[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H8077-H8078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SAND CREEK MASSACRE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE STUDY ACT OF 1998

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to 
take from the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 1695) to authorize 
the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility 
of designating the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in the 
State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System, and for other 
purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?

[[Page H8078]]

  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 1695

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Sand Creek Massacre National 
     Historic Site Study Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) on November 29, 1864, Colonel John M. Chivington led a 
     group of 700 armed soldiers to a peaceful Cheyenne village of 
     more than 100 lodges on the Big Sandy, also known as Sand 
     Creek, located within the Territory of Colorado, and in a 
     running fight that ranged several miles upstream along the 
     Big Sandy, slaughtered several hundred Indians in Chief Black 
     Kettle's village, the majority of whom were women and 
     children;
       (2) the incident was quickly recognized as a national 
     disgrace and investigated and condemned by 2 congressional 
     committees and a military commission;
       (3) although the United States admitted guilt and 
     reparations were provided for in article VI of the Treaty of 
     Little Arkansas of October 14, 1865 (14 Stat. 703) between 
     the United States and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of 
     Indians, those treaty obligations remain unfulfilled;
       (4) land at or near the site of the Sand Creek Massacre may 
     be available for purchase from a willing seller; and
       (5) the site is of great significance to the Cheyenne and 
     Arapaho Indian descendants of those who lost their lives at 
     the incident at Sand Creek and to their tribes, and those 
     descendants and tribes deserve the right of open access to 
     visit the site and rights of cultural and historical 
     observance at the site.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior acting through the Director of the National 
     Park Service.
       (2) Site.--The term ``site'' means the Sand Creek massacre 
     site described in section 2.
       (3) Tribes.--The term ``Tribes'' means--
       (A) the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma;
       (B) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe; and
       (C) the Northern Arapaho Tribe.

     SEC. 4. STUDY.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date on 
     which funds are made available for the purpose, the 
     Secretary, in consultation with the Tribes and the State of 
     Colorado, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the 
     House of Representatives a resource study of the site.
       (b) Contents.--The study under subsection (a) shall--
       (1) identify the location and extent of the massacre area 
     and the suitability and feasibility of designating the site 
     as a unit of the National Park System; and
       (2) include cost estimates for any necessary acquisition, 
     development, operation and maintenance, and identification of 
     alternatives for the management, administration, and 
     protection of the area.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this Act.

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, S. 1695, a bill introduced 
by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, will begin the process to protect 
an important part of our western historical heritage--The Sand Creek 
Massacre Site.
  S. 1695 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
resource study of the Sand Creek Massacre Site located in Colorado and 
also determine the feasibility and suitability of designating the site 
as a unit of the National Park System. The study will include cost 
estimates for any necessary acquisitions, development, and operations, 
along with identifying alternatives for the management of the 
historical site.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill which begins the process of 
conducting the resource study of a significant piece of our western 
history.
  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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