(6) Chief Martin has been guided by a belief 
that self-reliance breeds opportunity. 
(7) Early developments on the Choctaw reserva-
tion, while modest in retrospect, were nonetheless 
ambitious and challenging in their beginnings. 
(8) Faced with active opposition from Federal 
authorities and expectations of failure from many 
others, Chief Martin tenaciously led the Choctaw 
tribe to establish a tribally-owned construction com-
pany, then a small industrial park which produced 
the first large scale reservation-based manufacturing 
jobs in the Nation. 
(9) In addition to more usual government-oper-
ated enterprises, such as a transit authority, a util-
ity commission, and a public works department, the 
Chief also created many fruitful partnerships with 
the private sector. 
(10) These dynamic developments have now 
given the tribe a solid economic foundation. 
(11) Recognizing that the most valuable asset 
of any community is its people, Chief Martin led the 
Choctaws to take over direct operation of its own 
education system from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(12) The tribe today operates the largest uni-
fied tribal school system in the Nation with 6 ele-
mentary schools, a middle school, and a high school. 
(13) Chief Martin has continued toward the 
goal of producing a new generation of well-educated 
and well-trained tribal members through establish-
ment of the Choctaw Indian Scholarships Program 
giving all Mississippi Choctaw students the oppor-
tunity to attend colleges and universities of their 
choice. 
(14) With the passage of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance Act in 1975, the 
Congress established the concepts of self-determina-
tion, self-reliance, and tribal initiative as the basis 
for a new covenant between the Federal Government 
and the American Indian peoples. 
(15) However, it has only been through the ex-
traordinary commitment and ceaseless efforts of 
tribal leaders, such as Chief Martin, that these con-
cepts were given life and put into practice. 
(16) ‘‘Choctaw Self Determination’’ became 
Chief Martin’s clarion call (and it remains the 
tribe’s unofficial slogan) to motivate an impoverished 
reservation that institutionalized poverty and hope-
lessness to transform itself into the vibrant entity
that today serves as a beacon of success for other 
tribal and non-tribal communities. 
(17) Deeply devoted to tribal sovereignty, trust 
land, and economic development issues, Chief Martin 
has improved the lives of thousands in Mississippi 
and is perhaps the most recognized American Indian 
leader: he has been called ‘‘one of Indian Country’s 
greatest leaders’’. 
(18) The outstanding example of Chief Phillip 
Martin deserves to be recognized and honored by the 
United States Congress. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design, to Chief Phillip Martin in 
recognition of his leadership of the Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians for over 45 years, and for his invaluable 
contributions nationally to the American Indian commu-
nity and particularly to the native and non-native commu-
nities of Mississippi. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act.
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 
4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 
Enterprise Fund.
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