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Moran pushes bill to secure Indian Land ownership

By Brian Hagen

09/16/2022

Senator Jerry Moran

(KAIR)--Kansas Republican United States Senator Jerry Moran joined his Democratic counterpart, Jon Tester, of Montana, both members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, in introducing 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.

A release from Moran’s office explains that under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Secretary of the Interior was given authority and guidelines for taking land into trust for Indian Tribes. A 2009 Supreme Court decision 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.

Moran, in the release, says that since the 2009 decision, tribes throughout the country recognized after 1934 have faced uncertainty regarding their lands taken into trust,” adding that short of a full legislative fix, that he would support, Moran says the “bill will assure tribes of the status of their lands already in trust and enable stable economic development going forward.”

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