[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 2, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H6096-H6097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LONG WALK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL STUDY ACT

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1384) to amend the National Trails System Act to designate 
the Navajo Long Walk to Bosque Redondo as a national historic trail, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1384

       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 ``Long Walk National Historic 
     Trail Study Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Beginning in the fall of 1863 and ending in the winter 
     of 1864, the United States Government forced thousands of 
     Navajos and Mescalero Apaches to relocate from their 
     ancestral lands to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where the tribal 
     members were held captive, virtually as prisoners of war, for 
     over 4 years.
       (2) Thousands of Native Americans died at Fort Sumner from 
     starvation, malnutrition, disease, exposure, or conflicts 
     between the tribes and United States military personnel.

     SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR STUDY.

       Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(__) The Long Walk Trail, a series of routes which the 
     Navajo and Mescalero Apache Indian tribes were forced to walk 
     beginning in the fall of 1863 as a result of their removal by 
     the United States Government from their ancestral lands, 
     generally located within a corridor extending through 
     portions of Canyon de Chelley, Arizona, and Albuquerque, 
     Canyon Blanco, Anton Chico, Canyon Piedra Pintado, and Fort 
     Sumner, New Mexico.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands 
(Mrs. Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 1384, introduced by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) 
and amended by the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and 
Public Lands, would authorize the Secretary of Interior to study the 
suitability of designating a series of routes that are to comprise the 
Long Walk National Historic Trail in Arizona and New Mexico as part of 
the National Trails System.
  Mr. Speaker, the Long Walk Trail is significant due to the fact that 
in the fall of 1863 and the winter of 1864, the United States 
Government forced thousands of Navajos and Mescalero Apaches to 
relocate from their ancestral lands in Arizona and New Mexico to Fort 
Sumner, New Mexico, where the tribal members were held captive, 
virtually as prisoners of war, for over 4 years. During that time, 
thousands of Native Americans died at Fort Sumner from starvation, 
malnutrition, disease, exposure or conflicts between tribes and United 
States military personnel.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is not controversial. It is supported 
by the majority and minority of the Committee on Resources and the 
administration. I urge an ``aye'' vote on H.R. 1384.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Udall) will control 20 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Udall).
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1384, the Long 
Walk National Historic Trail Study Act.
  New Mexico's Third Congressional District is one of the most majestic 
regions in this country. It is a scenic land with a unique civilization 
that is part Native American, part Spanish and part Anglo. As such, the 
history of the region speaks to some of the most proud moments in 
American history. However, we have also seen some of our Nation's most 
tragic events. One of the most tragic is the Long Walk of the Navajo 
people and Mescalero Apaches. In 1863, the Navajo and Mescalero

[[Page H6097]]

 Apache Indian tribes were forced by gunpoint from their ancestral 
lands to walk roughly 350 miles from northeastern Arizona and northwest 
New Mexico to the Bosque Redondo in eastern New Mexico.
  More than 150 years ago, the United States engaged in a military 
campaign against the Navajo and Mescalero Apache people. This campaign 
was an extension of U.S. policy to remove the Navajo and Mescalero 
Apaches from their homeland. This was an attempt to quash their 
rebellion against what was an unwelcome intrusion from the U.S. 
Government. Colonel Kit Carson then ordered his men to ``round up'' and 
remove the Navajo from their native area. The campaign was a brutal one 
and the Navajo and Mescalero Apaches were forced to surrender 
themselves to Carson's forces in 1863.
  The U.S. chose the Bosque Redondo, a very remote and desolate site 
near Fort Sumner, New Mexico, as the place where the Navajo and 
Mescalero Apaches would be confined and forced to live. More than 8,000 
Navajo and 500 Mescalero Apaches were then forced to trek over 350 
miles under military escort from portions of Canyon de Chelley, 
Albuquerque, Canyon Blanco, Anton Chico and Canyon Piedra Pintado, New 
Mexico, to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Once imprisoned at Fort Sumner, 
the Navajo and Mescalero Apaches faced starvation, malnutrition due to 
inadequate and poor quality food rations, disease caused by unclean 
water, and exposure to harsh weather conditions because of inadequate 
clothing and unsuitable shelter. Thousands perished under these 
deplorable conditions.
  After roughly 4 years of imprisonment, President Ulysses S. Grant 
issued an executive order terminating the military's role and entered 
into treaty negotiations with the Navajo and Mescalero Apaches. When an 
agreement was made, the Navajo and Mescalero Apaches were allowed to 
return home in the same way as they had arrived, on foot. Thus, the 
Navajo and Mescalero Apaches had spent nearly 4 years total as 
prisoners from their own land.
  Mr. Speaker, this period in our Nation's history is a sad one. Our 
relationship with the tribes has come a long way since that time, but 
there is still more that can be done to strengthen the relationship. 
For this reason, I am hopeful that the National Park Service, in 
conducting this feasibility study, will engage in a proper amount of 
collaboration and consultation with the Navajo nation and the Mescalero 
Apaches. I am grateful that the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen), the 
gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the gentleman from Colorado 
(Mr. Hefley) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) have allowed this bill to come to the floor for a vote 
today. I hope that once the feasibility study is conducted, we can 
enter into the next step of designating the Long Walk as a national 
historic trail. The Long Walk remains one of the most tragic events in 
our Nation's history, yet today very few Americans realize the 
atrocities that were committed against native peoples. By taking these 
necessary steps to declare this area a national historic trail, we will 
commemorate the people who made the treacherous Long Walk and were 
interned at Bosque Redondo. The 8,000 Navajo and 500 Mescalero Apaches 
who made the Long Walk, and especially the 3,000 who perished, should 
be remembered. I am hopeful that designating the Long Walk a national 
historic trail will prove to be a significant step in recognizing and 
learning from this tragedy.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Matheson), a leader in this Congress on Native American issues.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for bringing 
this important piece of legislation to the floor.
  In 1863, one of the darkest incidents in American history occurred in 
what is now Arizona and New Mexico. It was in that year that Colonel 
Kit Carson began his campaign against the Navajo people.
  Riding out of Fort Defiance, Colonel Carson's troops stormed into the 
Navajo's sacred Canyon de Chelley and burned hogans, stole food and 
slaughtered livestock. The mission was to subdue the peaceful Navajo, 
and when the ransacking was over, 8,000 men, women and children were 
forced to March 350 miles to a barren wasteland. This was nothing more 
than a prison camp. There was no wood for fires, the ground could not 
support crops and the water was brackish.
  For 4 years, the Navajo starved until the government finally relented 
and granted the Navajo a new reservation that included their sacred 
lands. During their confinement, 25 percent of the Navajo died. This 
legislation is just a small tribute to the suffering and the proud 
heritage of the Navajo nation.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  One historian once said that those that don't know their history are 
condemned to repeat it. We would never want to repeat the sad chapter 
of history known as the Long Walk. By designating this trail as a 
national historic trail, we can learn from our mistakes. Inhumane 
treatment of human beings, atrocities against native peoples, should 
never occur. The Long Walk National Historic Trail will stand as a 
monument, reminding us we can do better. We can be a better people. We 
can be a more compassionate and humane Nation.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) 
for his hard work on this and I look forward to working with him 
through the legislative process to get this done. I thank him very much 
for his bipartisanship.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1384, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to amend 
the National Trails System Act to designate the route in Arizona and 
New Mexico which the Navajo and Mescalero Apache Indian tribes were 
forced to walk in 1863 and 1864, for study for potential addition to 
the National Trails System.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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