[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E540-E541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE CHEYENNE-ARAPAHO INCIDENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TOM CAMPBELL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 1997

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. Speaker, this past week, I was saddened and angry 
to read of the White House's and Democratic National Committee's 
further crass attempts to sell Presidential access and perks for 
political gain. In this case, the administration reached new lows: 
pressuring political contributions from native American tribes. 
Specifically, it has been revealed that the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of 
Oklahoma gave $107,000 to the Democratic National Committee in the 
expectation of receiving favorable treatment by the White House in a 
land transaction.
  No one needs to be reminded of the sad and tragic history of U.S.-
native American relations. The history of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes 
is an especially tragic one, which makes the latest revelation seem all 
the more insensitive.
  The Cheyenne people are originally from the Great Lakes area, while 
the Arapaho originate in present day Minnesota. By the mid-1800's, a 
portion of the two tribes had migrated to southern Colorado. It was 
there in 1864, at a place called Sand Creek, that the First Colorado 
Cavalry under the command of Col. John M. Chivington, slaughtered about 
150 peaceful Indians, killing men, women, and children 
indiscriminately. Today, the massacre at Sand Creek stands as one of 
the most shameful acts perpetrated by the U.S. Government against its 
own indigenous peoples.
  It's also shameful that today, tribes feel that the only way they can 
be heard in Washington, DC is to buy access. In addition to the 
$107,000 contribution, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes were also 
allegedly told by Vice President Gore's fundraiser, Nathan Landow, that 
they needed to hire him to lobby their cause successfully. It's an 
outrage that the White House political operation thinks nothing of 
focusing their money-raising apparatus upon one of the most 
historically vulnerable minorities in our society. One hundred thousand 
dollars may not seem like a lot of money to big-time contributors, but 
for tribal leaders who are trying to seek economic and cultural self-
determination, the sum could always be better spent on economic 
development and job training to fight unemployment which hovers around 
50 percent on many Indian reservations. On the Cheyenne-Arapaho 
reservation, unemployment stands at 62 percent.
  I don't blame the tribes for their actions. I blame the White House 
and Democratic National Committee for fostering a culture of

[[Page E541]]

greed. The Indian wars may be over, but the looting continues.

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