"Harrison Tsosie of the Navajo Nation doesn�t like Washington bureaucrats telling the tribe how to manage 15 million acres of tribal land held in trust by the federal government.

And now a new federal law and proposed Interior Department policies are changing all the rules governing 56 million acres of trust lands around the country.

Tribal representatives pored through a 2.7-pound binder filled with draft regulations affecting anyone who owns land in Indian Country. The binder only addressed changes brought about by passage of the 2004 American Indian Probate Reform Act. Now a year later, the law is taking effect.

The proposed regulations discussed Wednesday will help make the probate reform act a reality. They�re supposed to be finalized June 20. �I don�t know when we�ve ever done anything when you look at the binder with the drafts in it that extensive at one time,� said Michelle Singer, an Interior Department staff attorney. �It�s huge.� The probate reform act affects land ownership rights for hundreds of tribes across the country and some 245,000 individuals.

Many of the tribal representatives in Portland said the new changes were alarming."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Indians brace for major changes in trust-land rules (The Missoulian 4/3)

Press Release:
DOI Tribal Consultation Meeting On Draft Indian Trust Management Regulations March 29, 2006 (DOI March 23)

Relevant Documents:
Proposed Regulation Changes (Posted by the Inter-Tribal Monitoring Association)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm

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