[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 131 (Tuesday, October 8, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1781-E1782]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF WYANDOTTE NATION LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENT LEGISLATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 7, 2002

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will settle certain land claims of the Wyandotte Nation, an Indian 
tribe with longstanding roots in the Third Congressional District of 
Kansas.
  I have been joined as an original cosponsor of this measure by 
Representative Don Young of Alaska, the chairman of the House 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. As the former chairman of 
the House Resources Committee, Mr. Young has a longstanding record of 
actively addressing the concerns of Indian Nations across the United 
States and I am proud to have his name on this legislation.
  This measure will resolve all land claims the Wyandotte Nation has in 
Wyandotte County, Kansas, established pursuant to an agreement between 
the Wyandotte Nation and the Delaware Nation dated December 14, 1843, 
which was ratified by the United States Senate on July 25, 1848.
  The Wyandotte Nation's land claims in the Third Congressional 
District, which are now the subject of litigation in Kansas federal 
district court, cloud the title on 4,080 parcels of land valued at a 
total of $1.9 billion for tax purposes. Approximately 40 percent of the 
property tax base in Kansas City, Kansas, is affected by the claim, as 
are 1,300 landowners.
  This bill will permanently settle the claims of the Wyandotte Nation 
and remove all clouds

[[Page E1782]]

on title affecting Kansas City landowners. Under the legislation, the 
Secretary of the Interior would take into trust for the benefit of the 
Wyandotte Nation a parcel of real property located in Edwardsville, 
Wyandotte County, Kansas. Concurrently, the Wyandotte Nation would 
relinquish all claims to lands in Kansas and would acquiesce to 
dismissal with prejudice of their lawsuit.
  Currently, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas 
City, Kansas, along with the municipal leadership of Edwardsville, is 
negotiating a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding with the 
Wyandotte Nation regarding the operation of any gaming facility that 
the Wyandotte Nation may establish on its settlement lands under this 
measure. The Mayor and Commissioners of the Unified Government support 
my introduction of this legislation at this time. I anticipate that 
these negotiations will reach a satisfactory conclusion within a few 
weeks; if that does not come to pass, however, I reserve the right to 
withdraw my support for this proposal if a Memorandum of Understanding 
is not endorsed by all parties within a reasonable time.
  Mr. Speaker, enactment of this legislation will provide significant 
support to ongoing economic development efforts in my congressional 
district. In 1996, a nonbinding, countywide referendum registered an 
endorsement of nearly 80 percent for legalized gaming in Wyandotte 
County. For this reason, past measures I have introduced to assist the 
Wyandotte Nation's efforts to bring gaming to Wyandotte County have had 
broad support among my constituents, including local elected officials, 
consumers, labor organizations and the business community.
  I hope that all members of the Kansas congressional delegation and 
Governor Bill Graves will join me in supporting this important 
proposal, so that we can see it signed into law prior to the 
adjournment of the 107th Congress.

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