---
title: O.C.G.A. § 44-12-280. Council on American Indian Concerns created; membership; assignment for administrative purposes; terms of office; removal for failure to attend meetings.
collection: code
id: 44-12-280
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 44-12-280 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/44-12-280
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/44-12-280.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/44-12-280/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t44-ch8-17-(v32)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=a600a9b5_0#page=41
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/44-12.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/44-12-264.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/44-12-281.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: PROPERTY / RIGHTS IN PERSONALTY / PROTECTION OF AMERICAN INDIAN HUMAN REMAINS AND BURIAL OBJECTS / COUNCIL ON AMERICAN INDIAN CONCERNS
extraction_warnings:
  - dehyphenation_unverified:participa-tion
---

# O.C.G.A. § 44-12-280. Council on American Indian Concerns created; membership; assignment for administrative purposes; terms of office; removal for failure to attend meetings.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) “Anthropologist” means a physical anthropologist who holds a Ph.D. in physical anthropology with demonstrated experience in on-site identification of human skeletal remains and who is currently active in the profession.

(2) “Archeologist” means any person who:

(A) Is a member of or meets the criteria for membership in the Society of Professional Archaeologists and can demonstrate experience or formal training in the excavation and interpretation of human graves; or

(B) Was employed on July 1, 1992, by the state or by any county or municipal governing authority as an archeologist.

(b) There is created the Council on American Indian Concerns, which shall consist of nine members to be appointed by the Governor. Five members shall be American Indians, with at least one member representing each of the American Indian tribes of Georgia identified in Code Section 44-12-300. Three members shall represent the scientific community and shall include at least one archeologist and one anthropologist; provided, however, that, if no anthropologist can be identified who is willing to serve, then the membership reserved to an anthropologist shall be filled by a person who holds a master’s degree or a higher degree in the field of anthropology and is currently active in the profession. One member shall be selected from the general public at large. All members of the council shall be legal residents of the State of Georgia. The Governor shall consult the tribal groups located in the state recognized by general law, the Human Relations Commission, the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists, the Society for Georgia Archaeology, and the Department of Natural Resources for recommendations before appointing members of the council.

(c) The council is assigned to the Department of Natural Resources for administrative purposes only, as specified in Code Section 50-4-3.

(d) The terms of appointment for members of the council shall be as follows: two American Indians, one scientist, and one representative of the general public shall be appointed for an initial term of three years; two American Indians, one scientist, and one representative of the general public shall be appointed for an initial term of two years; and one scientist shall be appointed for an initial term of one year. The member who represents the general public and who has the least time left in his or her term on July 1, 2002, shall cease to be a member on that date, and a member who is an American Indian shall be appointed to take office on that day for a term of three years. The Governor shall specify the length of the initial term of the councilmembers in their initial appointments. After such initial terms, all councilmembers shall be appointed for terms of three years. Active and continued participation by members of the council is needed. The Governor may remove any member who fails to attend three regularly scheduled consecutive meetings. Councilmembers may succeed themselves.

## History

Code 1981, § 44-12-280, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1790, § 6; Ga. L. 2002, p. 632, § 2; Ga. L. 2017, p. 212, § 1/HB 153; Ga. L. 2024, p. 659, § 1/HB 43, effective July 1, 2024.

## Law Reviews

For article, “Tribal Land, Tribal Territory,” see 56 Ga. L .Rev. 967 (2022).

For note, “To Trust or Not To Trust: Native American Healthcare Improve-ment in the Supreme Court’s Hands,” see 56 Ga. L. Rev. 1281 (2022).

## Amendments

The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, inserted “, with at least one member representing each of the American Indian tribes of Georgia identified in Code Section 44-12-300” at the end of the second sentence in subsection (b).