Updated 1 hour ago
Last progress December 19, 2025 (2 months ago)
1 meeting related to this legislation
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Last progress January 15, 2025 (1 year ago)
Introduced on January 15, 2025 by Marion Michael Rounds
Places about 40 acres at Wounded Knee into "restricted fee" status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and directs the Secretary of the Interior to complete the necessary administrative steps and assign utility/service rights within 365 days of enactment. The land will be subject to federal Indian‑land rules, must follow the uses and limits in the October 21, 2022 covenant between the two Tribes, remain subject to any existing private or municipal encumbrances, and may not be used for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act per that covenant.
Restricted fee status — A status in which the Tribal land: (A) shall continue to be owned by the Tribes; (B) shall be part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and expressly made subject to the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Oglala Sioux Tribe; (C) shall not be transferred without the consent of Congress and the Tribes; (D) shall not be subject to taxation by a State or local government; and (E) shall not be subject to any provision of law providing for review or approval by the Secretary of the Interior before the Tribes may use the land for any purpose as allowed by the document titled and dated October 21, 2022, “Covenant Between the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.”
Secretary — The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.
Tribal land — The term “Tribal land” means the approximately 40 acres (including the surface and subsurface estate, and mineral estate, and any and all improvements, structures, and personal property on those acres) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala Lakota County, at Rural County Road 4, Wounded Knee, South Dakota, and generally depicted on the map entitled and dated October 26, 2022, which is a segment of the December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee Massacre site (referred to as “Area of Interest” and “Wounded Knee Sacred Site and Memorial Land”).
Tribes — The term “Tribes” means the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation; both tribes are described as constituent tribes of the Great Sioux Nation and as signatories to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 between the United States and the Great Sioux Nation (15 Stat. 635).
Deadline: Not later than 365 days after enactment, the Secretary must complete all actions, including documentation and minor corrections to the survey and legal description of the Tribal land, that are necessary for the Tribal land to be held by the Tribes in restricted fee status.
Primary effect: The Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe gain a formal federal land status (restricted fee) for the specified Wounded Knee parcel, which gives Tribal title protections under federal Indian‑land law while preserving existing encumbrances. Administrative effect: The Department of the Interior (Secretary) must complete title/recording actions and assign utility and service rights within a 365‑day deadline, requiring coordination with local utility providers, county/municipal recorders, and encumbrance holders. Local governments and any private parties who hold existing easements, liens, or municipal encumbrances retain those rights and must continue to be respected; they may need to coordinate with the Secretary and the Tribes on implementation. Economic/gaming impact: The covenant’s prohibition on gaming means the parcel cannot be developed for Indian gaming under IGRA, which limits one pathway for economic development on that acreage. Legal clarity: By defining the conditions of restricted fee status and referencing the covenant, the law narrows future disputes over permissible land uses and cements the relationship among the two Tribes, the Secretary, and third‑party encumbrance holders. Timeline pressure: The 365‑day deadline accelerates Interior’s administrative work, so agencies and local entities will need to prioritize title searches, mapping, and rights assignments to meet the statutory deadline.