[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 20 (Thursday, February 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1258-S1259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 366. A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate 
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


         camino real de tierra adentro national historic trail

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill 
to amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de 
Tierra Adentro as a National Historic Trail. Senator Domenici is once 
again a cosponsor of this legislation which enjoyed bipartisan support 
in both the Senate and in the House in the last Congress. I want to 
thank Senator Domenici for his continued support of this bill.
  While we passed this bill last year in the Senate, it appeared that 
there just wasn t enough time for the House to go through its process 
on the bill at the end of the 105th Congress. My hope is that we will 
be able to move this bill through the Senate quickly this year and that 
the House will pass it as well.
  While this legislation is important to my home state of New Mexico, 
it also contributes to the national dialogue on the history of this 
country and who we are as a people. In history classes across the 
country, children learn about the establishment of European settlements 
on the East Coast, and the east to west migration which occurred under 
the banner of Manifest Destiny. However, the story of the northward 
exploration and settlement of this country by the Spanish is often 
overlooked. This legislation recognizes this important chapter in 
American history.
  In the 16th century, building upon a network of trade routes used by 
the indigenous Pueblos along the Rio Grande, Spanish explorers 
established a migration route into the interior of the continent which 
they called ``El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro'', the Royal Road of the 
Interior. In 1598, almost a decade before the first English colonists 
landed at Jamestown, Virginia, Don Juan de Onate led a Spanish 
expedition which established the northern portion of El Camino Real 
which became the main route for communication and trade between the 
colonial Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial 
capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros, San Gabriel and then Santa Fe, 
New Mexico.
  For the next 223 years, until 1821, El Camino Real facilitated the 
exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement, religious conversion, 
and military occupation of the Spanish colonial borderlands. In the 
17th century, caravans of wagons and livestock struggled for months to 
cross the desert and bring supplies up El Camino Real to missions, 
mining towns and settlements in New Mexico. As with later Anglo 
settlers who travelled from St. Louis to California during the 1800s, 
the Spanish settlers faced very harsh conditions moving into what would 
become the American Southwest. On one section known as the Jornada del 
Muerto, or Journey of Death, they traveled for 90 miles without water, 
shelter, or firewood.
  The Spanish influence from those persevering colonists can still be 
seen today in the ethnic and cultural traditions of the southwestern 
United States.
  As we enter the 21st century, it's essential that we embrace the 
diversity of people and cultures that make up our country. It is the 
source of our dynamism and strength. The inclusion of this trail into 
the National Historic Trail system is an important step towards 
advancing our understanding of our rich cultural history.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 366

       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 ``El Camino Real de Tierra 
     Adentro National Historic Trail Act.''

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of the 
     Interior), served as the primary route between the colonial 
     Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish provincial 
     capitals at San Juan de Los Caballeros (1598-1600), San 
     Gabriel (1600-1609) and then Santa Fe (1610-1821).
       (2) The portion of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro that 
     resided in what is now the United States extended between El 
     Paso, Texas and present San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, a 
     distance of 404 miles;
       (3) El Camino Real is a symbol of the cultural interaction 
     between nations and ethnic groups and of the commercial 
     exchange that made possible the development and growth of the 
     borderland;

[[Page S1259]]

       (4) American Indian groups, especially the Pueblo Indians 
     of the Rio Grande, developed trails for trade long before 
     Europeans arrived;
       (5) In 1598, Juan de Onate led a Spanish military 
     expedition along those trails to establish the northern 
     portion of El Camino Real;
       (6) During the Mexican National Period and part of the U.S. 
     Territorial Period, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro 
     facilitated the emigration of people to New Mexico and other 
     areas that would become the United States;
       (7) The exploration, conquest, colonization, settlement, 
     religious conversion, and military occupation of a large area 
     of the borderlands was made possible by this route, whose 
     historical period extended from 1598 to 1882;
       (8) American Indians, European emigrants, miners, ranchers, 
     soldiers, and missionaries used El Camino Real during the 
     historic development of the borderlands. These travelers 
     promoted cultural interaction among Spaniards, other 
     Europeans, American Indians, Mexicans, and Americans;
       (9) El Camino Real fostered the spread of Catholicism, 
     mining, an extensive network of commerce, and ethnic and 
     cultural traditions including music, folklore, medicine, 
     foods, architecture, language, place names, irrigation 
     systems, and Spanish law.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

       Section 5 (a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1244 (a)) is amended--
       (1) by designating the paragraphs relating to the 
     California National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National 
     Historic Trail, and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic 
     Trail as paragraphs (18), (19), and (20), respectively; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(21) El camino real de tierra adentro.--
       ``(A) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the Royal Road of 
     the Interior) National Historic Trail, a 404 mile long trail 
     from the Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas to present San Juan 
     Pueblo, New Mexico, as generally depicted on the maps 
     entitled `United States Route: El Camino Real de Tierra 
     Adentro', contained in the report prepared pursuant to 
     subsection (b) entitled `National Historic Trail Feasibility 
     Study and Environmental Assessment: El Camino Real de Tierra 
     Adentro, Texas-New Mexico', dated March 1997.
       ``(B) Map.--A map generally depicting the trail shall be on 
     file and available for public inspection in the Office of the 
     National Park Service, Department of Interior.
       ``(C) Administration.--The Trail shall be administered by 
     the Secretary of the Interior.
       ``(D) Land Acquisition.--No lands or interests therein 
     outside the exterior boundaries of any federally administered 
     area may be acquired by the Federal Government for El Camino 
     Real de Tierra Adentro except with the consent of the owner 
     thereof.
       ``(E) Volunteer Groups; consultation.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior shall--
       ``(i) encourage volunteer trail groups to participate in 
     the development and maintenance of the trail; and
       ``(ii) consult with other affected Federal, State, and 
     tribal agencies in the administration of the trail.
       ``(F) Coordination of activities.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior may coordinate with United States and Mexican public 
     and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, 
     and, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the 
     government of Mexico and its political subdivisions, for the 
     purpose of exchanging trail information and research, 
     fostering trail preservation and educational programs, 
     providing technical assistance, and working to establish an 
     international historic trail with complementary preservation 
     and education programs in each nation.''.
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