[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 87 (Monday, June 27, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H5200-H5202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SAND CREEK MASSACRE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE TRUST ACT OF 2005
Mr. FORTUNO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 481) to further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 481
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 2005''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Facility.--The term ``facility'' means any structure,
utility, road, or sign constructed on the trust property on
or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Improvement.--The term ``improvement'' means--
(A) a 1,625 square foot 1-story ranch house, built in 1952,
located in the SW quarter of sec. 30, T. 17 S., R. 45 W.,
sixth principal meridian;
(B) a 3,600 square foot metal-constructed shop building,
built in 1975, located in the SW quarter of sec. 30, T. 17
S., R. 45 W., sixth principal meridian;
(C) a livestock corral and shelter; and
(D) a water system and wastewater system with all
associated utility connections.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(4) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Cheyenne and
Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, a federally recognized Indian
tribe.
(5) Trust property.--The term ``trust property'' means the
real property, including rights to all minerals, and
excluding the improvements, 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:
(A) The portion of sec. 24, T. 17 S., R. 46 W., sixth
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, sixth principal meridian.
(B) All of sec. 25, T. 17 S., R. 46 W., sixth principal
meridian.
(C) All of sec. 30, T. 17 S., R. 45 W., sixth principal
meridian.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST FOR THE
CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHO TRIBES OF OKLAHOMA.
(a) Land Held in Trust for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
of Oklahoma.--On conveyance of title to the trust property by
the Tribe to the United States, without any further action by
the Secretary, the trust property shall be held in trust for
the benefit of the Tribe.
(b) Trust.--All right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to the trust property, except any facilities
constructed under section 4(b), are declared to be held by
the United States in trust for the Tribe.
SEC. 4. IMPROVEMENTS AND FACILITIES.
(a) Improvements.--The Secretary may acquire by donation
the improvements in fee.
(b) Facilities.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may construct a facility on
the trust property only after consulting with, soliciting
advice from, and obtaining the agreement of, the Tribe, the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
(2) Ownership.--Facilities constructed with Federal funds
or funds donated to the United States shall be owned in fee
by the United States.
(c) Federal Funds.--For the purposes of the construction,
maintenance, or demolition of improvements or facilities,
Federal funds shall be expended only on improvements or
facilities that are owned in fee by the United States.
SEC. 5. SURVEY OF BOUNDARY LINE; PUBLICATION OF DESCRIPTION.
(a) Survey of Boundary Line.--To accurately establish the
boundary of the trust property, not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 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 2(5).
(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 description shall, on publication,
constitute the official description of the trust property.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST PROPERTY.
(a) In General.--The trust property shall be administered
in perpetuity by the Secretary as part of the Sand Creek
Massacre National Historic Site, only for historical,
traditional, cultural, and other uses in accordance with the
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act
of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 106-465).
(b) Access for Administration.--For purposes of
administration, the Secretary shall have access to the trust
property, improvements, and facilities as necessary for
management of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
in accordance with the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic
Site Establishment Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public
Law 106-465).
(c) 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.
(d) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this Act supersedes the
laws and policies governing units of the National Park
System.
SEC. 7. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.
Section 6(a)(2) of the Sand Creek Massacre National
Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 461 note;
Public Law 106-465) is amended by inserting ``or exchange''
after ``only by donation''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno).
General Leave
Mr. FORTUNO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 481, the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Puerto Rico?
There was no objection.
Mr. FORTUNO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 481, introduced by the gentlewoman from Colorado
(Mrs. Musgrave) would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to hold
1,465 acres in trust, thereby allowing the National Park Service to
formally establish the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. The
Park Service has worked in partnership with the State of Colorado, the
Cheyenne tribe, and the Arapaho tribe to establish this site which was
originally authorized in 2000
[[Page H5201]]
and recognizes the national significance of the Sand Creek Massacre in
American History.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
(Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, as the majority has explained,
H.R. 481 will further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre National
Historic Site by enabling a significant parcel of land to be added to
the site.
The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site was authorized in 2000
to preserve, commemorate and interpret the location of the 1864
massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people camped along the banks of the
Big Sandy Creek in southeastern Colorado. The effort to establish the
historic site has been a cooperative one. The inclusion of the land
authorized by H.R. 481 will be a significant step leading to the formal
establishment of the site by the Secretary of the Interior.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 481 will help advance the preservation and
interpretation of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and we
support adoption of the legislation by the House today.
Mr. Speaker, let me thank the staff of the Resources Committee, both
the minority and majority staff, and especially Rick Healy, who worked
diligently on this bill.
Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased, to offer my bill H.R. 481,
the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Act. I want to thank
Chairman Pombo of the Committee on Resources for the expeditious way in
which this bill moved through committee and onto the floor.
This bill is not only important to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian
tribes, the citizens of the 4th district of Colorado and the entire
state, but it is also important to help secure a permanent reminder in
America of the tragic event that forever altered the course of Western
frontier history.
On November 29, 1864,700 Colorado Volunteers commanded by Colonel
John Chivington attacked a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who
were camped along Big Sandy Creek in what is now Kiowa County,
Colorado--part of the district that I represent today. More than 150
Indian people were killed in the attack, the majority of whom were
woman and children. This event is now known as the Sand Creek Massacre.
On March 13, 1865, this event was addressed in Congress by the Joint
Committee on the Conduct of the War. Today, 141 years after the
Massacre and 140 years after the first congressional hearings, Congress
is again discussing this tragedy. This time we are here to honor the
victims and preserve a historic parcel of land in Southeastern Colorado
where this event took place.
In 1998, Congress authorized a study to investigate the suitability
and feasibility of designating the Sand Creek Massacre National
Historic Site in the State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park
System. In November 2000, after the completion of the site location
study, Congress passed the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Establishment Act. This Act instructs the Secretary of the Interior to
establish the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site as a unit of
the National Park System once sufficient land is acquired to interpret
and commemorate the massacre.
Today, we consider H.R. 481, to place 1,465 acres of tribally owned
land inside the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site boundary
into Tribal Trust. This would allow the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal
property within the Historic Site to be managed by the National Park
Service in partnership with the Northern and Southern Cheyenne and
Arapaho Tribes and consistent with the purposes of the Sand Creek
Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000.
The passage of H.R. 481 is an important step in establishing this
National Historic Site. With passage of this bill, the National Park
Service would be given management responsibility over an additional
1,465 acres and would bring the total acreage of the managed site to
almost 2,400 acres. Many involved in this project believe the addition
of 1,465 highly important acres to the Park Service's previous holdings
will amount to a ``sufficient portion'' to complete the establishment
of this National Historic Site. When the Secretary of Interior finally
designates this site an official National Historic Site, the Northern
and Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the State of Colorado, Kiowa
County and other stakeholders can begin the planning necessary to open
this massacre site to the public.
I truly believe my bill will help heal the wounds of the past. I ask
for the support of my colleagues on this bill.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I
congratulate my Colorado colleague, Mrs. Musgrave, for introducing it
and thank the leadership of the Resources Committee for making it
possible for the House to consider it today.
Enactment of the bill is a vital step toward formal establishment of
the Sand Creek National Historic Site, as authorized in 2000 by Public
Law 106-465.
The purpose of the Historic Site will be to recognize the national
significance of what we now recognize as a permanent stain on the
history of our State of Colorado--the San Creek massacre--and its
ongoing significance to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people and descendants
of the massacre victims.
The Act authorizes establishment of the national historic site once
the National Park Service has acquired sufficient land to preserve,
commemorate, and interpret the massacre site.
The National Park Service has acquired approximately 920 acres, but
the majority of land within the authorized boundary is privately owned
and is not open to the public. The National Park Service has been
working in partnership with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes and the
State of Colorado towards establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site.
This bill will authorize the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma
to convey approximately 1,465 acres to the Secretary of the Interior to
be held in trust for the tribes. Once these lands are conveyed, the
National Park Service will be able to formally establish the Sand Creek
Massacre National Historic Site.
Sand Creek was the site of an attack with terrible and long-lasting
effects. Its history speaks to what can happen when military force is
misused for political purposes.
The leader of the attack was John M. Chivington, who earlier had been
hailed as the hero of the battle at La Glorieta Pass--sometimes called
the ``Gettysburg of the West--which ended the efforts of the
Confederacy to seize New Mexico and other western territories.
As history records, Chivington seemed destined for even greater
prominence. He was a leading advocate of quick statehood for Colorado,
and spoken of as a likely candidate for Congress. At the same time,
tensions between Colorado's growing white population and the Cheyenne
Indians reached a feverish pitch. The Denver newspaper printed a
frontpage editorial advocating the ``extermination of the red devils''
and urging its readers to ``take a few months off and dedicate that
time to wiping out the Indians.'' Chivington took advantage of this
public mood, attacking the territorial governor and others who
counseled a policy of conciliation and treaty-making with the Cheyenne.
Finally, during the early morning hours of November 29, 1864, he led
a regiment of Colorado Volunteers to where the band led by Black
Kettle, a well-known ``peace'' chief, was encamped. Federal army
officers had promised Black Kettle safety if he would return to this
location, and he was in fact flying the American flag and a white flag
of truce over his lodge, but Chivington ordered an attack on the
unsuspecting village nonetheless.
After hours of fighting, the Colorado volunteers had lost only 9 men
in the process of murdering between 200 and 400 Cheyenne, most of them
women and children. After the slaughter, they scalped and sexually
mutilated many of the bodies, later exhibiting their trophies to
cheering crowds in Denver.
Chivington was at first widely praised for the ``battle'' at Sand
Creek, and honored with a widely-attended parade through the streets of
Denver.
Attitudes began to change as tales circulated of drunken soldiers
butchering unarmed women and children. At first, these rumors seemed
confirmed when Chivington arrested six of his men and charged them with
cowardice in battle.
But the six, who included Captain Silas Soule, were in fact militia
members who had refused to participate in the massacre and now spoke
openly of the carnage they had witnessed. Shortly after their arrest,
the U.S. Secretary of War ordered the six men released and Congress
began preparing for a formal investigation.
Soule himself could not be a witness at any of the investigations,
because less than a week after his release he was shot from behind and
killed on the streets of Denver.
Although Chivington was eventually brought up on court-martial
charges for his involvement in the massacre, he was no longer in the
U.S. Army and could therefore not be punished. No criminal charges were
ever filed against him. An Army judge, however, publicly stated that
Sand Creek was ``a cowardly and cold-blooded slaughter, sufficient to
cover its perpetrators with indelible infamy, and the face of every
American with shame and indignation.''
[[Page H5202]]
The massacre remains a matter of great historical, cultural and
spiritual importance to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and is a
pivotal event in the history of relations between the Plains Indians
and Euro-American settlers.
The effort to establish the Sand Creek National Historic Site was led
by former Senator Ben Campbell of Colorado. It has gone through several
stages:
The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Study Act (Public Law
105-243) directed the National Park Service, in consultation with the
State of Colorado, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and the Northern Arapaho Tribe, to complete
two tasks. First, the Act directed the Park Service to ``identify the
location and extent of the massacre area.'' Second, the Act directed
the Park Service to prepare a report that assessed the national
significance of the Sand Creek Massacre site, the suitability and
feasibility of designating it as a unit of the National Park System,
and a range of alternatives for the management, administration, and
protection of the area.
Following completion of these studies, Senator Campbell introduced
legislation to authorize the establishment of the Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site as a unit of the National Park System. Enactment
of this bill is an important step toward completing that effort. I urge
its approval by the House.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. FORTUNO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 481, 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.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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