[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9018-H9019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX TRIBE EQUITABLE COMPENSATION ACT OF 2005

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. HERSETH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Cheyenne 
River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Act of 2005.
  Over 50 years ago, the Pick-Sloan Act initiated a major flood control 
and reclamation project along the Missouri River Basin. The 
construction of dams and reservoirs flooded hundreds of thousands of 
acres in South Dakota, dramatically altering the basin's landscape and 
the river's flow.
  The American Indian communities in South Dakota were some of the most 
severely affected by this project. Five of the nine, Lakota, Dakota, 
and Nakota reservations in South Dakota, border the Missouri River.
  The Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation is in north central South 
Dakota and among the largest reservations in terms of land base. For 
generations the Lakota bands which comprised the Cheyenne River Sioux 
tribe camped in the river valley and shaped their way of life to match 
the contours of the land and the flow of the river.
  This was no less true after the Plains Indians were confined to the 
reservations in the late 19th century. The fertile river bottomlands 
remained at the center of their society, providing the tribe's best 
crop land, pastures and wildlife habitat, as well as an important 
source of timber.
  Perhaps even more significantly, the fertile bottomlands remained 
central to many of the tribe's cultural and spiritual practices. At the 
outset of the Pick-Sloan Project, the United States Government used its 
eminent domain power to seize large tracts of the fertile

[[Page H9019]]

Indian bottomlands. Payment for these takings was typically haphazard 
and piecemeal. Time and again, the government failed to fairly 
compensate both tribal and individual land owners for the loss of their 
property.
  One such landowner is Freddy LeBeau. Freddy was born and raised on 
the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. While serving 4 years in 
the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, he arranged to 
purchase 200 acres of land along the Missouri River.
  In Freddy's own words he explains, ``We live in a poor county, and if 
I can pay taxes on that land and help the county in that small manner, 
I would be glad to do that. I thought I was an asset there fighting for 
my country, and I would remain an asset when I came home in a small way 
and pay taxes on my land.''
  Following his service, Freddy returned home and for a time he was 
able to work his land, raise horses and cattle and start a family. The 
Pick-Sloan Act changed all that.
  The Ohio dam and reservoir flooded over 100,000 acres of Cheyenne 
River Sioux lands, including Freddy's home. He and many other tribal 
members were forced to move their families to higher ground and begin 
again. Like many others, he did not receive a fair price for his loss. 
And at 83 years old, this World War II veteran says, ``I am still 
looking for a place as good as the place that I lost.''
  Congress has already acknowledged this injustice and only a few years 
ago passed legislation to provide just compensation by creating the 
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Recovery Trust Fund. While this action was 
commendable, it left one important group behind, tribal members who 
lost privately owned land, elders now, who owned deeded land at the 
time it was taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Current law 
actually prohibits the tribe from using existing funds to compensate 
these individuals.
  The tribe has recognized this shortcoming and has worked to craft a 
solution that requires no new expenditures, no new expenditures, and 
guarantees that the affected tribal elders and their families can be 
justly compensated for lands taken over a generation ago.
  The leadership of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, a united South 
Dakota congressional delegation, and the moving testimony of private 
landowners like Freddy LeBeau have all contributed to the introduction 
of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Act. This bill 
would correct a historic wrong and compensate tribal members who have 
been left behind and treated unjustly for many years.
  At 83 years old, Freddy and 33 other tribal elders are still waiting 
for just compensation. I urge this swift consideration and passage of 
this bill.

                          ____________________