I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5528

To authorize the construction of a Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place in Fort

Pierre, South Dakota, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 24, 2000

Mr. THUNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Resources

A BILL

To authorize the construction of a Wakpa Sica Reconciliation

Place in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds that—

5 (1) there is a continuing need for reconciliation

6 between Indians and non-Indians;

7 (2) the need may be met partially through the

8 promotion of the understanding of the history and

9 culture of Sioux Indian tribes;
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1 (3) the establishment of a Sioux Nation Tribal

2 Supreme Court will promote economic development

3 on reservations of the Sioux Nation and provide in4 vestors that contribute to that development a greater

5 degree of certainty and confidence by—

6 (A) reconciling conflicting tribal laws; and

7 (B) strengthening tribal court systems;

8 (4) the reservations of the Sioux Nation—

9 (A) contain the poorest counties in the

10 United States; and

11 (B) lack adequate tools to promote eco12 nomic development and the creation of jobs;

13 (5) the establishment of a Native American

14 Economic Development Council will assist in pro15 moting economic growth and reducing poverty on

16 reservations of the Sioux Nation by—

17 (A) coordinating economic development ef18 forts;

19 (B) centralizing expertise concerning Fed20 eral assistance; and

21 (C) facilitating the raising of funds from

22 private donations to meet matching require23 ments under certain Federal assistance pro24 grams;
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1 (6) there is a need to enhance and strengthen

2 the capacity of Indian tribal governments and tribal

3 justice systems to address conflicts which impair re4 lationships in Indian communities and between In5 dian and non-Indian communities and individuals;

6 and

7 (7) the establishment of the National Native

8 American Mediation Training Center, with the tech9 nical assistance of tribal and Federal agencies, in10 cluding the Community Relations Service of the De11 partment of Justice, would enhance and strengthen

12 the mediation skills that are useful in reducing ten13 sions and resolving conflicts in Indian communities

14 and between Indian and non-Indian communities

15 and individuals.

16 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

17 In this Act:

18 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

19 has the meaning given that term in section 4(e) of

20 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist21 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).

22 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

23 the Secretary of the Interior.

24 (3) SIOUX NATION.—The term ‘‘Sioux Nation’’

25 means the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Crow
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1 Creek Sioux Tribe, the Flandreau Santee Sioux

2 Tribe, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Oglala

3 Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Santee

4 Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, the

5 Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux

6 Tribe, and the Yankton Sioux Tribe.

7 TITLE I—RECONCILIATION

8 CENTER

9 SEC. 101. RECONCILIATION CENTER.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing

11 and Urban Development, in cooperation with the Sec12 retary, shall establish, in accordance with this section, a

13 reconciliation center, to be known as ‘‘Wakpa Sica Rec14 onciliation Place’’.

15 (b) LOCATION.—Notwithstanding any other provision

16 of law, the Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit

17 of the Sioux Nation the parcel of land in Stanley County,

18 South Dakota, that is described as the ‘‘Reconciliation

19 Place Addition’’ that is owned on the date of enactment

20 of this Act by the Wakpa Sica Historical Society, Inc.,

21 for the sole purpose of establishing and operating Wakpa

22 Sica Reconciliation Place as described in subsection (c).

23 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of Wakpa Sica Rec24 onciliation Place shall be as follows:
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1 (1) To enhance the knowledge and under2 standing of the history of Native Americans by—

3 (A) displaying and interpreting the history,

4 art, and culture of Indian tribes for Indians

5 and non-Indians; and

6 (B) providing an accessible repository

7 for—

8 (i) the history of Indian tribes; and

9 (ii) the family history of members of

10 Indian tribes.

11 (2) To provide for the interpretation of the en12 counters between Lewis and Clark and the Sioux

13 Nation.

14 (3) To house the Sioux Nation Tribal Supreme

15 Court.

16 (4) To house the Native American Economic

17 Development Council.

18 (5) To house the National Native American Me19 diation Training Center to train tribal personnel in

20 conflict resolution and alternative dispute resolution.

21 (d) GRANT.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing

23 and Urban Development shall offer to award a grant

24 to the Wakpa Sica Historical Society of Fort Pierre,
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1 South Dakota, for the construction of Wakpa Sica

2 Reconciliation Place.

3 (2) GRANT AGREEMENT.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition to re5 ceiving the grant under this subsection, the ap6 propriate official of the Wakpa Sica Historical

7 Society shall enter into a grant agreement with

8 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop9 ment.

10 (B) CONSULTATION.—Before entering into

11 a grant agreement under this paragraph, the

12 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

13 shall consult with the Secretary concerning the

14 contents of the agreement.

15 (C) DUTIES OF THE WAKPA SICA HISTOR16 ICAL SOCIETY.—The grant agreement under

17 this paragraph shall specify the duties of the

18 Wakpa Sica Historical Society under this sec19 tion and arrangements for the maintenance of

20 Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place.

21 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De23 partment of Housing and Urban Development

24 $18,258,441, to be used for the grant under this

25 section.
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1 SEC. 102. NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN MEDIATION TRAIN2 ING CENTER.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure the development and

4 operation of the Sioux Nation Tribal Supreme Court and

5 the National Native American Mediation Training Center,

6 the Attorney General of the United States shall use avail7 able funds to provide technical and financial assistance to

8 the Sioux Nation.

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry

10 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated

11 to the Department of Justice such sums as are necessary.

12 SEC. 103. LEGAL JURISDICTION NOT AFFECTED.

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to expand, di14 minish, or otherwise amend the civil or criminal legal ju15 risdiction of the Federal Government or any tribal or

16 State government.

17 TITLE II—GAO STUDY

18 SEC. 201. GAO STUDY.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall

20 conduct a study and make findings and recommendations

21 with respect to—

22 (1) Federal programs designed to assist Indian

23 tribes and tribal members with economic develop24 ment, job creation, entrepreneurship, and business

25 development;

26 (2) the extent of use of the programs;
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1 (3) how effectively such programs accomplish

2 their mission; and

3 (4) ways in which the Federal Government

4 could best provide economic development, job cre5 ation, entrepreneurship, and business development

6 for Indian tribes and tribal members.

7 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit

8 a report to Congress on the study, findings, and rec9 ommendations required by subsection (a) not later than

10 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

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