25 U.S.C. § 3001 : US Code - Section 3001: Definitions

Search 25 U.S.C. § 3001 : US Code - Section 3001: Definitions

For purposes of this chapter, the term -
(1) "burial site" means any natural or prepared physical
location, whether originally below, on, or above the surface of
the earth, into which as a part of the death rite or ceremony of
a culture, individual human remains are deposited.
(2) "cultural affiliation" means that there is a relationship
of shared group identity which can be reasonably traced
historically or prehistorically between a present day Indian
tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and an identifiable earlier
group.
(3) "cultural items" means human remains and -
(A) "associated funerary objects" which shall mean objects
that, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, are
reasonably believed to have been placed with individual human
remains either at the time of death or later, and both the
human remains and associated funerary objects are presently in
the possession or control of a Federal agency or museum, except
that other items exclusively made for burial purposes or to
contain human remains shall be considered as associated
funerary objects.(!1)
(B) "unassociated funerary objects" which shall mean objects
that, as a part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, are
reasonably believed to have been placed with individual human
remains either at the time of death or later, where the remains
are not in the possession or control of the Federal agency or
museum and the objects can be identified by a preponderance of
the evidence as related to specific individuals or families or
to known human remains or, by a preponderance of the evidence,
as having been removed from a specific burial site of an
individual culturally affiliated with a particular Indian
tribe,
(C) "sacred objects" which shall mean specific ceremonial
objects which are needed by traditional Native American
religious leaders for the practice of traditional Native
American religions by their present day adherents, and
(D) "cultural patrimony" which shall mean an object having
ongoing historical, traditional, or cultural importance central
to the Native American group or culture itself, rather than
property owned by an individual Native American, and which,
therefore, cannot be alienated, appropriated, or conveyed by
any individual regardless of whether or not the individual is a
member of the Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization and
such object shall have been considered inalienable by such
Native American group at the time the object was separated from
such group.
(4) "Federal agency" means any department, agency, or
instrumentality of the United States. Such term does not include
the Smithsonian Institution.
(5) "Federal lands" means any land other than tribal lands
which are controlled or owned by the United States, including
lands selected by but not yet conveyed to Alaska Native
Corporations and groups organized pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act of 1971 [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.].
(6) "Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei" means the nonprofit,
Native Hawaiian organization incorporated under the laws of the
State of Hawaii by that name on April 17, 1989, for the purpose
of providing guidance and expertise in decisions dealing with
Native Hawaiian cultural issues, particularly burial issues.
(7) "Indian tribe" means any tribe, band, nation, or other
organized group or community of Indians, including any Alaska
Native village (as defined in, or established pursuant to, the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.]),
which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and
services provided by the United States to Indians because of
their status as Indians.
(8) "museum" means any institution or State or local government
agency (including any institution of higher learning) that
receives Federal funds and has possession of, or control over,
Native American cultural items. Such term does not include the
Smithsonian Institution or any other Federal agency.
(9) "Native American" means of, or relating to, a tribe,
people, or culture that is indigenous to the United States.
(10) "Native Hawaiian" means any individual who is a descendant
of the aboriginal people who, prior to 1778, occupied and
exercised sovereignty in the area that now constitutes the State
of Hawaii.
(11) "Native Hawaiian organization" means any organization
which -
(A) serves and represents the interests of Native Hawaiians,
(B) has as a primary and stated purpose the provision of
services to Native Hawaiians, and
(C) has expertise in Native Hawaiian Affairs, and
shall include the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Hui Malama I Na
Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei.
(12) "Office of Hawaiian Affairs" means the Office of Hawaiian
Affairs established by the constitution of the State of Hawaii.
(13) "right of possession" means possession obtained with the
voluntary consent of an individual or group that had authority of
alienation. The original acquisition of a Native American
unassociated funerary object, sacred object or object of cultural
patrimony from an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization
with the voluntary consent of an individual or group with
authority to alienate such object is deemed to give right of
possession of that object, unless the phrase so defined would, as
applied in section 3005(c) of this title, result in a Fifth
Amendment taking by the United States as determined by the United
States Court of Federal Claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1491 in
which event the "right of possession" shall be as provided under
otherwise applicable property law. The original acquisition of
Native American human remains and associated funerary objects
which were excavated, exhumed, or otherwise obtained with full
knowledge and consent of the next of kin or the official
governing body of the appropriate culturally affiliated Indian
tribe or Native Hawaiian organization is deemed to give right of
possession to those remains.
(14) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior.
(15) "tribal land" means -
(A) all lands within the exterior boundaries of any Indian
reservation;
(B) all dependent Indian communities; (!2)
(C) any lands administered for the benefit of Native
Hawaiians pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920,
and section 4 of Public Law 86-3.