[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17702]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 17702]]

   DECREASING REQUISITE BLOOD QUANTUM REQUIRED FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE 
                      YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO TRIBE

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and


pass the bill (H.R. 1460) to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and 
Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to 
decrease the requisite blood quantum required for membership in the 
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1460

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

     SECTION 1. BLOOD QUANTUM REQUIRED FOR TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP 
                   DECREASED.

       Section 108(a)(2)(i) of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and 
     Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 1300g-7) is amended by striking ``\1/8\'' and 
     inserting ``\1/16\''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on H.R. 1460.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oregon?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1460 would amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the 
Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to 
decrease the requisite blood quantum required for the membership in the 
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe.
  The 1987 Act, which restored recognition to the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo 
tribe, requires that this tribe's members have a blood quantum of at 
least one-eighth in order to qualify for tribal membership.
  H.R. 1460 would amend the Ysleta Tribe's blood quantum requirement 
from one-eighth to one-sixteenth at the request of the tribe. There are 
currently 1,252 members of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe.
  This is an important bill to the Ysleta Tribe and I ask Members for 
their support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oregon. I want to compliment 
the chief supporter of this legislation, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Reyes).
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1460 is important legislation in that it provides 
assistance to the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe in Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1460, which will reduce the 
blood quantum required for membership in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo 
tribe from one-eight to one-sixteenth.
  Congress has long recognized that inherent in the power of any tribal 
government is the power to set membership criteria and thereby 
determine who its members are. Absent some gross abuse of this power, I 
see no reason to interfere in this important area.
  With regard to the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe, as I understand it, 
the tribe has asked that the blood quantum requirement be set in public 
law. And while I personally am opposed to blood quantum requirements, 
and believe better criteria exist, this change is well within the 
tribe's authority, and I support their request.
  It is my understanding that the tribe has about 1,200 members. 
Presumably with tribal members marrying non-tribal members, and the 
older tribal members passing away, the tribal council believes it won't 
be long before there won't be much of a tribe left. I am pleased to see 
that the tribal council is addressing this issue now rather than wait 
until there is a crisis, or run the risk of losing their identity as a 
tribe.
  I support this bill and urge my colleagues to vote aye.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Reyes).
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both gentlemen for helping 
with this very important bill for the Tiqua Tribe in El Paso. It is an 
issue of fairness. It is one that I would urge all my colleagues to 
support. It is vitally important to be able to sustain the tribe in the 
coming years.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1460. As I walked over 
from my office a few minutes ago, I thought of a number of things that 
I wanted to tell you about how important this bill is to the members of 
the Tiqua tribe. I thought that I might tell you about the proud 
tradition and the remarkable history of the Ysleta del Sur tribe that 
dates back to prehistoric times. I thought that I might tell you about 
a unique group of individuals that will be reduced to a mere handful of 
members within a few generations if we fail to pass this bill, and I 
thought I might tell you about the disappointment and sorrow that the 
parents and members of the tribe have when a child is born, and because 
of the current blood quantum requirements, that child is excluded from 
tribal membership. I thought about talking about all of these things to 
you but decided that I would instead talk about fairness, about doing 
what is right and doing what is honorable.
  This bill is not about money or power or politics. Its about the 
long-term existence of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, commonly known as the 
Tiqua Indian Tribe. The current statute requires that a person have a 
blood quantum of at least 1/8th in order to qualify for tribal 
membership. This bill would reduce the blood quantum requirement to at 
least 1/16th. There are currently only 1,252 members with the requisite 
blood quantum of 1/8th or more. When we pass this bill, another 500 
members will be included in the tribal membership. This increase in 
numbers under the lowered blood quantum requirements would help to 
ensure that the offspring of tribal members who fall within those 
requirements would also qualify for tribal membership.
  This is not rocket science. I don't have any charts and pictures to 
show you. All I have to offer is a profound sense of how important it 
is for individuals born to this tribe to belong to a family a culture 
and a people with a distinct place and tradition in America.
  I urge you to support this bill and vote to reduce the blood quantum 
requirement for the Tiqua Indian tribe.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. 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 Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1460.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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