[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       HISTORY OF THE CROW PEOPLE

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, last Sunday morning an 
exceptionally distinguished delegation from the Crow Nation in Montana 
began what was to be a long trip to Washington, DC, to take part in a 
ceremony that represented a turning point in the history of the Crow 
people.
  At the outset, the Crow delegation, led by Madame Chair Clara 
WhiteHip Nomee, had difficulty leaving Billings, MT. Then they were 
routed through Des Moines, IA and Omaha, NE. They got stuck in 
Minneapolis, MI. They arrived later than scheduled in Washington: tired 
and frustrated, but not discouraged. They had come to Washington for a 
very special and important reason.
  The honorable delegation from the Crow Nation came to Washington to 
join Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt in signing the Crow 
Settlement Agreement finally resolving the 107th meridian boundary 
dispute.
  The Crow Settlement Agreement settles a century-old dispute that 
deprived the Crow Nation of 36,000 acres of land. This land was 
promised by the Federal Government under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. 
Yet, before the Crow Tribe had the opportunity to begin settling upon 
this land, a surveying error stole away a significant piece of their 
reservation.
  The disputed land is in the southeastern corner of Montana, north of 
the Wyoming border, south of the Yellowstone River. Under the Fort 
Laramie Treaty, the Crow Tribe's eastern boundary was designated as the 
107th meridian. Sixteen years later, the Northern Cheyenne Reservation 
was established with a western boundary as the 107th meridian. The two 
tribes lived as neighbors, sharing a common boundary. But in 1989-91, a 
U.S. surveying team erroneously drew the eastern boundary of the Crow 
Reservation one-fourth mile west of the 107th meridian. The Crow Tribe 
lost 36,000 acres of their tribal lands. This error was not discovered 
until the 1950's.
  Throughout the intervening 60 years, patents to the minerals and 
allotments to these lands were issued to the Northern Cheyenne, Crow, 
and other holders. Almost 13,000 acres of the Crow Tribe's original 
land has been settled by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.
  Boundaries established by treaty constitute a solemn promise to a 
tribe by the U.S. Government. A promise of land to be given to the 
tribe in perpetuity. The land above, and the natural resources below, 
belong to the tribe. No one has the right to take away what is legally 
the Crow's. Yet an administrative error caused significant hardship to 
the Crow Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and all residents of the 
107th meridian strip.

  The Crow Settlement Agreement seeks to reconcile this injustice. By 
returning to the Crow Tribe the land and coal within the strip that has 
not gone out of Federal ownership and compensating the tribe for lands 
and minerals lost forever, the Federal Government is seeking to make 
good on their promise.
  The Crow Settlement Agreement and the act which passed this Congress 
are the products of good faith effort, compromise, and sometimes 
difficult negotiations between the Crow Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne 
Tribe, the State of Montana and the U.S. Government. It is a credit to 
all concerned that an agreement of this importance could receive the 
unanimous endorsement of the Senate when so many critical issues were 
allowed to remain unresolved in the final days of the 103d Congress.
  I applaud the efforts of so many people involved in the successful 
conclusion of this dispute: representatives of the Crow and Northern 
Cheyenne Tribes, the excellent staff of the Senate Indian Affairs 
Committee, and the negotiators on behalf of the Department of the 
Interior. I am honored to have played a role in resolving this issue.
  But no one has worked harder or preserved longer than Madame Chair 
Clara WhiteHip Nomee of the Crow Nation. Her dedication to her people 
and her grace under difficult circumstances is a tribute to her 
leadership. I congratulate her.

                          ____________________