25 CFR § 262.5 - Application for permits.

(a) Permits from the BIA shall be issued when an applicant meets the requirements set out in 43 CFR 7.8, and may be conditioned, modified, suspended, or revoked by the Area Director. Area Directors may delegate this authority to Agency Superintendents, but only on a permit-by-permit basis and only to those who have adequate professional support available.

(b) Prospective applicants may obtain details on how to apply for a permit by contacting the Area Director, at BIA Area Offices in: Aberdeen, SD; Albuquerque, NM; Anadarko, OK; Arlington, VA; Billings, MT; Gallup, NM; Juneau, AK; Minneapolis, MN; Muskogee, OK; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; or Sacramento, CA; or by writing to the Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240.

(c) Permit applications proposing the excavation or removal of archaeological resources on Indian lands shall include the following consent documents:

(1) Written permission from the Indian landowner and from the tribe, if any, having jurisdiction over those lands. This must contain such terms and conditions as the landowner or tribe may request be included in the permit. Where the permission is from a tribe, it should either state that no religious or cultural site will be harmed or destroyed by the proposed work or specify terms and conditions that the permit must include in order to safeguard against such harm or destruction.

(i) For lands of Indian tribes, permission must be granted by the tribe.

(ii) For lands of Indian individuals not under tribal jurisdiction, permission must be granted by the owner(s), except as provided in § 262.6.

(iii) For lands of Indian individuals under tribal jurisdiction, permission must be granted by both the owner(s), except as provided in § 262.6, and the tribe having such jurisdiction. Where an applicant is the owner, consent must still be obtained from the tribe.

(iv) Where the ownership of lands of Indian individuals is multiple, permission must be granted by the owners of a majority of interests, except as provided in § 262.6. The same shall apply where the applicant is one of the owners.

(v) Where the terms and conditions a tribe or landowner requests be included in a permit are in conflict with the provisions of this or any other Act, with Federal regulations, or with each other, the Area Director may negotiate with the requestor to eliminate the conflict. If the conflict remains, the permit may not be issued.

(2) Copies of any permits required by tribal law for archaeological work on lands under tribal jurisdiction. This may serve as written consent from the tribe for the purposes of § 262.5(c)(1).

(3) Written agreement by the Indian landowner(s) to release archaeological resources for curation or study, as specified in § 262.8(b).

(d) Permits issued by the BIA shall include the following or similar condition: “Human remains of Indians, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony may not be excavated or removed unless the permittee has obtained the written consent of the Area Director. In order to obtain consent, the permittee shall present to the Area Director written evidence of prior consultation with the appropriate Indian tribe. If the lands containing the remains or objects are tribal lands, the permittee shall first obtain the written consent of the tribe having jurisdiction over the lands.” Determination as to which tribe is the appropriate tribe shall be made in accordance with § 262.8(a). Area Director consent shall be based on the scientific appropriateness of the research objectives and provisions for recovery, recording, and analysis and may, if documented, be oral. This condition may be omitted from the permit when such excavation or removal is proposed, and the requirements of the condition are met, in the permit application.

(e) Information and assistance in contacting Indian tribes and individual Indian landowners for the purpose of requesting the consent documents listed under paragraph (c) of this section or of seeking the consultation and consent required under paragraph (d) of this section may be obtained from the BIA office to which the permit application is submitted.

(f) Contractual agreements with the BIA or Indian tribes and permits issued by Indian tribes may be accepted as support documents for permit applications. They may also double as permit documents, if they demonstrate that the provisions for permit issuance in this part and at 43 CFR part 7 have been met and they are attached to a Department of the Interior permit form. This form must be signed by the Area Director, but need only contain the following or similar statement: “This permit is issued to the person(s) named, and in accordance with the terms and conditions in the attached (contractual agreement/tribal permit).”

(g) Area Directors shall respond to permit applications within 15 working days of receipt.