S. 2950

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

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—
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(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 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.
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(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 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 and the State.

(2) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the tribes (including boards, committees,

enterprises, and traditional leaders of the tribes) and the State

to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 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, exchange, or other means, 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) 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
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Battleground, November 29 and 30, 1864’’, within the boundary

of the site.

(c) COST-EFFECTIVENESS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—In acquiring land for the site, the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall use cost-effective alternatives to Federal fee ownership, including—

(A) the acquisition of conservation easements; and

(B) other means of acquisition that are consistent with

local zoning requirements.

(2) SUPPORT FACILITIES.—A support facility for the site

that is not within the designated boundary of the site may

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 offsite 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 and the

State 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 NEEDS.—In addition to the rights

described in subsection (a), any reasonable 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.
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(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.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are

necessary to carry out this Act.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.