Jay Daniels: BIA rule addresses land-into-trust appeal process

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs (ASIA), Kevin K. Washburn, issued for public comment a proposed rule designed to demonstrate the Administration’s commitment to restoring tribal homelands and furthering economic development on Indian reservations. The proposed rule is meant to provide for greater notice of land-into-trust decisions and clarify the process for judicial review depending on whether the land is taken into trust by the ASIA, or by an official of the BIA.

All BIA trust acquisition decisions would ensure that interested parties have adequate notice of the action and must clarify the requirement that exhaustion of administrative remedies within the Department is necessary to seek judicial review. This will prevent interested parties from filing in court before they exhaust the Department of Interior's administrative procedures act.

The principal purpose of the proposed rule is to give tribes assurance that they can develop lands acquired in trust for purposes such as housing, schools and economic development, said the ASIA. If parties do not appeal the decision within the administrative appeal period, tribes can begin development without fear that the decision will be later overturned in court action.