T R I B A L N A T I O N S
L A N D
B u y - B a c k P r o g r a m
f o r
www.doi.gov/buybackprogram
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Overview
• Fractionation Background
• Buy-Back Program
· Implementation Phases
· Benefits of Land Consolidation
· Progress and Current Status
· Tribal Involvement
· Landowner Considerations
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Indian Lands Before Allotment
Centennial Map of the United States and Territories Showing the Extent of Public Surveys,
Indian and Military Reservations, U.S. General Land Office (1878)
Fractionation - the result of allotment The Dawes Act (General Allotment Act of 1887)
• Authorized the President
of the United States to
survey Indian tribal land
and divide it into
allotments for individual
Indians.
• Effects of this policy can
still be felt today in the
resulting fractionation of
trust land.
Indian Allotments on the Rosebud Reservation, 1903
(from the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Archives).
Fractionation - a serious problem
facing tribal communities
Original Allotment 100 acres
3rd Generation 1/9
2nd Generation 1/3
4th Generation 1/27
5th Generation 1/81
6th Generation 1/243
Fractionation of a possible allotment of land over six
generations, assuming only three heirs per generation.
• As tracts (or allotments) of
lands are passed down
through generations, they
gain more and more
individual owners.
• Because the number of
owners make it difficult to
use the land, these
allotments often lie idle and
cannot be used for any
beneficial purpose.
Fractionation – Statutory Background
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
• Ends allotment policy. See The Indian Reorganization Act – 75 Years Later: Renewing our Commitment to Restore Tribal Homelands and Promote Self-Determination (2012), Senate Hearing 112–113
Indian Land Consolidation Act of 1983
Pub. L. No. 97-459
Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments of 2000
Pub. L. No. 106-462
American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004
Pub. L. No. 108-374
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What is the Buy-Back Program?
Cobell Settlement Agreement Timeline
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1996
Class-action suit filed - Cobell v.
Babbitt
2009
Settlement Agreement
Dec. 8, 2009
2010
Congress ratifies Claims Resolution
Act of 2010
2012
Final Approval Nov. 24, 2012
What is the Buy-Back Program?
• The Land Buy-Back Program for
Tribal Nations was created to
implement the land
consolidation component of the
Cobell Settlement Agreement.
• The Settlement provided a $1.9
billion fund to purchase
fractionated interests in trust or
restricted land from willing
sellers, at fair market value,
within a 10-year period.
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President Barack Obama and late American Indian Activist
Elouise Cobell.
How does the Program work?
• The Buy-Back Program will purchase
fractional interests in trust or
restricted lands – a tract with more than
one owner.
• Willing sellers can choose to sell some,
all, or none of their fractional land
interests. Participation in the Program is
strictly voluntary.
• Purchased interests will be immediately
held in trust for the tribe with jurisdiction
over the land.
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6th
Generation
1/243
Original Allottee
160 acres
2nd
Generation
1/3
3rd
Generation
1/9
4th
Generation
1/27
5th
Generation
1/81
T R I B E
Tribe
Buy-Back Program Acquisitions
Components of Trust Land Consolidation Fund
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Acquiring Fractional Interests (min. available for payment to owners)
$1,555,000,000
Implementation/Administrative Costs (capped at 15 percent)
$285,000,000
Scholarship Fund (max. available, keyed to interests sold)
$60,000,000
Total $1,900,000,000
Cobell Education Scholarship Fund
• Managed by a Non-Profit
Organization. The Scholarship Fund
will be managed by a third party non-
profit organization (American Indian
College Fund).
• Eligibility. Participation in the Program
is not required for a student to apply to
receive financial assistance.
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For every interest sold, a contribution will be made to
the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund – up to $60 million.
What lands are involved in the Program?
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• Interior holds in trust more than
56 million acres for tribes and
individual American Indians.
• This land is held in more than
200,000 tracts, of which about
93,500 contain fractional
ownership, involving approximately
150 reservations.
• Approximately 243,000 unique
owners spread across the U.S.
• Approximately 90% of the
fractionated lands available to
purchase are in 40 of the 150
locations.
Where can I get fractionation data?
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See Updated
Implementation Plan (2013)
Program involves multiple participants
Collaborative Effort
• The Program involves
collaboration with Interior,
tribes, and individuals - to
reduce the number of
fractional interests in tracts
of trust or restricted lands.
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DOI
Individual Tribe
What are the major phases of the Program?
1. Outreach to advertise the Buy-Back Program, answer questions, find
willing sellers, and get tribal priorities as to what type of fractionated
tracts they wish to have purchased.
2. Land Research to collect data necessary to establish fair market value for
fractionated tracts that might be acquired.
3. Land Valuation to determine the fair market value of tracks where
Interior will offer to buy fractional interests.
4. Land Acquisition to purchase interests in fractionated tracts valued in
phase 3 that individuals would like to voluntarily sell.
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Outreach
• Proactive information sharing and
dialogue with tribes and individual
landowners.
• Outreach promotes understanding
of tribal land use, land
consolidation, and other options.
• Tribes can help perform outreach,
funded by cooperative agreements.
• The goal of outreach is to educate
and inform potential sellers to
enable educated decisions.
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Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation;
Jeanine Gordon and Chelsea Dick, tribal members.
Land Research
OPEN RANGE - IRRIGATED CROP
AGRICULTURAL - DRY CROP
• Collect data necessary to make
fair market value determinations.
• Tract land uses or acreage types,
such as range/grazing, dry
farming, irrigated farming, or
forestry will be noted.
• GIS capabilities are instrumental
to this phase.
Valuation - how are owners compensated
for their land?
• Fair Market Value. Interior is using objective, professional appraisals to determine tract values. The Appraisal Foundation (TAF), the nation’s foremost authority on appraisal standards and qualifications, performed a comprehensive review of Interior’s valuation plan.
• Mass Appraisals. TAF specifically analyzed and concurred with the determination that mass appraisals are the most efficient and cost-effective means to appraise similar, non-complex, vacant lands that have comparable land sales available.
• $75 Base Payment. The Program will also provide landowners with a base payment of $75 per offer, based on estimates for the time and effort required for individual landowners to proceed through acquisition.
• Mineral Interests. $7.50 per acre for mineral interests that have been reviewed and determined to have no current economic value;
• Posting Payments. Funds will be deposited directly into the landowner’s Individual Indian Money (IIM) account.
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Acquisition
• Eligible landowners will be mailed a Purchase Offer
Packet that includes:
• Cover Letter
• Instructions
• Deed
• Purchasable Interest Inventory (PII)
• Map(s)
• Self-Addressed Return Envelope.
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Benefits of Land Consolidation
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• Income Stays Local. Income received from the land is divided to the
extent that many individual owners receive pennies:
about 60% of the 243,000 unique owners of fractionated tracts received
$25 or less in fiscal year 2013.
Money generated from fractionated land often goes off the reservation,
instead of to the Indian communities that need it most.
HEARTH Act (Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal
Homeownership Act) allows tribes to lease restricted lands for residential,
business, public, religious, educational, or recreational purposes without the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior. See Pub. L. No. 112-151 (2012).
• Strengthens Tribal Sovereignty. Increases
ability of tribal governments to make land use
decisions and frees up resources that have
been locked-up as land interests have
fractionated exponentially over time.
Progress Since Final Approval
Program Ramp-up. The Department has focused on establishing procedures, processes, and
the necessary infrastructure to effectively and efficiently implement the Buy-Back Program:
• Communicated with 50+ tribes (28 with jurisdiction over most fractionated reservations).
• Published an initial implementation plan and an update to address consultation with tribes.
• Established capabilities, systems, and relationships to award cooperative agreements,
including cooperative agreement guidance and templates.
• Evaluating and awarding cooperative agreement applications – first was Oglala Sioux Tribe.
• Obtained review of the Program’s appraisal methodology by The Appraisal Foundation.
• Developed capability to create, print, mail, and scan landowner purchase offers.
• Completed parcel mapping for 18 locations.
• Hired 42 full-time employees and gained access to contractor staff.
• Expanded Trust Beneficiary Call Center to answer questions and log “interested sellers.”
• Engaged in five regional consultations and other events (e.g., COLT, GON, ATNI, NCAI, TBIC).
• Established policies, such as “purchase ceilings” on each reservation to ensure that each
affected tribe has the opportunity to benefit from the program and also set minimum
payments for land and mineral interests.
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Current Status
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• First Wave of Offers sent to thousands of owners in Pine Ridge, Makah
and Rosebud.
• Next Wave of Offers for these 3 Reservations are anticipated soon. The
appraisals for the remaining highly fractionated tracts at Makah were
completed on February 14.
• Owner Outreach. Holding pre- and post-offer events. Share owner name and
address information with tribes – see 25 U.S.C.
2216(e).
• Tribal Involvement. Program is currently focusing on the most highly
fractionated locations.
Tribal Involvement
• Cooperative Agreements. Tribes can
help implement the Program through
cooperative agreements - flexible
mechanisms for funding tribal
involvement. These will promote tribal
sovereignty, minimize administrative costs,
and improve overall Program effectiveness
and efficiency.
• Authority. Under the Indian Land
Consolidation Act (ILCA) Amendments
of 2000, the Secretary may enter into
agreements with the tribal government
that exercises jurisdiction over the land
involved. The agreements are not made
pursuant to Pub. L. No. 93-638 - the
Indian Self-Determination and Assistance
Act (ISDEAA), 25 U.S.C.
450 et seq. See
25 U.S.C.
2212(b)(3)(C). 26
• Acquisition Priorities. Tribes have the
opportunity to prioritize the fractional
lands for purchase.
Letters of Interest
• Authorized point of contact
• Acquisition priorities
• Written request for owner name and address information
• Tribal resolution
• Information about mass appraisal track record/experience
• Level of willing sellers
• Current integrated resource management plan
• Land consolidation plan
• Probate code
• Timing considerations
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Open solicitation period for tribal letters of interest and cooperative agreement
applications is through March 14, 2014.
Tribes may want to include the following information in a letter of interest:
Landowner Considerations
• Voluntary. Participation in the Buy-Back Program is voluntary.
• Future Income. If individuals sell, they will no longer receive any
revenue generated from sold fractional interests.
• Other Options. To prevent fractionation, landowners may consider
various estate planning options, including:
1. Wills. Writing a will to direct who will receive fractional interests
2. Transfers. Selling, exchanging, or giving fractional interests to others during
the landowner’s lifetime. If the new owner will not be holding the land in
trust or restricted status, the tribe with jurisdiction over the land will have
the opportunity to acquire the land by paying the new owner fair market
value; and
3. Gift Deeds. Using gift conveyances of trust or restricted property, which
must be approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
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Where can I get more information?
• Website. The Buyback Program Website has resources for both landowners and tribes. Visit www.doi.gov/buybackprogram.
• Landowners. Individuals should call the Trust Beneficiary Call Center (888)-678-6836 to: express their interest in selling, ask questions, or get assistance completing offer packages.
• Tribes. The Program has a small team of tribal advisors, dedicated to working closely and collaboratively with tribal governments to guide implementation on their reservations.
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