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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Acquisition - Sample Deed

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Acquisition - Sample Inventory

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Acquisition - Sample Inventory

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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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