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96-05-24 Executive Order on Protection of Indian Sacred Sites Keywords:
Culture, Environment, Executive-Act, Executive-Order, Government,
Organization, Resource-Management, Social Document-Id:
PDI://OMA.EOP.GOV.US/1996/5/24/6.TEXT.1
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 24, 1996
EXECUTIVE ORDER
INDIAN SACRED SITES
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. Accommodation 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 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 representative of an Indian
religion has informed the agency of the existence of such a site.
Sec. 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 1 of this order, including, where
practicable and appropriate, procedures to ensure reasonable 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
integrity 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 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.
Sec. 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)).
Sec. 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.