I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5371

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Sand Creek

Massacre National Historic Site in the State of Colorado.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 3, 2000

Mr. SCHAFFER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in the State

of Colorado.

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 ‘‘Sand Creek Massacre

5 National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) on November 29, 1864, a peaceful village of

9 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians under the leadership

10 of Chief Black Kettle, along Sand Creek in south-
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1 eastern Colorado territory was attacked by approxi2 mately 700 volunteer soldiers commanded by Colonel

3 John M. Chivington;

4 (2) more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho were

5 killed in the attack, most of whom were women, chil6 dren, or elderly;

7 (3) during the massacre and the following day,

8 the soldiers committed atrocities on the dead before

9 withdrawing from the field;

10 (4) the site of the Sand Creek Massacre is of

11 great significance to descendants of the victims of

12 the massacre and their respective tribes, for the

13 commemoration of ancestors at the site;

14 (5) the site is a reminder of the tragic extremes

15 sometimes reached in the 500 years of conflict be16 tween Native Americans and people of European

17 and other origins concerning the land that now com18 prises the United States;

19 (6) Congress, in enacting the Sand Creek Mas20 sacre National Historic Site Study Act of 1998

21 (Public Law 105–243; 112 Stat. 1579), directed the

22 National Park Service to complete a resources study

23 of the site;

24 (7) the study completed under that Act—
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1 (A) identified the location and extent of

2 the area in which the massacre took place; and

3 (B) confirmed the national significance,

4 suitability, and feasibility of, and evaluated

5 management options for, that area, including

6 designation of the site as a unit of the National

7 Park System; and

8 (8) the study included an evaluation of environ9 mental impacts and preliminary cost estimates for

10 facility development, administration, and necessary

11 land acquisition.

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

13 (1) to recognize the importance of the Sand

14 Creek Massacre as—

15 (A) a nationally significant element of

16 frontier military and Native American history;

17 and

18 (B) a symbol of the struggles of Native

19 American tribes to maintain their way of life on

20 ancestral land;

21 (2) to authorize, on acquisition of sufficient

22 land, the establishment of the site of the Sand Creek

23 Massacre as a national historic site; and

24 (3) to provide opportunities for the tribes and

25 the State to be involved in the formulation of gen-
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1 eral management plans and educational programs

2 for the national historic site.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

5 (1) DESCENDANT.—The term ‘‘descendant’’

6 means a member of a tribe, an ancestor of whom

7 was injured or killed in, or otherwise affected by, the

8 Sand Creek Massacre.

9 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage10 ment plan’’ means the management plan required to

11 be developed for the site under section 7(a).

12 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

13 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di14 rector of the National Park Service.

15 (4) SITE.—The term ‘‘site’’ means the Sand

16 Creek Massacre National Historic Site established

17 under section 4(a).

18 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State

19 of Colorado.

20 (6) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘tribe’’ means—

21 (A) the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of

22 Oklahoma;

23 (B) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe; or

24 (C) the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—

3 (1) DETERMINATION.—On a determination by

4 the Secretary that land described in subsection

5 (b)(1) containing a sufficient quantity of resources

6 to provide for the preservation, memorialization,

7 commemoration, and interpretation of the Sand

8 Creek Massacre has been acquired by the National

9 Park Service, the Secretary shall establish the Sand

10 Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Colorado.

11 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish

12 in the Federal Register a notice of the determination

13 of the Secretary under paragraph (1).

14 (b) BOUNDARY.—

15 (1) MAP AND ACREAGE.—The site shall consist

16 of the approximately 12,480 acres in Kiowa County,

17 Colorado, the site of the Sand Creek Massacre, as

18 generally depicted on the map entitled, ‘‘Sand Creek

19 Massacre Historic Site’’, numbered, SAND 80,013

20 IR, and dated July 1, 2000.

21 (2) LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—The Secretary shall

22 prepare a legal description of the land and interests

23 in land described in paragraph (1).

24 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map prepared

25 under paragraph (1) and the legal description pre26 pared under paragraph (2) shall be on file and avail-
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1 able for public inspection in the appropriate offices

2 of the National Park Service.

3 (4) BOUNDARY REVISION.—The Secretary may,

4 as necessary, make minor revisions to the boundary

5 of the site in accordance with section 7(c) of the

6 Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 (16

7 U.S.C. 460l–9(c)).

8 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage the

10 site in accordance with—

11 (1) this Act;

12 (2) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a Na13 tional Park Service, and for other purposes’’, ap14 proved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1

15 et seq.);

16 (3) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461

17 et seq.); and

18 (4) other laws generally applicable to manage19 ment of units of the National Park System.

20 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall manage the

21 publicly-owned lands within the boundary of the site—

22 (1) to protect and preserve the site, including—

23 (A) the topographic features that the Sec24 retary determines are important to the site;
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1 (B) artifacts and other physical remains of

2 the Sand Creek Massacre; and

3 (C) the cultural landscape of the site, in a

4 manner that preserves, as closely as practicable,

5 the cultural landscape of the site as it appeared

6 at the time of the Sand Creek Massacre;

7 (2)(A) to interpret the natural and cultural re8 source values associated with the site; and

9 (B) provide for public understanding and ap10 preciation of, and preserve for future generations,

11 those values; and

12 (3) to memorialize, commemorate, and provide

13 information to visitors to the site to—

14 (A) enhance cultural understanding about

15 the site; and

16 (B) assist in minimizing the chances of

17 similar incidents in the future.

18 (c) CONSULTATION AND TRAINING.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing the manage20 ment plan and preparing educational programs for

21 the public about the site, the Secretary shall consult

22 with, and solicit advice and recommendations from,

23 the tribes, the State, and local governments.

24 (2) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter

25 into cooperative agreements with the tribes (includ-
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1 ing boards, committees, enterprises, and traditional

2 leaders of the tribes), the State, and local govern3 ments to carry out this Act.

4 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall acquire land

6 and interests in land within the boundaries of the site—

7 (1) through purchase (including purchase with

8 donated or appropriated funds) only from a willing

9 seller; and

10 (2) by donation or exchange, except that any

11 land or interest in land owned by the State (includ12 ing a political subdivision of the State) may be ac13 quired only by donation.

14 (b) AGRICULTURE, RANCHING, PRIVATE LANDS.—

15 Nothing in this Act shall give the Secretary control over

16 privately-owned agricultural and ranching lands within the

17 boundaries of the site.

18 (c) PRIORITY FOR ACQUISITION.—The Secretary

19 shall give priority to the acquisition of land containing the

20 marker in existence on the date of enactment of this Act,

21 which states ‘‘Sand Creek Battleground, November 29

22 and 30, 1864’’, within the boundary of the site.

23 (d) COST-EFFECTIVENESS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In acquiring land for the

25 site, the Secretary, to the maximum extent prac-
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1 ticable, may use cost-effective alternatives to Federal

2 fee ownership, including—

3 (A) the acquisition of conservation ease4 ments; and

5 (B) by donation or exchange except that

6 any land or interest in land owned by the State

7 (including any political subdivision of the State)

8 may be acquired only by donation.

9 (2) SUPPORT FACILITIES.—A support facility

10 for the site that is not within the designated bound11 ary of the site shall be located in Kiowa County,

12 Colorado, subject to an agreement between the Sec13 retary and the Commissioners of Kiowa County, Col14 orado.

15 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after the

17 date on which funds are made available to carry out this

18 Act, the Secretary shall prepare a management plan for

19 the site.

20 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The management plan shall cover,

21 at a minimum—

22 (1) measures for the preservation of the re23 sources of the site;
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1 (2) requirements for the type and extent of de2 velopment and use of the site, including, for each

3 development—

4 (A) the general location;

5 (B) timing and implementation require6 ments; and

7 (C) anticipated costs;

8 (3) requirements for onsite support facilities in

9 Kiowa County;

10 (4) identification of, and implementation com11 mitments for, visitor carrying capacities for all areas

12 of the site;

13 (5) opportunities for involvement by the tribes,

14 the State, and local government, in the formulation

15 of educational programs for the site; and

16 (6) opportunities for involvement by the tribes,

17 the State, and other local and national entities in

18 the responsibilities of developing and supporting the

19 site.

20 SEC. 8. NEEDS OF DESCENDANTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—A descendant shall have reason22 able rights of access to, and use of, federally acquired land

23 within the site, in accordance with the terms and condi24 tions of a written agreement between the Secretary and

25 the tribe of which the descendant is a member.
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1 (b) COMMEMORATIVE RIGHTS.—In addition to the

2 rights described in subsection (a), any special need of a

3 descendant shall be considered in park planning and oper4 ations, especially with respect to commemorative activities

5 in designated areas within the site.

6 SEC. 9. TRIBAL ACCESS FOR TRADITIONAL CULTURAL AND

7 HISTORICAL OBSERVANCE.

8 (a) ACCESS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall grant to

10 any descendant or other member of a tribe reason11 able access to federally acquired land within the site

12 for the purpose of carrying out a traditional, cul13 tural, or historical observance.

14 (2) NO FEE.—The Secretary shall not charge

15 any fee for access granted under paragraph (1).

16 (b) CONDITIONS OF ACCESS.—In granting access

17 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall temporarily close

18 to the general public one or more specific portions of the

19 site in order to protect the privacy of tribal members en20 gaging in a traditional, cultural, or historical observance

21 in those portions, and any such closure shall be made in

22 a manner that affects the smallest practicable area for the

23 minimum period necessary for the purposes described

24 above.

25 (c) SAND CREEK REPATRIATION SITE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dedicate

2 a portion of the federally acquired land within the

3 site to the establishment and operation of a site at

4 which certain items referred to in paragraph (2)

5 that are repatriated under the Native American

6 Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C.

7 300 et seq.) or any other provision of law may be

8 interred, reinterred, preserved, or otherwise pro9 tected.

10 (2) ACCEPTABLE ITEMS.—The items referred to

11 in paragraph (1) are any items associated with the

12 Sand Creek Massacre, such as—

13 (A) Native American human remains;

14 (B) associated funerary objects;

15 (C) unassociated funerary objects;

16 (D) sacred objects; and

17 (E) objects of cultural patrimony.

18 (d) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—In exercising any au19 thority under this section, the Secretary shall consult with,

20 and solicit advice and recommendations from, descendants

21 and the tribes.

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