Interior expands Land Buy-Back process November 18, 2013 By Kathy Helms Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent WINDOW ROCK — The Department of the Interior is expanding the implementation strategy for the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations following nation-to-nation consultations with tribal leaders. The cooperative agreements would make funds available to tribal governments to implement key aspects of the Buy-Back Program, such as owner outreach and education. Tribes have the opportunity to actively participate in the process, including identifying acquisition priorities, which will improve the program’s effectiveness and efficiency while minimizing administrative costs. “This is a major step forward toward strengthening tribal sovereignty by supporting consolidation of tribal homelands,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell stated in a news release. “We are moving quickly to establish individualized cooperative agreements, which address the specific needs of each tribe and provide resources for tribal communities to implement the program.” The Buy-Back Program was created to implement the land consolidation component of the Cobell Settlement. The settlement provided for a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund to consolidate fractional trust or restricted land interests across Indian Country. The program allows individual owners to receive payments for selling their land. All lands sold will be held in trust for the tribe with jurisdiction. Interior holds about 56 million acres in trust for American Indians. More than 10 million acres are held for individual American Indians and nearly 46 million acres are held for Indian tribes. The Department holds this land in more than 200,000 tracts, of which nearly 94,000 — on about 150 reservations — contain fractional ownership interests available for purchase by the Buy-Back Program. An open solicitation period will be held through March 14, during which tribes with jurisdiction over the most fractionated locations are invited to submit letters of interest or cooperative agreement applications for participation in the program. “We have heard from tribal leaders and individual landowners that they want predictability and transparency on the timing of implementation efforts,” Kevin K. Washburn, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, said. “This open solicitation puts much of the timing in the hands of tribal governments and will allow the program to move on a quicker timeline.”
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 00:32:49 +0000
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