II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1338

To expand and enhance the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 2, 2001

Mr. CAMPBELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To expand and enhance the Little Bighorn Battlefield

National Monument.

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 ‘‘Little Bighorn Battle5 field National Monument Enhancement Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings:

9 (1) The following events were key in the cre10 ation of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National

11 Monument:
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1 (A) On June 25 and 26, 1876, a historic

2 battle between the United States Seventh Cav3 alry, led by General George Armstrong Custer,

4 and an opposing force of Arapaho, Northern

5 Cheyenne, and Lakota Indians, was fought near

6 the Little Bighorn River in southern Montana.

7 (B) On August 1, 1879, the battlefield was

8 officially recognized and designated as a na9 tional cemetery under General Order No. 78,

10 Headquarters of the Army.

11 (C) On December 7, 1886, Executive

12 Order No. 337443 established the boundary,

13 approximately one mile square, for the National

14 Cemetery of Custer’s Battlefield Reservation.

15 (D) On April 14, 1926, the Reno-Benteen

16 Battlefield was acquired by an Act of Congress

17 (44 Stat. 168), and the Army was ordered to

18 take charge of the site.

19 (E) On April 15, 1930, by an Act of Con20 gress (46 Stat. 168), all rights, titles and privi21 leges of the Crow tribe, from whose reservation

22 the battlefield site was carved, were granted to

23 the United States.

24 (F) On August 10, 1939, a public histor25 ical museum was authorized (53 Stat. 1337).
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1 (G) On June 3, 1940, Executive Order No.

2 8428 transferred management of the area to

3 the National Park Service, Department of the

4 Interior.

5 (H) On March 22, 1946, by an Act of

6 Congress (Public Law 79–332) the area was re7 designated, Custer Battlefield National Monu8 ment.

9 (I) On January 3, 1991, by an Act of Con10 gress (Public Law 102–201), Custer Battlefield

11 National Monument was redesignated as Little

12 Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (re13 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Monument’’), and

14 an Indian memorial was authorized.

15 (2) The current total size of the Monument is

16 765.34 acres. This includes the areas immediately

17 surrounding the cemetery and a separate area, the

18 Reno-Benteen Battlefield, a few miles from the cem19 etery. There are additional sites of historical interest

20 related to the 1876 battle that are not contained

21 within the boundaries of the Monument as it is pres22 ently constituted.

23 (3) The United States has a tradition of pre24 serving the sites of historic battles, in the conviction

25 that such ground is hallowed by the sacrifices of
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1 those who gave their lives in conflict, and in the

2 hope that understanding the events of our past, es3 pecially tragic events, helps us to understand the

4 people we have become. A necessary part of this pre5 serving and honoring is attempting, as much as is

6 possible, to maintain the appearance of the places

7 where these struggles occurred as the participants

8 would have experienced them.

9 (4) The area surrounding the Monument has

10 seen markedly increased commercial development in

11 recent years. Such development not only threatens to

12 intrude on the experience of visitors to the Monu13 ment, but in many instances the development has

14 actually taken place directly on sites of historical im15 portance, irrevocably altering physical features of

16 the landscape that are crucial for understanding

17 what took place at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

18 (5) It is in the interest of the United States to

19 preserve the integrity of the site of the Battle of the

20 Little Bighorn, an event of lasting significance for

21 the United States and for the sovereign Indian na22 tions. In order to preserve this historical treasure, it

23 is imperative that additional lands surrounding the

24 Monument be set aside and given protected status or

25 be made part of the Monument itself.
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1 (6) All areas of the Monument, as well as the

2 other areas of historical interest, are completely con3 tained within the external boundaries of the Crow

4 Indian Reservation.

5 (7) There is every indication that additional

6 land and facilities are available for inclusion in the

7 Monument through either voluntary conveyance or

8 by gift or donation from private individuals and enti9 ties.

10 (b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act—

11 (1) to establish a cooperative and collaborative

12 process for expanding and enhancing the Monument;

13 (2) to ensure that the process established by

14 this Act reflects the social, historical and cultural

15 concerns of the Indian tribes participating in such

16 processes in a manner consistent with the long17 standing Federal policy to encourage tribal self-de18 termination; and

19 (3) to ensure that the resources within the

20 Monument are protected and enhanced by—

21 (A) providing for partnerships between the

22 Crow Tribe, the National Park Service, and the

23 Native American Tribes who participated in the

24 Battle of Little Bighorn; and
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1 (B) encouraging private individuals and

2 entities to donate land and facilities to the

3 Monument.

4 SEC. 3. LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONU5 MENT ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a committee

7 to be known as the ‘‘Little Bighorn Battlefield National

8 Monument Enhancement Committee’’ (referred to in this

9 section as the ‘‘Committee’’).

10 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be com11 posed of—

12 (1) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of In13 terior to represent the Department of Interior;

14 (2) 3 members appointed by the Secretary of

15 Interior to represent the Native American tribes who

16 participated in the Battle of Little Bighorn; and

17 (3) 1 member appointed by the Crow Indian

18 tribe.

19 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—

20 (1) QUORUM; MEETINGS.—Three members of

21 the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The Com22 mittee shall act and provide advise by the affirma23 tive vote of a majority of the members voting at a

24 meeting at which a quorum is present. The Com25 mittee shall meet on a regular basis. Notice of meet-
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1 ings and the agenda shall be published in local news2 papers which have a distribution which generally

3 covers the area affected by the Monument. Com4 mittee meetings shall be held at locations and in

5 such a manner as to ensure adequate public involve6 ment.

7 (2) ADVISORY FUNCTIONS.—The Committee

8 shall advise the Secretary to ensure that the Monu9 ment, its resources and landscape, is sensitive to the

10 history being portrayed and artistically commend11 able.

12 (3) TECHNICAL STAFF.—In order to provide

13 staff support and technical services to assist the

14 Committee in carrying out its duties under this Act,

15 upon the request of the Committee, the Secretary of

16 the Interior is authorized to detail any personnel of

17 the National Park Service to the Committee.

18 (4) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Com19 mittee shall serve without compensation but shall be

20 entitled to travel expenses, including per diem in lieu

21 of subsistence, in the same manner as persons em22 ployed intermittently in Government service under

23 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

24 (5) CHARTER.—The provisions of section 14(b)

25 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
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1 Appendix; 86 Stat. 776), are hereby waived with re2 spect to the Committee.

3 (d) DUTIES.—The Committee shall—

4 (1) maintain a registry of facilities and land

5 that may be offered by private individuals and enti6 ties by gift, sale, transfer, or other voluntary convey7 ance for inclusion in the Monument;

8 (2) by a majority vote determined whether some

9 or all of a parcel of land or facility listed on the reg10 istry under paragraph (1) is appropriate for inclu11 sion as a part of the Monument; and

12 (3) in the case of a positive recommendation

13 under subparagraph (A), provide advise to the Sec14 retary on—

15 (A) whether the land or facility involved

16 may be available for no or nominal consider17 ation or under what terms and conditions the

18 owner of such land or facility would be willing

19 to transfer such land or facility for inclusion in

20 the Monument for no or nominal consideration;

21 or

22 (B) whether the Committee recommends

23 the use of the Fund established under section

24 5 to acquire such land or facility.
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1 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

2 Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit or im3 pair the jurisdiction or authority of the Crow Indian tribe.

4 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.

5 There is established in the Treasury of the United

6 States a fund to be known as the ‘‘Little Bighorn Battle7 field National Monument Enhancement Fund’’. The Fund

8 shall be used as provided for in section 3(d)(3)(B) and

9 shall include—

10 (1) all amounts appropriated to the Fund; and

11 (2) all amounts donated to the Fund.

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