[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 27, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5175-H5177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PLACEMENT OF STATUE OF CHIEF WASHAKIE IN NATIONAL STATUARY HALL

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 333) providing for the acceptance 
of a statue of Chief Washakie, presented by the people of Wyoming, for 
placement in National Statuary Hall, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 333

       Whereas Chief Washakie was a recognized leader of the 
     Eastern Shoshone Tribe;
       Whereas Chief Washakie contributed to the settlement of the 
     west by allowing the Oregon and Mormon Trails to pass through 
     Shoshone lands;
       Whereas Chief Washakie, with his foresight and wisdom, 
     chose the path of peace for his people;
       Whereas Chief Washakie was a great leader who chose his 
     alliances with other tribes and the United States Government 
     thoughtfully; and
       Whereas in recognition of this alliance and long service to 
     the United States Government, Chief Washakie was the only 
     chief to be awarded a full military funeral: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. ACCEPTANCE OF STATUE OF CHIEF WASHAKIE FROM THE 
                   PEOPLE OF WYOMING FOR PLACEMENT IN NATIONAL 
                   STATUARY HALL.

       (a) In General.--The statue of Chief Washakie, furnished by 
     the people of Wyoming for placement in National Statuary Hall 
     in accordance with section 1814 of the Revised Statutes of 
     the United States (40 U.S.C. 187), is accepted in the name of 
     the United States, and the thanks of the Congress are 
     tendered to the people of Wyoming for providing this 
     commemoration of one of Wyoming's most eminent personages.
       (b) Presentation Ceremony.--The State of Wyoming is 
     authorized to use the rotunda of the Capitol on September 7, 
     2000, at 11 o'clock ante meridian, for a presentation 
     ceremony for the statue. The Architect of the Capitol and the 
     Capitol Police Board shall take such action as may be 
     necessary with respect to physical preparations and security 
     for the ceremony.
       (c) Display in Rotunda.--The statue shall be displayed in 
     the rotunda of the Capitol for a period of not more than 6 
     months, after which period the statue shall be moved to its 
     permanent location in National Statuary Hall.

     SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL TO GOVERNOR OF WYOMING.

       The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a 
     copy of this concurrent resolution to the Governor of 
     Wyoming.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thomas) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas).
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As visitors move around the Capitol, one of the most striking 
examples of State representation is, in fact, the ability of each State 
to send two statues to the Capitol. It is fascinating to look at the 
regional and especially the historical differences of who States

[[Page H5176]]

recognize as appropriate figures to memorialize by statue in the 
Capitol.
  We have before us today a resolution which completes the State of 
Wyoming's decision to send two statues. I think it is emblematic, the 
particular statue that Wyoming has chosen.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) to really give the details of the reason for 
the selection of this particular statue.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Thomas) for yielding me this time, and I also wish to thank him in his 
capacity as the chairman of the Committee on House Administration for 
moving this important piece of legislation forward in such a timely 
manner, as well as the ranking member, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer). It is very important to the people of Wyoming.
  I am proud to bring before the House today this resolution to provide 
for the placement of a statue of Chief Washakie in Statuary Hall 
presented by the people of the State of Wyoming.
  In 1840, Chief Washakie became the principal chief of the eastern 
Shoshone tribe, a role he would fill until his death over 60 years 
later. Chief Washakie was well-known as a distinguished leader and a 
stately warrior who bravely defended the Shoshone and their allies. He 
was a skilled linguist. He spoke English, French and Shoshone.
  Adhering to the philosophy of making the best of what cannot be 
changed, Chief Washakie maintained friendly relations with the United 
States Government, with the settlers, and other American immigrants. He 
always placed the peace and welfare of his people above all other 
concerns. Chief Washakie worked tirelessly to seek the best for his 
people, requesting schools, churches, and hospitals on Shoshone land.
  He peacefully surrendered the Green River Valley to provide for the 
right-of-way for the Union Pacific railroad, thus helping complete the 
first transcontinental railroad and the settlement of the west.

                              {time}  1030

  As the last Chief of the Shoshone tribe, Chief Washakie successfully 
preserved the Wind River Mountain Range for his tribe's homeland. The 
Wind River Mountains are truly some of the most magnificent mountains 
in the world. Anyone who has not seen them needs to take a trip and 
look at the vast beauty.
  In the role of chief, Chief Washakie greatly contributed to the 
settlement of the West by allowing the Oregon and the Mormon trails to 
pass through Shoshone lands. When wagon trains carrying these pioneers 
passed through the Shoshone territory in the 1850s, Chief Washakie and 
his people aided overland travelers in fording the streams and 
recovering stray animals.
  I think that it is interesting to note that over 9,000 emigrants 
signed a thank-you document to Chief Washakie and his people for safe 
passage through their territory.
  In the 1870s, Chief Washakie served as a military leader of over 150 
Shoshone men who were serving with United States Cavalry General Crook 
in the campaign to return the Sioux and the Cheyenne bands to their 
assigned reservations.
  This campaign ended with Custer's ill-fated attack at the Little Big 
Horn in 1876. This was an attack which Chief Washakie seriously advised 
Colonel Custer against doing.
  My own maternal great, great grandfather migrated to Wyoming around 
1846. He was a mountain man and a trapper. He traded fur pelts with the 
Indians, and surely the Shoshones were among those with whom he traded.
  When Chief Washakie died in 1900, some say over the age of 100, Chief 
Washakie received a full military funeral and burial honoring his 
career in the U.S. Army. He is the only chief who has ever been awarded 
such a distinction.
  The Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming is the home of 
many Shoshone and Arapaho Indians today. Their culture and their art 
work are still being passed to young generations. For this legacy, we 
should all be grateful.
  On behalf of the people of Wyoming, I am proud to put forth this 
legislation providing a commemoration of one of the States' most 
celebrated names, Chief Washakie.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Thomas) and the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin), who represents 
Wyoming so well, in rising in support of this resolution. The 
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) referred to it as an important 
resolution, and that it is. It may not be controversial, but it is 
important.
  Mr. Speaker, as ranking minority member of the House Administration 
Committee and the Joint Committee on the Library, I am pleased to 
support this concurrent resolution to enhance the National Statuary 
Hall collection by accepting this statue of Chief Washakie submitted by 
the State of Wyoming.
  Each of the 50 States, Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, is 
permitted to submit two statues for our collection, which then become 
the property of the United States. This is Wyoming's second statue and 
brings the total number of such statues in the Capitol to 97 since the 
law creating the collection was enacted in 1864.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress has usually adopted concurrent resolutions such 
as the one before us today upon the arrival of a new statue for the 
collection from a State. H. Con. Res. 333 provides that the statue of 
Chief Washakie will be displayed for not to exceed 6 months in the 
Capitol rotunda. It will then be moved to a permanent site within the 
Capitol, as directed by the Joint Committee on the Library, since there 
is not sufficient enough space in Statuary Hall to accommodate all of 
the existing collection.
  The concurrent resolution would also authorize use of the Capitol 
rotunda on Thursday, September 7, at 11 o'clock a.m., for a ceremony 
where Wyoming will formally present the bronze statue of Chief Washakie 
by the noted sculptor Dave McGary.
  The concurrent resolution would provide for the printing of an 
appropriate number of copies of the transcript of the proceedings, 
under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library, for use by 
both Chambers of Congress and by the senators and the representative 
from Wyoming.
  Chief Washakie, as it has been noted, lived from 1798 to 1900. He was 
a leader of the Shoshone tribe who united his people into a significant 
political and military force. Both warrior and peacemaker, he 
recognized that survival of Indian tribes in the western United States 
depended upon accommodation with migrating settlers and the United 
States Government.
  In 1868, he signed the Fort Bridger Treaty, establishing reservation 
boundaries of more than three million acres around the Warm Valley area 
of Wyoming.
  Chief Washakie spoke English and French as well as a number of other 
Indian languages, including, of course, Shoshone. He was a skilled 
negotiator who gained substantial benefits for his people at a time 
when many other tribes engaged in futile warfare with the army and 
incoming settlers.
  Chief Washakie knew that peace was better than war for his people 
and, as a result, did very well by them and was honored until his death 
by them and is honored today by them and by their State, Wyoming.
  When Chief Washakie died on February 23, 1900, he was accorded a full 
military funeral. I am told that he is the only known Indian chief to 
receive such an honor.
  Mr. Speaker, Wyoming has exercised its prerogative to honor Chief 
Washakie for his significant role in the early history of the State.
  We in this Congress, I know, are pleased to support this concurrent 
resolution and congratulate its sponsor on her leadership and for 
helping to facilitate the presentation of the statue to the people of 
the United States.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Traficant).
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend for yielding 
me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to rise to compliment the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) for the fine job she has done. The Native American 
Indians and that whole story in this country is a tragic scar on our 
history,

[[Page H5177]]

and I believe her efforts are indicative of the feelings and the spirit 
of the people of Wyoming and are well appreciated here and are 
absolutely necessary.
  It is good to see that we honor those who at times were dishonored in 
a Nation that now respects the greatness of the action they had taken. 
So I want to compliment my good friend, who is one of the Democratic 
Party's finer leaders, that is the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer); 
and I want to compliment the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) for 
giving the opportunity for the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) to 
bring her legislation to the floor. I am honored to support it.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, a distinguished son of Wyoming, Mike 
Sullivan, now an ambassador, is quoted on this very impressive brochure 
related to the Chief Washakie sculpture project. I think he says it 
well:
  ``Washakie is a model for leaders across the generations.''
  How appropriate it is to have a statue representing the State of 
Wyoming, representing Native Americans, and representing the kind of 
country that does and should honor a leader across the generations.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) 
for his comments.
  He was indeed an impressive historical figure. The purpose in 
allowing States to send statues is to illustrate the diversity of the 
historical figures that by adding up the statues of the States give us 
an even better understanding of the history of the United States.
  It is not by accident that the other statue from the State of Wyoming 
is a statue of Esther Hobart Morris, who was a suffragette, who was the 
first woman governor anywhere in the United States, and who pushed the 
legislation that made Wyoming the first State in the Union to afford 
the full voting privileges to women.
  So this impressive statue, and my understanding is that Chief 
Washakie is going to be more than 12-feet tall in full Indian headdress 
with a spear, it will be a focal point on the tours given to the 
Capitol visitors and they will be able to visit a portion of our 
history, all Americans' history, presented to us by the State of 
Wyoming.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
333, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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