[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR1104.6]

[Page 377-378]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                      MEXICO, UNITED STATES SECTION
 
PART 1104_PROTECTION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1104.6  Notification to Indian tribes of possible harm to, or 

destruction of, sites on public lands having religious or cultural 
importance.

    (a) If the issuance of a permit under this part may result in harm 
to, or destruction of, any Indian tribal religious or cultural site on 
public lands, as determined by the Commissioner, at least 30 days before 
issuing such a permit the Commissioner shall notify any Indian tribe 
which may consider the site as having religious or cultural importance. 
Such notice shall not be deemed a disclosure to the public for purposes 
of section 9 of the Act.
    (1) Notice by the Commissioner to any Indian tribe shall be sent to 
the chief executive officer or other designated official of the tribe. 
Indian tribes are encouraged to designate a tribal official to be the 
focal point for any notification and discussion between the tribe and 
the Commissioner.
    (2) The Commissioner may provide notice to any other Native American 
group that is known by the Commissioner to consider sites potentially 
affected as being of religious or cultural importance.
    (3) Upon request during the 30-day period, the Commissioner may meet 
with official representatives of any Indian tribe or group to discuss 
their interests, including ways to avoid or mitigate potential harm or 
destruction such as excluding sites from the permit area. Any mitigation 
measures which are adopted shall be incorporated into the terms and 
conditions of the permit under Sec. 1104.8.
    (4) When the Commissioner determines that a permit applied for under 
this part must be issued immediately because of an imminent threat of 
loss or destruction of an archaeological resource, the Commissioner 
shall so notify the appropriate tribe.
    (b)(1) In order to identify sites of religious or cultural 
importance, the Commissioner shall seek to identify all Indian tribes 
having aboriginal or historic ties to the lands under the Commissioner's 
jurisdiction and seek to determine, from the chief executive officer or 
other designated official of any such tribe, the location and nature of 
specific sites of religious or cultural importance so that such 
information may be on file for land management purposes. Information on 
site eligible for or included in the National Register of Historic 
Places may be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to section 304 of 
the Act of October 15, 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470w-3).
    (2) If the Commissioner becomes aware of a Native American group 
that is not an Indian tribe as defined in this part but has aboriginal 
or historic ties

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to public lands under the Commissioner's jurisdiction, the Commissioner 
may seek to communicate with official representatives of that group to 
obtain information on sites they may consider to be of religious or 
cultural importance.
    (3) The Commissioner may enter into agreement with any Indian tribe 
or other Native American group for determining locations for which such 
tribe or group wishes to receive notice under this section.