[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 103 (Thursday, September 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INHOFE:
  S. 3019. A bill to clarify the Federal relationship to the Shawnee 
Tribe as a distinct Indian tribe, to clarify the status of the members 
of the Shawnee Tribe, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Indian Affairs.


                    SHAWNEE TRIBE STATUS ACT OF 2000

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, today I introduce a bill that will modify 
the relationship between the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma and the 
Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma. These two tribes were joined together by an 
Agreement entered into between them on June 7, 1869. This bill will 
allow the Shawnee Tribe to have an independent government, elect its 
own officials and do those things it believes necessary to protect its 
language, culture and traditions. Since the two tribes will continue to 
operate in the same territory, the bill sets forth the conditions which 
shall govern those operations.
  This legislation will have the effect of modifying the Cherokee-
Shawnee agreement by allowing the Shawnee tribe to operate 
independently of the Cherokee Nation. The Shawnee Tribe will be 
governed by a separate constitution currently in existence. Membership 
of Shawnee Indians will continue to be permitted within the Cherokee 
Nation, although Shawnee Indians who so elect will become members of 
the Shawnee Tribe exclusively.
  The bill also sets forth the manner in which the Shawnee Tribe will 
conduct its business within the Cherokee Nation and both Tribes have 
concurred in this legislation through tribal resolutions of their 
respective governing bodies. Although the Shawnee Tribe will be 
operating within the jurisdictional territory of the Cherokee Nation, 
the Shawnee people believe it is in their best interest to have a 
separate tribal governance to protect and enhance their culture, 
language and history and to pursue the goal of self-sufficiency for 
their own Tribe.
  It is important to note that in changing the agreement between these 
two tribes there is no new tribal territory created nor is it proposed 
that any additional land be taken into trust for either Tribe as a 
result of the changes. The jurisdictional area of the tribes remains as 
before so that there are no impacts on communities within the Cherokee 
Nation. The proposal is also revenue neutral as to the United States. 
Tribal members of either tribe now receiving services will continue to 
receive those services as they have in the past.
  The Shawnee Tribe was never terminated nor can the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs cause the Tribes to be separated through the Federal 
Acknowledgment Process. The Agreement of 1869 between the two tribes 
was ratified by the President and can only be amended by this proposed 
action of Congress.
  In summary, this bill would recognize the long standing policy of the 
United States to respect the sovereignty of every tribe and to respect 
the desire of the Shawnee people to be governed independently of the 
Cherokee Nation so that Shawnee people can identify with their own 
Tribe and work to maintain their culture, language, heritage and 
traditions.
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