[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 98 (Thursday, July 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1293]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIVE AMERICAN SACRED LANDS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2002

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, this body, the United States House of 
Representatives, is housed in a testament to freedom, a symbol of 
government, a monument of national historical and cultural 
significance. Throughout the halls of the United States Capitol there 
are statues of our founders, our heroes, our history. For the past 200 
years, legislators have sweat blood and tears debating the laws of our 
great country.
  In fact, many would argue the United States Capitol is sacred.
  But there are many places across this country, no less sacred than 
the building behind me, that are being desecrated as we speak. It is 
inconceivable to imagine an oil rig plopped in the middle of the 
Sistine Chapel. But in fact that is the very problem facing Native 
American sacred lands today.
  For example, the proposed site for a 1,600-acre, open-pit gold mine 
in Indian Pass, California, is a place where ``dream trails'' were 
woven. The Bush Administration revoked a Clinton-era ruling that said 
mining operations would cause irreparable harm to these ancestral 
lands, an extremely sacred place to the Quechan Indian tribe. Now the 
tribe is left fighting for its religious and cultural history.
  Long before my ancestors arrived on these shores, American Indians 
were the first stewards of this land. They respected the earth, water 
and air. They understood you take only what you need and leave the 
rest. They demonstrated you do not desecrate that which is sacred.
  Most Americans understand a reverence for the great Sistine Chapel, 
or even the United States Capitol. But often non-Indians have 
difficulty giving that same reverence to a mountain, valley, stream or 
rock formation.
  Recently Indian Country attained a victory in Valley of Chiefs, 
Montana. The oil company which sought to drill in this valley of peace 
agreed to transfer its oil leases to the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation.
  But we cannot fight to preserve Native American sacred lands on a 
case by case basis. Valley of Chiefs serves as a wake-up call for 
action, for the pressing need to protect bona fide Native American 
sacred sites wherever they may lie on the public domain.
  That is why today I am introducing the Native American Sacred Lands 
Protection Act. Joining me in the introduction of this legislation are 
Dale Kildee of Michigan, George Miller of California, Eni Faleomavaega 
of American Samoa, Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Tom Udall of New 
Mexico, Brad Carson of Oklahoma, Betty McCollum of Minnesota, Patrick 
Kennedy of Rhode Island and John Baldacci of Maine.
  First, the bill would enact into law a 1996 executive order designed 
to protect sacred lands. Specifically, it ensures access and ceremonial 
use of sacred lands and mandates all federal land management agencies 
take the necessary steps to prevent significant damage to sacred lands.
  Second, our bill gives Indian Tribes the ability to petition the 
government to place federal lands off-limits to energy leasing or other 
incompatible developments when they believe those proposed actions 
would cause significant damage to their sacred lands.
  This is an extremely important provision. The tribes would no longer 
have to depend on the good graces of federal bureaucrats to protect 
these lands. Rather, the tribes themselves could initiate those 
protections.
  If you look to our national parks, forests and monuments and you see 
the commitment to preserve many of our country's natural treasures. The 
Federal Government has put its full weight behind protecting these 
lands, and we can do the same for Indian Country.
  At a time when the Bush Administration is promoting increased energy 
development, we must enact comprehensive legislation that prohibits the 
loss of further Native American sacred lands. We must not stand idly by 
as these unique places are wiped off the face of the earth.
  We commend this legislation to the House of Representatives.

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