[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 28 (Monday, March 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S2304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 2173. A bill to further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre 
National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000; to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I take great pride in introducing 
the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Trust Act of 2004, a 
bill to establish the Sand Creek National Historic Site in Kiowa 
County, CO.
  The bill I am introducing today follows the Sand Creek National 
Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000, Public Law 106-465, which 
recognized the tragic events of November 28, 1868 and made it clear 
that America has the strength and resolve to face its past and learn 
the painful lessons that come with intolerance.
  Much has been written about the horrors visited upon the plains 
Indians in the territories of the Western United States in the latter 
half of the 19th century. However, what has been lost for more than a 
century is a comprehensive understanding of the events of that day in a 
grove of cottonwood trees along Sand Creek.
  This bill I am introducing today builds upon the Act of 2000 and 
authorizes the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma to take the land 
on which these tragic events took place into trust for traditional, 
cultural, and historical purposes only.
  The indisputable facts are these: 700 members of the Colorado 
Militia, commanded by Colonel John Chivington struck at dawn that 
November day, attacking an encampment of Cheyenne and Arapho Indians 
settled under the U.S. flag and a white flag which the Indian Chiefs 
Black Kettle and White Antelope were told by the U.S. would protect 
them from military attack.
  By day's end, almost 150 Indians, many of them women, children and 
the elderly, lay dead. Chivington's men reportedly desecrated the 
bodies of the dead after the massacre, and newspaper reports from 
Denver at the time told of the troops displaying Indian body parts in a 
gruesome display as they rode through the streets of Colorado's largest 
city following the attack.
  The 2000 legislation authorized the National Park Service to enter 
into negotiations with willing sellers only in an attempt to secure 
property inside a boundary which encompasses approximately 12,470 acres 
as identified by the National Park Service for a lasting memorial to 
events of that fateful day.
  The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site has come into being 
because all of those involved have exhibited an extraordinary ability 
to put aside their differences, look with equal measure at the 
scientific evidence and the oral traditions of the Tribes, and come up 
with a plan that equally honors the memory of those killed and the 
rights of the private property owners who have been faithful and 
responsible stewards of this site.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2173

       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 ``Sand Creek Massacre National 
     Historic Site Trust Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

       To further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre National 
     Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; 
     Public Law 106-465), this Act authorizes the United States to 
     take certain land in Kiowa County, Colorado, owned by the 
     Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, into trust.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (2) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Cheyenne and 
     Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, a federally recognized Indian 
     tribe.
       (3) Trust property.--The term ``trust property'' means the 
     property described in section 4(b).

     SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF LAND HELD IN TRUST FOR THE CHEYENNE AND 
                   ARAPAHO TRIBES OF OKLAHOMA.

       (a) Land Held in Trust for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes 
     of Oklahoma.--
       (1) Conveyance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Tribe shall convey title to the 
     trust property to the United States.
       (2) Trust.--All right, title, and interest of the United 
     States in and to the trust property, including all 
     improvement on the trust property and appurtenances to the 
     trust property and rights to all minerals, are declared to be 
     held by the United States in trust for the Tribe.
       (b) Land Description.--The trust property is the property 
     formerly known as the ``Dawson Ranch'', consisting of 
     approximately 1,465 total acres presently under the 
     jurisdiction of the Tribe, situated within Kiowa County, 
     Colorado, and more particularly described as follows:
       (1) The portion of sec. 24, T. 17 S., R. 46 W., Colorado 
     Principal Meridian, that is the Eastern half of the NW 
     quarter, the SW quarter of the NE quarter, the NW quarter of 
     the SE quarter, Colorado Principal Meridian.
       (2) All of sec. 25, T. 17 S., R. 46 W., Colorado Principal 
     Meridian.
       (3) All of sec. 30, T. 17 S., R. 45 W., Colorado Principal 
     Meridian.

     SEC. 5. SURVEY OF BOUNDARY LINE; PUBLICATION OF DESCRIPTION.

       (a) Survey of Boundary Line.--To accurately establish the 
     boundary of the trust property, the Secretary shall, not 
     later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
     cause a survey to be conducted by the Office of Cadastral 
     Survey of the Bureau of Land Management of the boundary lines 
     described in section 4(b).
       (b) Publication of Land Description.--
       (1) In general.--On completion of the survey under 
     subsection (a), and acceptance of the survey by the 
     representatives of the Tribe, the Secretary shall cause the 
     full metes and bounds description of the lines, with a full 
     and accurate description of the trust property, to be 
     published in the Federal Register.
       (2) Effect.--The descriptions shall, on publication, 
     constitute the official descriptions of the trust property.

     SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST PROPERTY.

       (a) In General.--The trust property is declared to be part 
     of the Indian reservation of the Tribe.
       (b) Administration.--The trust property shall be 
     administered in perpetuity by the Secretary in accordance 
     with the law generally applicable to property held in trust 
     by the United States for the benefit of Indian tribes and in 
     accordance with the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic 
     Site Establishment Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public 
     Law 106-465).

     SEC. 7. RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL USES.

       (a) In General.--The trust property shall be used only for 
     historic, religious, or cultural uses that are compatible 
     with the use of the land as a national historic site.
       (b) Duty of the Secretary.--The Secretary shall take such 
     action as is necessary to ensure that the trust property is 
     used only in accordance with this section.
                                 ______