Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act

The bill would place specified Tennessee Valley Authority-managed lands and easements on the shores of Tellico Reservoir in Monroe County, Tennessee, into federal trust for the use and benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This includes the Sequoyah Museum property, a support parcel, the Chota and Tanasi memorial properties, and permanent easements for the Chota peninsula and a Chota-Tanasi recreational trail. The land would be used principally to memorialize and interpret Cherokee history and culture, including museum operations, memorials, reinterment of remains, and interpretation of the Trail of Tears. The Tennessee Valley Authority would retain rights to temporarily flood portions of the land, draw down or fluctuate reservoir water levels, and enter the land for river-control and environmental purposes; any future development would require compensating the Authority for lost hydropower capacity. The United States would not be liable for flooding-related damage, and the bill would prohibit gaming on all lands covered.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which would gain trust ownership and management of the museum, memorial, and trail properties; the Tennessee Valley Authority, which retains river-control, flooding, and entry rights over the land; and the Department of the Interior, which is consulted on land transactions and maps.

For the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, trust status would give the tribe formal, protected control over historically significant ancestral sites, including burial grounds and former Cherokee capitals, while the Tennessee Valley Authority retains authority needed to keep operating Tellico Reservoir for flood control and power generation without new liability.

Following passage, the Tennessee Valley Authority would work with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Secretary of the Interior to complete each land transaction, then submit revised maps to the House Natural Resources Committee and Senate Indian Affairs Committee within one year. Before any land is taken into trust, the Authority must complete a hazardous-substance assessment and notify Interior and the tribe of any contamination findings, remediation history, and quantities involved, since the Authority retains sole responsibility for any required environmental cleanup.