(a) The re-petition authorization process is available to unsuccessful petitioners denied Federal acknowledgment, subject to the exceptions in paragraph (c) of this section.

(b) Any petitioner that, as of February 14, 2025, has not yet received a final agency decision and is proceeding under the acknowledgment regulations as published in this part, effective March 28, 1994, may remain under those regulations and, if denied under those regulations, may seek authorization to re-petition under this subpart. These petitioners may also choose by April 15, 2025, to proceed instead under the acknowledgment regulations, as published in this part 83, effective July 31, 2015, and to supplement their petitions, and, if the petition is denied, may seek authorization to re-petition under this subpart. Petitioners choosing to proceed under the regulations as published in this part 83, effective July 31, 2015 must notify OFA of their choice in writing by April 15, 2025, in any legible electronic or hardcopy form.

(c) The re-petition authorization process is not available to the following:

(1) Unsuccessful petitioners that submit a re-petition request pursuant to this process, are granted authorization to re-petition, and are denied Federal acknowledgment a second time;

(2) Unsuccessful petitioners that submit a re-petition request pursuant to this process and are denied authorization to re-petition.

An unsuccessful petitioner may re-petition only if AS-IA determines that the petitioner has plausibly alleged one or both of the following:

(a) A change from part 54 of this chapter (as it existed before March 30, 1982) or part 83 (as it existed before July 31, 2015) to this part 83 would, if applied on reconsideration, change the outcome of the previous, negative final determination to positive; and/or

(b) New evidence (i.e., evidence not previously submitted by the petitioner) would, if considered on reconsideration, change the outcome of the previous, negative final determination to positive.

(a) An unsuccessful petitioner denied Federal acknowledgment prior to February 14, 2025, may request authorization to re-petition by submitting a complete request under § 83.50 no later than February 14, 2030.

(b) An unsuccessful petitioner denied Federal acknowledgment after February 14, 2025, may request authorization to re-petition by submitting a complete request under § 83.50 no later than five years after issuance of the negative final determination. However, if the petitioner pursues judicial review of the negative final determination:

(1) The five-year period will be tolled during any period of judicial review, from the date of filed litigation to the date of entry of judgment and expiration of appeal rights for said litigation; and

(2) Upon expiration of the appeal rights, OFA will notify the petitioner and those listed in § 83.51(b)(2) of the resumption of the five-year time limit and the date by which the petitioner must submit a request for re-petitioning.

(a) To initiate the re-petition authorization process, the petitioner must submit to OFA, in any legible electronic or hardcopy form, a re-petition request that includes the following:

(1) A certification, signed and dated by the petitioner's governing body, stating that the submission is the petitioner's official request for authorization to re-petition;

(2) A concise written narrative, with citations to supporting documentation, thoroughly explaining how the petitioner meets the conditions of §§ 83.47 through 83.49; and

(3) Supporting documentation cited in the written narrative and containing specific, detailed evidence that the petitioner meets the conditions of §§ 83.47 through 83.49.

(b) If the re-petition request contains any information that is protectable under Federal law such as the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, the petitioner must provide a redacted version, an unredacted version of the relevant pages, and an explanation of the legal basis for withholding such information from public release. The Department will not publicly release information that is protectable under Federal law, but may release redacted information if not protectable under Federal law.

When OFA receives a re-petition request that satisfies § 83.50, it will do all of the following:

(a) Within 30 days of receipt, acknowledge receipt in writing to the petitioner.

(b) Within 60 days of receipt:

(1) Publish notice of receipt of the re-petition request in the Federal Register and publish the following on the OFA website:

(i) The narrative portion of the re-petition request, as submitted by the petitioner (with any redactions appropriate under § 83.50(b));

(ii) Other portions of the re-petition request, to the extent feasible and allowable under Federal law, except documentation and information protectable from disclosure under Federal law, as identified by the petitioner under § 83.50(b) or by the Department;

(iii) The name, location, and mailing address of the petitioner and other information to identify the entity;

(iv) The date of receipt;

(v) The opportunity for individuals and entities to submit comments and evidence supporting or opposing the petitioner's request for re-petitioning within 120 days of publication of notice of the request; and

(vi) The opportunity for individuals and entities to request to be kept informed of general actions regarding a specific petitioner.

(2) Notify, in writing, the parties entitled to notification of a documented petition under § 83.22(d) and any third parties that participated in an administrative reconsideration or Federal Court appeal concerning the petitioner.

(a) Publication of notice of the request will be followed by a 120-day comment period. During this comment period, any individual or entity may submit the following to OFA to rebut or support the request:

(1) Comments, with citations to and explanations of supporting evidence; and

(2) Evidence cited and explained in the comments.

(b) Any individual or entity that submits comments and evidence to OFA must provide the petitioner with a copy of their submission.

(c) If OFA has received a timely objection and evidence challenging the request, then the petitioner will have 60 days to submit a written response, with citations to and explanations of supporting evidence, and the supporting evidence cited and explained in the response. The Department will not consider additional comments or evidence on the request submitted by individuals or entities during this response period.

(d) After the close of the comment-and-response period, the Department will consider the re-petition request ready for active consideration, and within 30 days of the close of the comment-and-response period, OFA will place the request on the register that OFA maintains under § 83.53(a).

(a) OFA shall maintain and make available on its website a register of re-petition requests that are ready for active consideration.

(b) The order of consideration of re-petition requests shall be determined by the date on which OFA places each request on OFA's register of requests ready for active consideration.

(c) The Department will prioritize review of documented petitions over review of re-petition requests, except that re-petition requests pending on OFA's register for more than two years shall have priority over any subsequently filed documented petitions.

OFA will notify the petitioner and those listed in § 83.51(b)(2) when AS-IA begins review of a re-petition request and will provide the petitioner and those listed in § 83.51(b)(2) with the name, office address, and telephone number of the staff member with primary administrative responsibility for the request.

(a) In any review, AS-IA will consider the re-petition request and evidence submitted by the petitioner, any comments and evidence on the request received during the comment period, and petitioners' responses to comments and evidence received during the response period.

(b) AS-IA may also:

(1) Initiate and consider other research for any purpose relative to analyzing the re-petition request; and

(2) Request and consider timely submitted additional explanations and information from commenting parties to support or supplement their comments on the re-petition request and from the petitioner to support or supplement their responses to comments.

(c) OFA will provide the petitioner with the additional material obtained in paragraph (b) of this section, and provide the petitioner with a 60-day opportunity to respond to the additional material. The additional material and any response by the petitioner will become part of the record.

A petitioner can withdraw its re-petition request at any point in the process and re-submit the request at a later date within the five-year time limit applicable to the petitioner under § 83.49. Upon re-submission, the re-petition request will lose its original place in line and be considered after other re-petition requests awaiting review.

(a) AS-IA will issue a decision within 180 days after OFA notifies the petitioner under § 83.54 that AS-IA has begun review of the request.

(b) The time set out in paragraph (a) of this section will be suspended any time the Department is waiting for a response or additional information from the petitioner.

(a) AS-IA can suspend review of a re-petition request, either conditionally or for a stated period, if there are technical or administrative problems that temporarily preclude continuing review.

(b) Upon resolution of the technical or administrative problems that led to the suspension, the re-petition request will have the same priority for review to the extent possible.

(1) OFA will notify the petitioner and those listed in § 83.51(b)(2) when AS-IA suspends and when AS-IA resumes review of the re-petition request.

(2) Upon the resumption of review, AS-IA will have the full 180 days to issue a decision on the request.

(a) AS-IA's decision will summarize the evidence, reasoning, and analyses that are the basis for the decision regarding whether the petitioner meets the conditions of §§ 83.47 through 83.49.

(b) If AS-IA finds that the petitioner meets the conditions of §§ 83.47 through 83.49, AS-IA will issue a grant of authorization to re-petition.

(c) If AS-IA finds that the petitioner has not met the conditions of §§ 83.47 through 83.49, AS-IA will issue a denial of authorization to re-petition.

In addition to publishing notice of AS-IA's decision in the Federal Register, OFA will:

(a) Provide copies of the decision to the petitioner and those listed in § 83.51(b)(2); and

(b) Publish the decision on the OFA website.

AS-IA's decision under § 83.59 will become effective immediately and is not subject to administrative appeal.

(a) A grant of authorization to re-petition is not a final determination granting or denying acknowledgment as a federally recognized Indian tribe. Instead, it allows the petitioner to proceed through the Federal acknowledgment process by submitting a new documented petition for consideration under subpart C of this part, notwithstanding the Department's previous, negative final determination. A grant of authorization to re-petition is not subject to appeal.

(b) A denial of authorization to re-petition is final for the Department and is a final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 704).

If any portion of this subpart is determined to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the other portions of the subpart remain in effect. For example, if one of the conditions on re-petitioning set forth at §§ 83.47 through 83.49 is held to be invalid, it is the Department's intent that the other conditions remain valid.