[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12662-12663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               AMENDMENTS

  Under clause 8 of rule XVIII, proposed amendments were submitted as 
follows:

                               H.R. 1328

                    Offered By: Mr. Cole of Oklahoma

       Amendment No. 1: Add at the end the following new title:

                  TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     SECTION 1. APOLOGY TO NATIVE PEOPLES OF UNITED STATES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the ancestors of today's Native Peoples inhabited the 
     land of the present-day United States since time immemorial 
     and for thousands of years before the arrival of people of 
     European descent;
       (2) for millennia, Native Peoples have honored, protected, 
     and stewarded this land we cherish;
       (3) Native Peoples are spiritual people with a deep and 
     abiding belief in the Creator, and for millennia Native 
     Peoples have maintained a powerful spiritual connection to 
     this land, as evidenced by their customs and legends;
       (4) the arrival of Europeans in North America opened a new 
     chapter in the history of Native Peoples;
       (5) while establishment of permanent European settlements 
     in North America did stir conflict with nearby Indian tribes, 
     peaceful and mutually beneficial interactions also took 
     place;
       (6) the foundational English settlements in Jamestown, 
     Virginia, and Plymouth, Massachusetts, owed their survival in 
     large measure to the compassion and aid of Native Peoples in 
     the vicinities of the settlements;
       (7) in the infancy of the United States, the founders of 
     the Republic expressed their desire for a just relationship 
     with the Indian tribes, as evidenced by the Northwest 
     Ordinance enacted by Congress in 1787, which begins with the 
     phrase, ``The utmost good faith shall always be observed 
     toward the Indians'';
       (8) Indian tribes provided great assistance to the 
     fledgling Republic as it strengthened and grew, including 
     invaluable help to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on 
     their epic journey from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific 
     Coast;
       (9) Native Peoples and non-Native settlers engaged in 
     numerous armed conflicts in which unfortunately, both took 
     innocent lives, including those of women and children;
       (10) the Federal Government violated many of the treaties 
     ratified by Congress and other diplomatic agreements with 
     Indian tribes;
       (11) the United States forced Indian tribes and their 
     citizens to move away from their traditional homelands and 
     onto federally established and controlled reservations, in 
     accordance with such Acts as the Act of May 28, 1830 (4 Stat. 
     411, chapter 148) (commonly known as the ``Indian Removal 
     Act'');
       (12) many Native Peoples suffered and perished--
       (A) during the execution of the official Federal Government 
     policy of forced removal, including the infamous Trail of 
     Tears and Long Walk;

[[Page 12663]]

       (B) during bloody armed confrontations and massacres, such 
     as the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the Wounded Knee 
     Massacre in 1890; and
       (C) on numerous Indian reservations;
       (13) the Federal Government condemned the traditions, 
     beliefs, and customs of Native Peoples and endeavored to 
     assimilate them by such policies as the redistribution of 
     land under the Act of February 8, 1887 (25 U.S.C. 331; 24 
     Stat. 388, chapter 119) (commonly known as the ``General 
     Allotment Act''), and the forcible removal of Native children 
     from their families to faraway boarding schools where their 
     Native practices and languages were degraded and forbidden;
       (14) officials of the Federal Government and private United 
     States citizens harmed Native Peoples by the unlawful 
     acquisition of recognized tribal land and the theft of tribal 
     resources and assets from recognized tribal land;
       (15) the policies of the Federal Government toward Indian 
     tribes and the breaking of covenants with Indian tribes have 
     contributed to the severe social ills and economic troubles 
     in many Native communities today;
       (16) despite the wrongs committed against Native Peoples by 
     the United States, Native Peoples have remained committed to 
     the protection of this great land, as evidenced by the fact 
     that, on a per capita basis, more Native Peoples have served 
     in the United States Armed Forces and placed themselves in 
     harm's way in defense of the United States in every major 
     military conflict than any other ethnic group;
       (17) Indian tribes have actively influenced the public life 
     of the United States by continued cooperation with Congress 
     and the Department of the Interior, through the involvement 
     of Native individuals in official Federal Government 
     positions, and by leadership of their own sovereign Indian 
     tribes;
       (18) Indian tribes are resilient and determined to 
     preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their 
     unique cultural identities;
       (19) the National Museum of the American Indian was 
     established within the Smithsonian Institution as a living 
     memorial to Native Peoples and their traditions; and
       (20) Native Peoples are endowed by their Creator with 
     certain unalienable rights, and among those are life, 
     liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
       (b) Acknowledgment and Apology.--The United States, acting 
     through Congress--
       (1) recognizes the special legal and political relationship 
     Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn 
     covenant with the land we share;
       (2) commends and honors Native Peoples for the thousands of 
     years that they have stewarded and protected this land;
       (3) recognizes that there have been years of official 
     depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of 
     covenants by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes;
       (4) apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States 
     to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, 
     maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by 
     citizens of the United States;
       (5) expresses its regret for the ramifications of former 
     wrongs and its commitment to build on the positive 
     relationships of the past and present to move toward a 
     brighter future where all the people of this land live 
     reconciled as brothers and sisters, and harmoniously steward 
     and protect this land together;
       (6) urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the 
     United States against Indian tribes in the history of the 
     United States in order to bring healing to this land; and
       (7) commends the State governments that have begun 
     reconciliation efforts with recognized Indian tribes located 
     in their boundaries and encourages all State governments 
     similarly to work toward reconciling relationships with 
     Indian tribes within their boundaries.
       (c) Disclaimer.--Nothing in this section--
       (1) authorizes or supports any claim against the United 
     States; or
       (2) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United 
     States.

                               H.R. 1328

                    Offered By: Mr. Cole of Oklahoma

       Amendment No. 2: Add at the end the following new title:

                  TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING LAW ENFORCEMENT AND 
                   METHAMPHETAMINE ISSUES IN INDIAN COUNTRY.

       It is the sense of Congress that Congress encourages State, 
     local, and Indian tribal law enforcement agencies to enter 
     into memoranda of agreement between and among those agencies 
     for purposes of streamlining law enforcement activities and 
     maximizing the use of limited resources--
       (1) to improve law enforcement services provided to Indian 
     tribal communities; and
       (2) to increase the effectiveness of measures to address 
     problems relating to methamphetamine use in Indian Country 
     (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code).

                               H.R. 1328

                    Offered By: Mr. Cole of Oklahoma

       Amendment No. 3: Page 341, line 11, after ``title.'' insert 
     the following: ``The Federal Government shall not withhold 
     funding from any Indian tribe or tribal organization or 
     entity, based solely on the Indian tribe's citizenship 
     requirements.''.
       Page 344, beginning line 4, insert the following:
       (5) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (A) the right of self-government flows from the inherent 
     sovereignty of Indian tribes and nations;
       (B) an Indian tribe's sovereignty includes the power to 
     protect tribal self-government and to control internal 
     relations;
       (C) the United States recognizes a special government-to-
     government relationship with Indian tribes, including the 
     right of the tribes to self-governance, as reflected in the 
     Constitution, treaties, Federal statutes, and the course of 
     dealings of the United States with Indian tribes;
       (D) it is the policy of the United States to maintain and 
     improve its unique and continuing relationship with, and 
     responsibility to, Indian tribes;
       (E) Congress should improve and perpetuate the government-
     to-government relationship between Indian tribes and the 
     United States and strengthen tribal control over Federal 
     funding and program management;
       (F) the courts have consistently recognized that the 
     authority to determine questions of its own citizenship is a 
     fundamental power of an Indian tribe;
       (G) the Supreme Court stated in Pueblo v. Martinez that, 
     ``[a] tribe's right to define its own membership for tribal 
     purposes has long been recognized as central to its existence 
     as an independent political community''; and
       (H) the power of an Indian tribe to determine questions of 
     its own citizenship derives from the character of an Indian 
     tribe as a distinct political entity, therefore Indian tribes 
     have the exclusive right to determine eligibility for 
     enrollment of their citizenship.

                               H.R. 1328

                    Offered By: Mr. Cole of Oklahoma

       Amendment No. 4: Page 341, line 11, after ``title.'' insert 
     the following: ``The Federal Government shall not withhold 
     funding from any Indian tribe or tribal organization or 
     entity, based solely on the Indian tribe's citizenship 
     requirements.''.