Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000

Summary: Requires descendants of such Indians to have reasonable rights of access to, and use of, federally acquired land within the Site.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) grant to any descendant or tribal member reasonable access to federally acquired land within the Site for carrying out traditional, cultural, or historical observance (closing the area to the general public during such period); and (2) dedicate a portion of the Site to certain burial and commemorative remains and objects.
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sand Creek Massacre National 
Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
        (1) on November 29, 1864, a peaceful village of Cheyenne and 
    Arapaho Indians under the leadership of Chief Black Kettle, along 
    Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado territory was attacked by 
    approximately 700 volunteer soldiers commanded by Colonel John M. 
    Chivington;
        (2) more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho were killed in the 
    attack, most of whom were women, children, or elderly;
        (3) during the massacre and the following day, the soldiers 
    committed atrocities on the dead before withdrawing from the field;
        (4) the site of the Sand Creek Massacre is of great 
    significance to descendants of the victims of the massacre and 
    their respective tribes, for the commemoration of ancestors at the 
    site;
        (5) the site is a reminder of the tragic extremes sometimes 
    reached in the 500 years of conflict between Native Americans and 
    people of European and other origins concerning the land that now 
    comprises the United States;
        (6) Congress, in enacting the Sand Creek Massacre National 
    Historic Site Study Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-243; 112 Stat. 
    1579), directed the National Park Service to complete a resources 
    study of the site;
        (7) the study completed under that Act--
            (A) identified the location and extent of the area in which 
        the massacre took place; and
            (B) confirmed the national significance, suitability, and 
        feasibility of, and evaluated management options for, that 
        area, including designation of the site as a unit of the 
        National Park System; and
        (8) the study included an evaluation of environmental impacts 
    and preliminary cost estimates for facility development, 
    administration, and necessary land acquisition.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
        (1) to recognize the importance of the Sand Creek Massacre as--
            (A) a nationally significant element of frontier military 
        and Native American history; and
            (B) a symbol of the struggles of Native American tribes to 
        maintain their way of life on ancestral land;
        (2) to authorize, on acquisition of sufficient land, the 
    establishment of the site of the Sand Creek Massacre as a national 
    historic site; and
        (3) to provide opportunities for the tribes and the State to be 
    involved in the formulation of general management plans and 
    educational programs for the national historic site.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
        (1) Descendant.--The term ``descendant'' means a member of a 
    tribe, an ancestor of whom was injured or killed in, or otherwise 
    affected by, the Sand Creek Massacre.
        (2) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means the 
    management plan required to be developed for the site under section 
    7(a).
        (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park 
    Service.
        (4) Site.--The term ``site'' means the Sand Creek Massacre 
    National Historic Site established under section 4(a).
        (5) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Colorado.
        (6) Tribe.--The term ``tribe'' means--
            (A) the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma;
            (B) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe; or
            (C) the Northern Arapaho Tribe.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) In General.--
        (1) Determination.--On a determination by the Secretary that 
    land described in subsection (b)(1) containing a sufficient 
    quantity of resources to provide for the preservation, 
    memorialization, commemoration, and interpretation of the Sand 
    Creek Massacre has been acquired by the National Park Service, the 
    Secretary shall establish the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic 
    Site, Colorado.
        (2) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish in the Federal 
    Register a notice of the determination of the Secretary under 
    paragraph (1).
    (b) Boundary.--
        (1) Map and acreage.--The site shall consist of approximately 
    12,480 acres in Kiowa County, Colorado, the site of the Sand Creek 
    Massacre, as generally depicted on the map entitled, ``Sand Creek 
    Massacre Historic Site'', numbered, SAND 80,013 IR, and dated July 
    1, 2000.
        (2) Legal description.--The Secretary shall prepare a legal 
    description of the land and interests in land described in 
    paragraph (1).
        (3) Public availability.--The map prepared under paragraph (1) 
    and the legal description prepared under paragraph (2) shall be on 
    file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices 
    of the National Park Service.
        (4) Boundary revision.--The Secretary may, as necessary, make 
    minor revisions to the boundary of the site in accordance with 
    section 7(c) of the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 (16 
    U.S.C. 460l-9(c)).

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall manage the site in accordance 
with--
        (1) this Act;
        (2) the Act entitled ``An Act to establish a National Park 
    Service, and for other purposes'', approved August 25, 1916 (39 
    Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);
        (3) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.); and
        (4) other laws generally applicable to management of units of 
    the National Park System.
    (b) Management.--The Secretary shall manage the site--
        (1) to protect and preserve the site, including--
            (A) the topographic features that the Secretary determines 
        are important to the site;
            (B) artifacts and other physical remains of the Sand Creek 
        Massacre; and
            (C) the cultural landscape of the site, in a manner that 
        preserves, as closely as practicable, the cultural landscape of 
        the site as it appeared at the time of the Sand Creek Massacre;
        (2)(A) to interpret the natural and cultural resource values 
    associated with the site; and
        (B) provide for public understanding and appreciation of, and 
    preserve for future generations, those values; and
        (3) to memorialize, commemorate, and provide information to 
    visitors to the site to--
            (A) enhance cultural understanding about the site; and
            (B) assist in minimizing the chances of similar incidents 
        in the future.
    (c) Consultation and Training.--
        (1) In general.--In developing the management plan and 
    preparing educational programs for the public about the site, the 
    Secretary shall consult with and solicit advice and recommendations 
    from the tribes and the State.
        (2) Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative 
    agreements with the tribes (including boards, committees, 
    enterprises, and traditional leaders of the tribes) and the State 
    to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may acquire land and interests in 
land within the boundaries of the site--
        (1) through purchase (including purchase with donated or 
    appropriated funds) only from a willing seller; and
        (2) by donation, exchange, or other means, except that any land 
    or interest in land owned by the State (including a political 
    subdivision of the State) may be acquired only by donation.
    (b) Priority for Acquisition.--The Secretary shall give priority to 
the acquisition of land containing the marker in existence on the date 
of enactment of this Act, which states ``Sand Creek Battleground, 
November 29 and 30, 1864'', within the boundary of the site.
    (c) Cost-Effectiveness.--
        (1) In general.--In acquiring land for the site, the Secretary, 
    to the maximum extent practicable, shall use cost-effective 
    alternatives to Federal fee ownership, including--
            (A) the acquisition of conservation easements; and
            (B) other means of acquisition that are consistent with 
        local zoning requirements.
        (2) Support facilities.--A support facility for the site that 
    is not within the designated boundary of the site may be located in 
    Kiowa County, Colorado, subject to an agreement between the 
    Secretary and the Commissioners of Kiowa County, Colorado.

SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 5 years after the date on which 
funds are made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall 
prepare a management plan for the site.
    (b) Inclusions.--The management plan shall cover, at a minimum--
        (1) measures for the preservation of the resources of the site;
        (2) requirements for the type and extent of development and use 
    of the site, including, for each development--
            (A) the general location;
            (B) timing and implementation requirements; and
            (C) anticipated costs;
        (3) requirements for offsite support facilities in Kiowa 
    County;
        (4) identification of, and implementation commitments for, 
    visitor carrying capacities for all areas of the site;
        (5) opportunities for involvement by the tribes and the State 
    in the formulation of educational programs for the site; and
        (6) opportunities for involvement by the tribes, the State, and 
    other local and national entities in the responsibilities of 
    developing and supporting the site.

SEC. 8. NEEDS OF DESCENDANTS.

    (a) In General.--A descendant shall have reasonable rights of 
access to, and use of, federally acquired land within the site, in 
accordance with the terms and conditions of a written agreement between 
the Secretary and the tribe of which the descendant is a member.
    (b) Commemorative Needs.--In addition to the rights described in 
subsection (a), any reasonable need of a descendant shall be considered 
in park planning and operations, especially with respect to 
commemorative activities in designated areas within the site.
SEC. 9. TRIBAL ACCESS FOR TRADITIONAL CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL 
OBSERVANCE.
    (a) Access.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary shall grant to any descendant or 
    other member of a tribe reasonable access to federally acquired 
    land within the site for the purpose of carrying out a traditional, 
    cultural, or historical observance.
        (2) No fee.--The Secretary shall not charge any fee for access 
    granted under paragraph (1).
    (b) Conditions of Access.--In granting access under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall temporarily close to the general public one or more 
specific portions of the site in order to protect the privacy of tribal 
members engaging in a traditional, cultural, or historical observance 
in those portions; and any such closure shall be made in a manner that 
affects the smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary 
for the purposes described above.
    (c) Sand Creek Repatriation Site.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary shall dedicate a portion of the 
    federally acquired land within the site to the establishment and 
    operation of a site at which certain items referred to in paragraph 
    (2) that are repatriated under the Native American Graves 
    Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) or any 
    other provision of law may be interred, reinterred, preserved, or 
    otherwise protected.
        (2) Acceptable items.--The items referred to in paragraph (1) 
    are any items associated with the Sand Creek Massacre, such as--
            (A) Native American human remains;
            (B) associated funerary objects;
            (C) unassociated funerary objects;
            (D) sacred objects; and
            (E) objects of cultural patrimony.
    (d) Tribal Consultation.--In exercising any authority under this 
section, the Secretary shall consult with, and solicit advice and 
recommendations from, descendants and the tribes.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.