[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1082-E1083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO BENEFIT ZUNI AND ACOMA NATIVE AMERICANS

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                             HON. JOE SKEEN

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2000

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing two bills to provide 
further assistance

[[Page E1083]]

to Native Americans in my state of New Mexico. The legislation is 
simple and corrects deficiencies in current laws and regulations that 
apply to these two Pueblos. The two bills will further the case for 
self-sufficiency and for tribal self determination for our New Mexico 
Native Americans.
  The Acoma Pueblo comprises some 380,000 acres located 56 miles of 
Albuquerque. The first bill deals with the sub-surface mineral rights 
of Acoma Pueblo trust lands. The Acoma Pueblo, like many Native 
American tribes, has sought to restore its reservation to its historic 
boundaries. Over 6,000 Pueblo members live on and around the Acoma Mesa 
which was originally referred to as the ``Sky City''. It is thought to 
be one of the oldest continually inhabited sites in the United States, 
first report by Fray Marcos de Niza in 1539 and then visited by 
Francisco de Cornado's army in 1540.
  In 1988, the Pueblo purchased a large ranch that adjoined their 
reservation and subsequently the Secretary of the Interior took over 
100,000 surface acres into trust and it became a permanent part of the 
reservation. This additional land is necessary as the Pueblo grows and 
prospers because of new economic activity.
  When they purchased the ranch the subsurface mineral rights were not 
part of land transfer. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the West 
where only the surface estate is sold from owner to owner. Much of this 
practice goes back to the settling of the West when the federal 
government awarded checkerboard pieces of land to railroads in return 
for their building lines across the nation. The railroads then sold the 
land off to finance their companies activities but kept the subsurface 
mineral estate.
  Under this legislation, the current owner of the subsurface estate 
would enter into an exchange agreement with the Bureau of Land 
management for equal valued federal lands and rights. In return the BLM 
would receive the subsurface rights which would be placed into trust by 
the Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of the Acoma Pueblo 
unifying both the surface and subsurface estate.
  This legislation amounts to a win-win for all of the stakeholders 
involved. First, the Acoma Pueblo does not have to worry about the sub-
surface mineral rights holder attempting to exercise its rights. This 
legislation gives them the total control over their lands that they 
need and deserve under the trust responsibility of the United States. 
The current third party owner of the subsurface mineral estate is made 
whole without having to exercise their rights and being placed in a 
conflict with the Acoma Pueblo. And finally the public wins because 
federal lands will go into the private sector and back on the tax 
rolls. I hope the Congress will act quickly on this important 
legislation.
  The second bill amounts to a technical change in previous legislation 
passed during the 101st Congress. The Zuni Land Conservation Act of 
1990 (Public Law 101-486) was signed into law on October 31, 1990. It 
was passed as part of efforts to settle a lands claim case that had 
kept land ownership issues in limbo for years in western New Mexico. 
Basically the bill settled compensation issues for lands taken without 
authority that were before the Court of Claims.
  The Zuni Pueblo, with a reservation population estimated at over 
9,000, is comprised of over 460,000 acres of land located on the 
western border of New Mexico almost due west of Albuquerque. Sheep 
production is the top agriculture activity on the reservation. Crafts 
produced on the reservation are known worldwide, especially their 
famous jewelry, fetishes, pottery, paintings and beadwork. Most of the 
tribal businesses are centered around the arts and crafts industry.
  The legislation authorized a payment of $25 million into a Zuni 
Indian Resource Development Trust Fund. The Trustee of the fund was the 
Secretary of the Interior. Expenditures from the fund were limited both 
in the amount and also what the money could be spent for. The money, 
including the interest on investments, was to be used to carry out a 
resource development plan put together by the Tribe and by the 
Secretary of the Interior. Some of the money was used to purchase 
additional land for the reservation. The legislation I introduce today 
will allow the Zuni's to invest their funds rather than having the BIA 
do it. Provisions dealing with what the funds can be used for will 
remain unchanged. I hope the Congress will move quickly on this 
legislation also.
  Both bills are relatively non-controversial. Both will lead to 
greater self governance by the respective pueblos and I would hope that 
the Clinton Administration will support these efforts to assist Native 
Americans in controlling their own future.

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