Presidential Documents
Executive Order 13007 of May 24, 1996
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 in-formed 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 enforce-able 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.
[FR Doc. 96-13597]
Page 26771-26772