|
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States, in furtherance of Federal
treaties, and in order to protect and preserve Indian religious practices,
it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Accomodation of Sacred Sites.
| (a) |
In managing Federal lands, each executive
branch agency with statutory or administrative responsibility for
the management of Federal lands shall, to the extent practicable,
permitted by law, and not clearly inconsistent with essential agency
functions,
| 1) |
Accommodate access to and ceremonial use
of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners, and |
| 2) |
Avoid adversely affecting the physical
integrity of such sacred sites. Where appropriate, agencies
shall maintain the confidentiality of sacred sites. |
|
| (b) |
For the purposes of this order:
| (i) |
"Federal lands" means any land
or interests in land owned by the United States, including
leasehold interests held by the United States, except Indian
trust lands; |
| (ii) |
"Indian Tribe" means an Indian
or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or
community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to
exist as an Indian Tribe pursuant to Public Law No. 103-454,
108 Stat. 4791, and "Indian " refers to a member of
such an Indian Tribe; and |
| (iii) |
"Sacred site" means any
specific, discrete, narrowly delineated location on Federal
land that is identified by an Indian Tribe, or Indian
individual determined to be an appropriately authoritative
representative of an Indian religion, as sacred by virtue of
its established religious significance to, or ceremonial use
by, an Indian religion; provided that the Tribe or
appropriately authoritative respresentative of an Indian
religion has informed the agency of the existence of such a
site. |
|
Section 2: Procedures.
| (a) |
Each executive branch agency with statutory or
administrative responsibility for the management of Federal lands
shall, as appropriate, promptly implement procedures for the
purposes of carrying out the provisions of section I of this order,
including, wherepracticable and appropriate, procedures to ensure
resonsonable notice is provided of proposed actions or land
management policies that may restrict future access to or ceremonial
use of, or adversely affect the physical intregrity of, sacred
sites. In all actions pursuant to this section, agencies shall
comply with the Executive memorandum of April 29, 1994,
"Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal
Governments." |
| (b) |
Within 1 year of the effective date of this
order, the head of each executive branch agency with statutory or
administrative responsibility for the management of Federal lands
shall report to the President, through the Assistant to the
President for Domestic Policy, on the implementation of this order.
Such reports shall address, among the other things, (i) any changes
necessary to accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian
sacred sites; (ii) any changes necessary to avoid adversely
affecting the physical integrity of Indian sacred sites; and (iii)
procedures implemented or proposed to facilitate consultation with
appropriate Indian Tribes and religious leaders and the expeditious
resolution of disputes relating to agency action on Federal lands
that may adversely affect access to, ceremonial use of, or the
physical integrity of sacred sites. |
Section 3
Nothing in this order shall be construed to require a taking of vested
property interests. Nor shall this order be construed to impair
enforceable rights to use of Federal lands that have been granted to third
parties through final agency action. For purposes of this order,
"agency action" has the same meaning as in the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 (13)).
Section 4
This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the
executive branch and is not intended to, nor does it, create any right,
benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable
at law or equity by any party against the United States, its agencies,
officers, or any person.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
The White House
May 24, 1996
|
