[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 106 (Thursday, August 4, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   LITTLE TRAVERSE BAY BANDS OF ODAWA INDIANS AND THE LITTLE BAND OF 
                           OTTAWA INDIANS ACT

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 3, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (S. 1357) to 
     reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationships of the Little 
     Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Little River Band 
     of Ottawa Indians as distinct federally recognized Indian 
     tribes, and for other purposes:

  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, let me correct the record one more time.
  The BIA: There is no law on this issue. It is a regulatory process 
the BIA has set up. Congress passes the laws. We have not passed a law 
to establish a Federal recognition process.
  Let me repeat it again, because I think it is a major hole in the 
gentleman's argument. He is claiming that the BIA is following the law. 
There is no law. It is a regulatory process they change continuously, 
and the problem with the BIA regulatory process is that it does not 
work, and that we have 137 tribes that wish to be recognized, and a 
strong majority are not even being considered. That is why we are here.
  That is why many tribes feel frustrated, especially those that have 
strong cases, and they come to the Congress because we have the 
ability, as the Federal trust responsibility mandator of tribes.
  Now, again, we can talk numbers all we want, but I think the BIA 
experts, historians, in testimony before our committee have admitted 
that the BIA process does not work. The BIA itself in our committee 
admits the process does not work. They know that they do not have the 
resources, the tools.
  They asked us for more money. What they have is a backlog. That is 
why we are here.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. RICHARDSON. I yield to the gentleman from American Samoa.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Chairman, the chairman will also recall at the 
hearing that there was a recognition of the fact that one of the 
problems attending this whole regulatory process was the fact that even 
those working for the recognition process were not even experts in 
their given field, especially if you were a tribe from Alabama, this 
bureaucrat in the BIA does not know anything about the history of the 
Indians whether it be from Alabama or Michigan or other places.
  That is another problem that we were faced with.

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