without retaining title to lands above the high water mark of the Arkansas River as of the date of enactment of this title, said lands, after being declared surplus, shall be conveyed in fee to the Indian Nation within whose boundary the land is located. The United States shall not be obligated to accept such property in trust.
(C) AUTHORIZATION FOR SETTLEMENT APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated an aggregate sum of $40,000,000 as follows:
(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
(2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
(3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
(4) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
(d) ALLOCATION AND DEPOSIT OF FUNDS- After payment pursuant to section 607, the remaining funds authorized for appropriation under subsection (c) shall be allocated among the Indian Nations as follows:
(1) 50 percent to be deposited into the trust fund account established under section 606 for the Cherokee Nation.
(2) 37.5 percent to be deposited into the trust fund account established under section 606 for the Choctaw Nation.
(3) 12.5 percent to be deposited into the trust fund account established under section 606 for the Chickasaw Nation.
SEC. 606. TRIBAL TRUST FUNDS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT, PURPOSE, AND MANAGEMENT OF TRUST FUNDS-
(1) ESTABLISHMENT- There are hereby established in the United States Treasury 3 separate tribal trust fund accounts for the benefit of each of the Indian Nations, respectively, for the purpose of receiving all appropriations made pursuant to section 605(c), and allocated pursuant to section 605(d).
(2) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS IN TRUST FUND ACCOUNTS- Amounts in the tribal trust fund accounts established by this section shall be available to the Secretary for management and investment on behalf of the Indian Nations and distribution to the Indian Nations in accordance with this title. Funds made available from the tribal trust funds under this section shall be available without fiscal year limitation.
(b) MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS-
(1) LAND ACQUISITION-
(A) TRUST LAND STATUS PURSUANT TO REGULATIONS- The funds appropriated and allocated to the Indian Nations pursuant to sections 205 (c) and (d), and deposited into trust fund accounts pursuant to section 606(a), together with any interest earned thereon, may be used for the acquisition of land by the Indian Nations. The Secretary may accept such lands into trust for the beneficiary Indian Nation pursuant to the authority provided in section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 465) and in accordance with the Secretary's trust land acquisition regulations at part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, in effect at the time of the acquisition, except for those acquisitions covered by paragraph (1) (B).
(B) REQUIRED TRUST LAND STATUS- Any such trust land acquisitions on behalf of the Cherokee Nation shall be mandatory if the land proposed to be acquired is located within Township 12 North, Range 21 East, in Sequoyah County, Township 11 North, Range 18 East, in McIntosh County, Townships 11 and 12 North, Range 19 East, or Township 12 North, Range 20 East, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, and not within the limits of any incorporated municipality as of January 1, 2002, if--
(I) the land proposed to be acquired meets the Department of the Interior's minimum environmental standards and requirements for real estate acquisitions set forth in 602 DM 2.6, or any similar successor standards or requirements for real estate acquisitions in effect on the date of acquisition; and
(ii) The title to such land meets applicable Federal title standards in effect on the date of the acquisition.
(C) OTHER EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS- the Indian Nations may elect to expend all or a portion of the funds deposited into its trust account for any other purposes authorized under paragraph (2).
(2) INVESTMENT OF TRUST FUNDS; NO PER CAPITA PAYMENT-
(A) NO PER CAPITA PAYMENTS- No money received by the Indian Nations hereunder may be used for any per capita payment.
(B) INVESTMENT BY SECRETARY- Except as provided in this section and section 607, the principal of such funds deposited into the accounts established hereunder and any interest earned thereon shall be invested by the Secretary in accordance with current laws and regulations for the investing of tribal trust funds.
(C) USE OF PRINCIPAL FUNDS- The principal amounts of said funds and any amounts earned thereon shall be made available to the Indian Nation for which the account was established for expenditure for purposes which may include construction or repair of health care facilities, law enforcement, cultural or other educational activities, economic development, social services, and land acquisition. Land acquisition using such funds shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (b) and (d).
(3) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS- The Secretary shall disburse the funds from a trust account established under this section pursuant to a budget adopted by the Council or Legislature of the Indian Nation setting forth the amount and an intended use of such funds.
(4) ADDITIONAL RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS- None of the funds made available under this title may be allocated or otherwise assigned to authorized purposes of the Arkansas River Multipurpose Project as authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1946, as amended by the Flood Control Act of 1948 and the Flood Control Act of 1950.
SEC. 607. ATTORNEY FEES.
(a) PAYMENT- At the time the funds are paid to the Indian Nations, from funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 605(c), the Secretary shall pay to the Indian Nations' attorneys those fees provided for in the individual tribal attorney fee contracts as approved by the respective Indian Nations.
(b) LIMITATIONS- Notwithstanding subsection (a), the total fees payable to attorneys under such contracts with an Indian Nation shall not exceed 10 percent of that Indian Nation's allocation of funds appropriated under section 605(c).
SEC. 608. RELEASE OF OTHER TRIBAL CLAIMS AND FILING OF CLAIMS.
(a) EXTINGUISHMENT OF OTHER TRIBAL CLAIMS-
(1) IN GENERAL- As of the date of enactment of this title--
(A) all right, title, and interest of any Indian nation or tribe other than any Indian Nation defined in section 604 (referred to in this section and section 609 as a `claimant tribe') in or to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands, and any such right, title, or interest held by the United States on behalf of such a claimant tribe, shall be considered to be extinguished in accordance with section 177 of title 25, United States Code (section 2116 of the Revised Statutes);
(B) if any party other than a claimant tribe holds transferred interests in or to the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands in violation of section 177 of title 25, United States Code (section 2116 of the Revised Statutes), Congress approves and ratifies those transfers of interests to the extent that the transfers are in accordance with other applicable law; and
(C) The documents described in section 605(b) (1) (D) shall serve to identify the geographic scope of the interests extinguished by subparagraph (A).
(2) QUIET TITLE ACTIONS-
(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the date of enactment of this title, neither the United States (or any department or agency of the United States) nor any Indian Nation shall be included as a party to any civil action brought by any private person or private entity to quiet title to, or determine ownership of an interest in or to, the Disclaimed Dry bed Lands.
(B) FUTURE ACTIONS- As of the date of enactment of this title, the United States shall have no obligation to bring any civil action to quiet title to, or to recover any land or funds relating to, the Dry bed Lands (including any lands that are Wet bed Lands as of the date of enactment of this title but that are located at any time after that date above the mean high water mark of the Arkansas River).
(C) NO BREACH OF TRUST- The failure or declination by the United States to initiate any civil action to quiet title to or manage any dry bed Lands under this paragraph shall not--
(I) constitute a breach of trust by the United States; or
(ii) Be compensable to a claimant tribe in any manner.
(b) CLAIMS OF OTHER INDIAN TRIBES-
(1) LIMITED PERIOD FOR FILING CLAIMS-
(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this title, any claimant tribe that claims that any title, interest, or entitlement held by the claimant tribe has been extinguished by operation of section 605(a) or section 608(a) may file a claim against the United States relating to the extinguishment in the United States Court of Federal Claims.
(B) FAILURE TO FILE- After the date described in subparagraph (A), a claimant tribe described in that subparagraph shall be barred from filing any claim described in that subparagraph.
(2) SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT-
(A) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established in the Treasury, in addition to the accounts established by section 606(a), an interest-bearing special holding account for the benefit of the Indian Nations.
(B) DEPOSITS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this title or any other law, of any funds that would otherwise be deposited in a tribal trust account established by section 606(a), 10 percent shall--
(I) be deposited in the special holding account established by subparagraph (A); and
(ii) Be held in that account for distribution under paragraph (3).
(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS-
(A) IN GENERAL- Funds deposited in the special holding account established by paragraph (2) (A) shall be distributed in accordance with subparagraphs (B) through (D).
(B) CLAIM FILED- If a claim under paragraph (1) (A) is filed by the deadline specified in that paragraph, on final adjudication of that claim--
(I) if the final judgment awards to a claimant an amount that does not exceed the amount of funds in the special holding account under paragraph (2) attributable to the Indian Nation from the allocation of which under section 605(d) the funds in the special holding account are derived--
(I) that amount shall be distributed from the special holding account to the claimant tribe that filed the claim; and
(II) any remaining amount in the special holding account attributable to the claim shall be transferred to the appropriate tribal trust account for the Indian Nation established by section 606(a); and
(ii) if the final judgment awards to a claimant an amount that exceeds the amount of funds in the special holding account attributable to the Indian Nation from the allocation of which under section 605(d) the funds in the special holding account are derived--
(I) the balance of funds in the special holding account attributable to the Indian Nation shall be distributed to the claimant tribe that filed the claim; and
(II) Payment of the remainder of the judgment amount awarded to the claimant tribe shall be made from the permanent judgment appropriation established pursuant to section 1304 of title 31, United States Code.
(C) NO CLAIMS FILED- If no claims under paragraph (1) (A) are filed by the deadline specified in that paragraph--
(I) any funds held in the special holding account under paragraph (2) and attributed to that Indian Nation shall be deposited in the appropriate tribal trust account established by section 6(a); and
(ii) After the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this title, paragraph (2) (B) shall not apply to appropriations attributed to that Indian Nation.
(C) DECLARATION WITH RESPECT TO SCOPE OF RIGHTS, TITLE, and AND INTERESTS- Congress declares that--
(1) Subsection (b) is intended only to establish a process by which alleged claims may be resolved; and
(2) Nothing in this section acknowledges, enhances, or establishes any prior right, title, or interest of any claimant tribe in or to the Arkansas Riverbed.
SEC. 609. EFFECT ON CLAIMS.
This title shall not be construed to resolve any right, title, or interest of any Indian nation or of any claimant tribe, except their past, present, or future claims relating to right, title, or interest in or to the Riverbed and the obligations and liabilities of the United States thereto.
TITLE VII--SEMINOLE TRIBE
SEC. 701. APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED VALIDATING CERTAIN LAND TRANSACTIONS.
(a) TRANSACTIONS- The Seminole Tribe of Florida may mortgage, lease, sell, convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer all or any part of any interest in any real property that--
(1) Was held by the Tribe on September 1, 2002; and
(2) Is not held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
(b) NO FURTHER APPROVAL REQUIRED- Transactions under subsection (a) shall be valid without further approval, ratification, or authorization by the United States.
(c) TRUST LAND NOT AFFECTED- Nothing in this section is intended or shall be construed to--
(1) authorize the Seminole Tribe of Florida to mortgage, lease, sell, convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer all or any part of an interest in any real property that is held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe; or
(2) Affect the operation of any law governing mortgaging, leasing, selling, conveying, warranting, or otherwise transferring any interest in such trust land.