[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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