[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H6711-H6713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PERMITTING USE OF THE ROTUNDA TO COMMEMORATE THE UNVEILING OF THE 
 STATUE OF SAKAKAWEA PROVIDED BY THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA FOR DISPLAY 
                            IN STATUARY HALL

  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 236) permitting the use of the 
rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony to commemorate the unveiling of 
the statue of Sakakawea provided by the State of North Dakota for 
display in Statuary Hall.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 236

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to 
     be used on October 16, 2003, for a ceremony to commemorate 
     the unveiling of the statue of Sakakawea provided by the 
     State of North Dakota for display in Statuary Hall. Physical 
     preparations for the ceremony shall be carried out in 
     accordance with such conditions as the Architect of the 
     Capitol may prescribe.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Ney) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney).
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 236. 
This legislation permits the use of the rotunda of the Capitol on 
October 16, 2003, for a ceremony to commemorate the unveiling of the 
statue of Sakakawea provided by the State of North Dakota.
  In 1864, Congress enacted and created National Statuary Hall 
providing for the contribution of statues by the States. Each State is 
allowed to donate two statues to the Capitol of their most prominent 
citizens. North Dakota is one of three States which has not donated a 
second statue. Out of the 97 statues throughout the Capitol, there are 
only five women and three native Americans. North Dakota's current 
statue is John Burke, former Governor, U.S. Treasurer, and State 
Supreme Court Justice, which was donated in 1963.
  The story of how the original statue of Sakakawea in North Dakota was

[[Page H6712]]

created dates back to the centennial commemoration of the Lewis and 
Clark expedition at the turn of the 20th century. In 1904, St. Louis 
hosted a Louisiana Purchase Exposition; and in 1905, Portland hosted 
the Lewis and Clark Centennial and the America Pacific Exposition and 
Fair. The State of North Dakota spent funds for pavilions and exhibits 
at these events. Given the prominence of Sakakawea statues at these 
events, the idea of a similar statue to stand in North Dakota was 
therefore born.
  Mattie Davis, the superintendent of schools in Cass County, suggested 
an appropriate recognition needed to be given to the only woman to 
accompany the expedition of Lewis and Clark. The idea was endorsed by 
the Fargo City Federation of Women's Clubs which presented it to the 
North Dakota Federation. A resolution was passed calling for the 
placement of a statue on the State Capitol grounds in Bismarck.
  Sakakawea, simply put, was a leader of leaders. She was a key part of 
the boldest and most dangerous expedition in American history. She 
served as an interpreter, guide, and provider to Lewis and Clark; but 
her most important role was that of a peacemaker. As a woman and a 
mother, her presence made it clear that Lewis and Clark were not 
leading a war party. As Clark wrote in his journal: ``Our interpreter 
we find reconciles all the Indians as to our friendly intentions. A 
woman with a party of men is a token of peace.'' She was courageous and 
indomitable, but it was her gentle spirit and interpretive skills that 
appeased potential enemies.
  Before reserving my time, Mr. Speaker, I just want to point out and 
give a lot of credit to Mattie Davis, the superintendent of schools of 
Cass County, who suggested this idea by the Fargo City Federation of 
Women's Clubs which presented it to the North Dakota Federation. It is 
local people getting together to promote ideas such as this to preserve 
our history that need to have encouragement from us and tribute for all 
of their offerings on this particular statue.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), our 
ranking member, and the members of the Committee on House 
Administration, and also the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) 
for their work on this legislation. I urge full support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 236.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume to associate myself with the remarks of the distinguished 
chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney).
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy), the sponsor of 
the concurrent resolution, who has worked so hard over the years to 
make this placement of the statue a reality.
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I thank the ranking member and chairman for their support of this 
issue, a resolution important to the State of North Dakota.
  Since 1964, Congress has entertained the statues advanced by the 
States and allowing their positioning throughout the Capitol. Without 
question, they enhance the atmosphere here and remind us of truly the 
history that has gone on before us, both in this Capitol and throughout 
the country, as leaders of each of the 50 States have made their 
indelible imprint on our collective history as a Nation. Yet we found 
in North Dakota that we only had a single statue. Unlike the two per 
State, we were one of four States that had a single statutory 
representative, former Governor and Treasurer John Burke.
  It occurred to me that we could not do better to have as the second 
representative of North Dakota Sakakawea, and not just any statue of 
Sakakawea, but an identical replica to the statue Sakakawea that has 
graced our Capitol grounds for nearly a century. The statue, initially 
sculptured by Leonard Crunell from France, is a statue whose model was 
Sakakawea's granddaughter, Hannah Leavings Grant, also known as Mink 
Woman. Extraordinarily enough, at a recent July 4 celebration on the 
grounds of the State Capitol as we viewed the statue that will come 
under this resolution to represent North Dakota in this great place, 
there were relatives of Mink Woman present.
  So this is an act that has such immediate relevance to especially the 
Native Americans and the three affiliated tribes, but also to all of us 
in the State of North Dakota. Sakakawea, I believe, was an actual 
person, but one of almost legendary and mythical dimensions. She was 
integrally linked to the success of the Lewis and Clark expedition, an 
expedition whose bicentennial we are recognizing in these days.
  Hers is an extraordinary story. She was the young wife of a fur 
trader that signed on to be the expedition's guide, but Lewis and Clark 
found the real value of this was the role Sakakawea went on to play in 
the expedition. She served as translator. She served as guide. She 
served as a representative of the peaceful nature of the expedition as 
they encountered Native American tribes through the balance of the 
journey. She even rescued the journals of Clark. When the canoe swamped 
and the men bolted for safety, it was Sakakawea who saved the journals 
from ruin and contributed, therefore, to history. To think about a 
young woman making this contribution to an expedition entirely composed 
of men is remarkable enough, but the fact that she carried with her her 
11-month-old infant, John Baptiste, is even more remarkable.
  My colleagues will like this statue. It is a dignified and beautiful 
rendition of Sakakawea.
  We like to think that the statue speaks even beyond the contribution 
of this remarkable woman, to the experience of the expedition with 
Native Americans in North Dakota as a history of cooperation. It was a 
history of teaching. In fact, many suggest that Lewis and Clark would 
not have had the successful expedition they had but for the learning of 
ways of hunting, navigation, and winter survival that they acquired in 
the winter of 1804 in North Dakota, living with the Mandan Indians. It 
means a great deal to us to have this statue, the first Native American 
woman to represent a State in this Capitol; and I urge my colleagues' 
favorable consideration of this resolution.
  The resolution also sets the date of October 16 as the day we will 
recognize and unveil the statue in the rotunda. It is a date I would 
urge my colleagues to put on their calendars to hear a more full 
exposition of this through the Native Americans from North Dakota who 
will be present at that time.
  I thank the ranking member, I thank the chairman, and I thank my 
colleagues for their consideration.
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
thank the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) for all of his 
diligence on pushing, I think, a very, very important statue and an 
important commemoration for our history. I thank him for his work.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I again would like to congratulate the distinguished gentleman from 
North Dakota for his very vivid and historical explanation of what, for 
sure, is going to be yet another treasure we will be able to add to 
Statuary Hall. President Kennedy was fond of saying that a people 
reveal an awful lot about themselves in the monuments and the memorials 
that they create. The residents and citizens of North Dakota can stand 
justifiably proud today by the enactment of this piece of legislation; 
and, clearly, all Americans will be enriched as they get to pass 
through Statuary Hall and look at this outstanding monument to this 
truly great American.
  Mr. Speaker, I support House Concurrent Resolution 236, which would 
authorize the use of the Capitol rotunda on October 16, 2003, for a 
ceremony to unveil the statue of Sakakawea, the Shoshone Indian guide, 
translator and diplomat who helped to guide the Lewis and Clark 
expedition of exploration, for display as part of the National Statuary 
Hall Collection.
  This will be North Dakota's second statue for the Statuary Hall 
Collection, completing its allotment of two which are permitted for 
each state and bringing the total of the collection to 98. The statute 
is a replica of the bronze statue by Chicago artist Leonard Crunelle 
which has stood on the grounds of the state capitol in Bismarck, North 
Dakota, since 1910. The

[[Page H6713]]

Joint Committee of Congress on the Library approved the inclusion in 
the statue of Sakakawea's infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, on her 
back, though he will not be mentioned on the descriptive plaque. 
Normally, a statue accepted for the Collection can depict only one 
individual.
  Sakakawea was captured by Hidatsa Indians in 1800, when she was about 
12 years old, and was given the name by which she is known 
historically, which translates as ``Bird Woman'' in Hidatsa. There have 
been several different versions of the spelling. The original statue 
depicts Sakakawea looking westward toward the lands being explored. 
There was no image of Sakakawea available for the original statue, so a 
Hidatsa Indian, Mink Woman, served as the model.
  It is appropriate that the statue be placed in the Capitol at the 
time of the bicentennial of the beginning of the Lewis and Clark 
expeditions, for which Sakakawea served as a guide from 1804 to 1806, 
traveling to the Pacific Ocean and then back through North Dakota.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEY. 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 Ohio (Mr. Ney) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 236.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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