# San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Homelands Act of 2022

This bill officially creates a reservation for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, a Native American group that has lived in northern Arizona and southern Utah for centuries but never had their own designated homeland. The tribe was officially recognized by the federal government back in 1989, but unlike most federally recognized tribes, they weren't given reservation land at that time. Instead, their ancestral territory ended up within the boundaries of the much larger Navajo Nation reservation, which created ongoing conflicts and made it nearly impossible for the San Juan Southern Paiute to govern themselves or provide basic services to their people.

The bill ratifies a treaty that the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and the Navajo Nation negotiated and signed back in 2000 to resolve this complicated situation. Under this agreement, approximately 5,400 acres of land currently within the Navajo reservation would be set aside exclusively for the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. This land is split into two areas—one in the north and one in the south—and would become the tribe's official reservation. Once the boundaries are officially marked and published in the Federal Register, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe would have full governmental authority over their reservation, meaning they could make their own laws, provide services like housing and healthcare, and manage their own affairs without Navajo Nation oversight.

The bill also addresses water rights, which are crucial in this arid region. The San Juan Southern Paiute would gain rights to water on their new reservation, and the federal government commits to helping them legally establish exactly how much water they're entitled to use. Additionally, the bill requires the government to survey and mark the reservation boundaries within 18 months and to study the possibility of building an access road to help the tribe reach their southern territory. This settlement is designed to end a long legal dispute between the two tribes that had been pending in federal court and to allow both the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute to move forward as separate, self-governing nations living as neighbors.

San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Homelands Act of 2022

O'Halleran, Tom

San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Homelands Act of 2022 This bill approves, ratifies, and confirms a specified treaty entered into by the Navajo Nation and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, thus settling land claims and other disputes. It also proclaims approximately 5,400 acres of land as the San Juan Southern Paiute Reservation to be held in trust as a reservation for the exclusive benefit of the tribe.