[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 149 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8881-H8882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CHIEF STANDING BEAR NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 5086) to amend the National Trails System Act 
to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the 
feasibility of designating the Chief Standing Bear National Historic 
Trail, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5086

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CHIEF STANDING BEAR NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL 
                   FEASIBILITY STUDY.

       (a) Amendment.--Section 5(c) of the National Trails System 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(__) Chief standing bear national historic trail.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Chief Standing Bear Trail, extending 
     approximately 550 miles from Niobrara, Nebraska, to Ponca 
     City, Oklahoma, which follows the route taken by Chief 
     Standing Bear and the Ponca people during Federal Indian 
     removal, and approximately 550 miles from Ponca City, 
     Oklahoma, through Omaha, Nebraska, to Niobrara, Nebraska, 
     which follows the return route taken by Chief Standing Bear 
     and the Ponca people, as generally depicted on the map 
     entitled `Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail 
     Feasibility Study', numbered 903/125,630, and dated November 
     2014.
       ``(B) Availability of map.--The map described in 
     subparagraph (A) shall be on file and available for public 
     inspection in the appropriate offices of the Department of 
     the Interior.
       ``(C) Components.--The feasibility study conducted pursuant 
     to subparagraph (A) shall include a determination on whether 
     the Chief Standing Bear Trail meets the criteria in 
     subsection (b) of for designation as a national historic 
     trail.''.
       (b) Timeline.--The feasibility study authorized by the 
     amendment in subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 
     one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5086, authored by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Fortenberry), directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study 
on the feasibility of designating the Chief Standing Bear National 
Historic Trail.
  The proposed trail would extend approximately 550 miles between 
Nebraska and Oklahoma, following the route taken by Chief Standing Bear 
and the Ponca people during the Federal Indian removal. The trail would 
also commemorate the chief's return to Nebraska and subsequent trial in 
1879 when he became the first Native American to be recognized as a 
person in a Federal court decision. It is a good piece of legislation. 
I urge its adoption.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I rise in support of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5086 directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Chief Standing 
Bear National Historic Trail in Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas. The 
trail extends 550 miles following the same route taken by Chief 
Standing Bear and the Ponca people during Federal Indian removal in 
1877 and their subsequent return to Nebraska.
  Chief Standing Bear played an important role in American history. He 
was the first Native American recognized by the United States 
Government as a person under law, following his arrest

[[Page H8882]]

and ensuing trial for leaving his reservation in Oklahoma without 
permission.
  Chief Standing Bear was honoring his son's dying wish to be buried in 
the land of his birth and traveled with his son's remains, along with 
20 other members of his tribe, through harsh conditions from Oklahoma 
back to their ancestral lands in Nebraska.

                              {time}  1245

  Unfortunately, at that time, leaving the reservation was a violation 
of law.
  At the very least, 135 years later, it is only right that we look 
into the feasibility of including this trail as part of the National 
Historic Trails system, to reflect on a not-so-proud period of American 
history in our country when Native Americans were treated as second-
class citizens and honor the courage of Chief Standing Bear in living 
up to the promise he had made to his son.
  I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for advancing 
this legislation, and Representative Fortenberry for his leadership on 
this bill.
  I support passage, and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this 
legislation.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 5 
minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), the author of 
this legislation.
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the distinguished chairman 
of the House Committee on Natural Resources for his leadership on this 
issue and for his many, many years of devoted service to this body. We 
will miss you. All the best in the future. Thank you so much for your 
service.
  Let me also thank the ranking member, Mr. DeFazio, for his support on 
this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a feasibility study for the Chief Standing Bear National 
Historic Trail.
  Why is this important? Because, as has already been mentioned, Chief 
Standing Bear holds a special place in Native American, as well as 
United States history. Establishing a trail in his name would be an 
outstanding way to recognize his deep contribution to the well-being of 
our country.
  I would like to provide some additional background on this 
extraordinary individual who, again, prevailed in one of the most 
important court cases for Native Americans in our country's history.
  Chief Standing Bear was a Ponca chief. In the 1800s, the Ponca tribe 
made its home in the Niobrara River Valley in the area of northeast 
Nebraska. In 1877, the United States Government pressured the Poncas 
from their homeland, compelling them to move to Indian territory in 
Oklahoma.
  Not wanting to subject his people to a confrontation with the 
government, Standing Bear obliged and led them from their homes to 
their new reservation in Oklahoma. That journey was particularly harsh 
and the new land was inhospitable. Nearly a third of the tribe died 
along the way from starvation, malaria, and other illness, including 
Standing Bear's own daughter, Prairie Flower, and later, his son named 
Bear Shield.
  Standing Bear had promised Bear Shield that he would bury him back 
home, back home in their native land in the Niobrara River Valley of 
northeast Nebraska. Embarking on that trip in the winter of 1878, 
Standing Bear led a group of Poncas. When they reached the Omaha 
reservation, the United States Army stopped Standing Bear and arrested 
him for leaving Oklahoma without permission. He was then taken to Fort 
Omaha and held there to stand trial.
  In the meantime, Standing Bear's plight actually attracted national 
attention; first, in the predecessor to the current Omaha World Herald, 
the Omaha Daily Herald, which is our local newspaper back home, and 
through that, the story became well publicized.
  At the conclusion of his 2-day trial, Standing Bear himself was 
allowed to speak. In doing so, he raised his hand, Mr. Speaker, and he 
had this to say:

       That hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I 
     shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you will feel pain. 
     The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as 
     yours. I am a man. God made us both.

  With those profound words, Mr. Speaker, on that late spring day in 
1879, I believe that Chief Standing Bear expressed the most profound of 
American sentiments: the belief in the inherent dignity and, therefore, 
rights of all persons, no matter their ethnicity, no matter their 
color. To the credit of Judge Elmer Dundy, he ruled then that Native 
Americans were full persons within the meaning of the law for the first 
time in that trial.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the story of the great Ponca chief is a 
story of strength and grace and dignity in the protection of the most 
basic of human rights. I also believe it is a story that needs to be 
told again and again, understood, and cherished by all Americans of 
coming generations.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the establishment of the Chief Standing 
Bear National Historic Trail would honor both his courage and legacy, 
the legacy of this brave individual, and his contribution to the civil 
liberties of our Nation.
  With that, I urge my colleagues to support the bill and, again, thank 
the gentlemen for their support as well.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. 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 Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5086, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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