I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3099

To establish the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in the State

of Oklahoma.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 14, 1996

Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma (for himself and Mr. BREWSTER) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

in the State of Oklahoma.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Washita Battlefield

5 National Historic Site Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Battle of the Washita, November 27,

9 1868, was one of the largest engagements between

10 Plains tribes and the United States Army on the
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1 Southern Great Plains. The site is a registered Na2 tional Historic Landmark;

3 (2) Lt. Colonel George A. Custer, leading the

4 7th United States Calvary, attacked the sleeping

5 Cheyenne village of peace chief Black Kettle. Cus6 ter’s attack resulted in more than 150 Indian cas7 ualties, many of them women and children;

8 (3) the Battle of the Washita symbolizes the

9 struggle of the Southern Great Plains tribes to

10 maintain their traditional lifeways and not to submit

11 to reservation confinement; and

12 (4) the Washita battle site possesses a high de13 gree of integrity and the cultural landscape is essen14 tially intact. The Cheyenne village site has not been

15 altered substantially except by periodic flooding of

16 the Washita River.

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

18 (1) recognize the importance of the Battle of

19 the Washita as a nationally significant element of

20 frontier military history and as a symbol of the

21 struggles of the Southern Great Plains tribes to

22 maintain control of their traditional use areas; and

23 (2) establish the site of the Battle of the

24 Washita as a national historic site and provide op25 portunities for American Indian groups including the
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1 Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe to be involved in the for2 mulation of plans and educational programs for the

3 national historic site.

4 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide for the preser6 vation and interpretation of the Battle of the Washita,

7 there is hereby established the Washita Battlefield Na8 tional Historic Site in the State of Oklahoma (hereafter

9 in this Act referred to as the ‘‘national historic site’’).

10 (b) BOUNDARY.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The national historic site

12 shall consist of—

13 (A) approximately 326 acres, as generally

14 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Washita Battle15 field National Historic Site’’, numbered

16 20,000A and dated 12/95; and

17 (B) the private lands subject to conserva18 tion easements referred to in section 5(b).

19 (2) MAP.—The map referred to in paragraph

20 (1) shall be on file in the offices of the Director of

21 the National Park Service, Department of the Inte22 rior, and other appropriate offices of the National

23 Park Service. The Secretary of the Interior (here24 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)

25 may, from time to time, make minor revisions in the
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1 boundary of the national historic site in accordance

2 with section 7(c) of the Land and Water Conserva3 tion Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 and following).

4 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the

6 Director of the National Park Service, shall manage the

7 national historic site in accordance with this Act and the

8 provisions of law generally applicable to units of the Na9 tional Park System, including ‘‘An Act to establish a Na10 tional Park Service, and for other purposes’’, approved

11 August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), and

12 the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461–

13 467).

14 (b) MANAGEMENT PURPOSES.—The Secretary shall

15 manage the national historic site for the following pur16 poses, among others:

17 (1) To protect and preserve the national his18 toric site, including the topographic features impor19 tant to the battle site, artifacts and other physical

20 remains of the battle, and the visual scene as closely

21 as possible as it was at the time of the battle.

22 (2) To interpret the cultural and natural re23 sources of the historic site, providing for public un24 derstanding and appreciation of the area in such
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1 manner as to perpetuate these qualities and values

2 for future generations.

3 (c) CONSULTATION AND TRAINING.—The Secretary,

4 acting through the Director of the National Park Service,

5 shall consult regularly with the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe

6 on the formulation of the management plan provisions re7 ferred to in section 6(5) and on preparation of educational

8 programs provided to the public. The Secretary is author9 ized to enter into cooperative agreements with the Chey10 enne-Arapaho Tribe, its subordinate boards, committees,

11 enterprises, and traditional leaders to further the purposes

12 of this Act.

13 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

14 (a) PARK BOUNDARIES.—Within the boundaries of

15 the national historic site, the Secretary is authorized to

16 acquire lands and interest in lands by donation, purchase

17 with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange, except

18 that—

19 (1) no lands or interest in lands within the his20 toric site may be acquired without the consent of the

21 owner thereof, and

22 (2) lands and interests in lands owned by the

23 State of Oklahoma or any political subdivision there24 of may be acquired only by donation.
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1 (b) CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.—The Congress

2 finds that the State of Oklahoma, acting through the

3 Oklahoma Historical Society, will work with local land

4 owners to acquire and hold in perpetuity conservation

5 easements in the vicinity of the national historic site as

6 deemed necessary for the visual and interpretive integrity

7 of the site. The intent of the easements will be to keep

8 occupancy of the land in private ownership and use of the

9 land in general agriculture.

10 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

11 Within five years after the date funds are made avail12 able for purposes of this Act, the Secretary, acting

13 through the Director of the National Park Service, shall

14 prepare a general management plan for the national his15 toric site. The plan shall address, but not be limited to,

16 each of the following:

17 (1) A resource protection program.

18 (2) A visitor use plan including programs and

19 facilities that will be provided for public use, includ20 ing the location and cost of public facilities.

21 (3) A research and curation plan.

22 (4) A highway signing program.

23 (5) Involvement by the Cheyenne-Arapaho

24 Tribe in the formulation of educational programs for

25 the national historic site.
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1 (6) Involvement by the State of Oklahoma and

2 other local and national entities willing to share in

3 the responsibilities of developing and supporting the

4 national historic site.

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

7 this Act $5,000,000.

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