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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5371 Introduced in House (IH)]

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.

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

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 the 
        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 publicly-owned 
lands within the boundary of 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, the State, and local 
        governments.
            (2) Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative 
        agreements with the tribes (including boards, committees, 
        enterprises, and traditional leaders of the tribes), the State, 
        and local governments to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall 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 or exchange, 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) Agriculture, Ranching, Private Lands.--Nothing in this Act 
shall give the Secretary control over privately-owned agricultural and 
ranching lands within the boundaries of the site.
    (c) 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.
    (d) Cost-Effectiveness.--
            (1) In general.--In acquiring land for the site, the 
        Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, may use cost-
        effective alternatives to Federal fee ownership, including--
                    (A) the acquisition of conservation easements; and
                    (B) by donation or exchange except that any land or 
                interest in land owned by the State (including any 
                political subdivision of the State) may be acquired 
                only by donation.
            (2) Support facilities.--A support facility for the site 
        that is not within the designated boundary of the site shall 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 onsite 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, the State, 
        and local government, 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 Rights.--In addition to the rights described in 
subsection (a), any special 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.
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