I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1797 
To provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe of Indians 
of the Spokane Reservation for the use of tribal land for the production 
of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 21, 2005 
Miss MCMORRIS (for herself, Mr. DICKS, and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe 
of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for the use of 
tribal land for the production of hydropower by the 
Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Spokane Tribe of Indi-
ans of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equi-
table Compensation Settlement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) from 1927 to 1931, at the direction of Con-
gress, the Corps of Engineers investigated the Co-
lumbia River and its tributaries to determine sites at 
which power could be produced at low cost; 
(2) under section 10(e) of the Federal Power 
Act (16 U.S.C. 803(e)), when licenses are issued in-
volving tribal land within an Indian reservation, a 
reasonable annual charge shall be fixed for the use 
of the land, subject to the approval of the Indian 
tribe having jurisdiction over the land; 
(3) in August 1933, the Columbia Basin Com-
mission, an agency of the State of Washington, re-
ceived a preliminary permit from the Federal Power 
Commission for water power development at the 
Grand Coulee site; 
(4) had the Columbia Basin Commission or a 
private entity developed the site, the Spokane Tribe 
would have been entitled to a reasonable annual 
charge for the use of its land; 
(5) in the mid-1930s, the Federal Government, 
which is not subject to licensing under the Federal 
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.)— 
(A) federalized the Grand Coulee Dam 
project; and
(B) began construction of the Grand Cou-
lee Dam; 
(6) when the Grand Coulee Dam project was 
federalized, the Federal Government recognized 
that— 
(A) development of the project affected the 
interests of the Spokane Tribe and the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; and 
(B) it would be appropriate for the Spo-
kane and Colville Tribes to receive a share of 
revenue from the disposition of power produced 
at Grand Coulee Dam; 
(7) in the Act of June 29, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 
835d et seq.), Congress— 
(A) granted to the United States— 
(i) in aid of the construction, oper-
ation, and maintenance of the Columbia 
Basin Project, all the right, title, and in-
terest of the Spokane Tribe and Colville 
Tribes in and to the tribal and allotted 
land within the Spokane and Colville Res-
ervations, as designated by the Secretary 
of the Interior from time to time; and 
(ii) other interests in such land as re-
quired and as designated by the Secretary
for certain construction activities under-
taken in connection with the project; and 
(B) provided that compensation for the 
land and other interests was to be determined 
by the Secretary in such amounts as the Sec-
retary determined to be just and equitable; 
(8) pursuant to that Act, the Secretary paid— 
(A) to the Spokane Tribe, $4,700; and 
(B) to the Confederated Tribes of the 
Colville Reservation, $63,000; 
(9) in 1994, following litigation under the Act 
of August 13, 1946 (commonly known as the ‘‘In-
dian Claims Commission Act’’ (60 Stat. 1049, chap-
ter 959; former 25 U.S.C. 70 et seq.)), Congress 
ratified the Colville Settlement Agreement, which re-
quired— 
(A) for past use of the Colville Tribes’ 
land, a payment of $53,000,000; and 
(B) for continued use of the Colville 
Tribes’ land, annual payments of $15,250,000, 
adjusted annually based on revenues from the 
sale of electric power from the Grand Coulee 
Dam project and transmission of that power by 
the Bonneville Power Administration;
(10) the Spokane Tribe, having suffered harm 
similar to that suffered by the Colville Tribes, did 
not file a claim within the Indian Claims Commis-
sion Act’s 5-year statute of limitations; 
(11) neither the Colville Tribes nor the Spokane 
Tribe filed claims for compensation for use of their 
land with the Commission before August 13, 1951, 
but both Tribes filed unrelated land claims prior to 
August 13, 1951; 
(12) in 1976, over objections by the United 
States, the Colville Tribes were successful in amend-
ing their 1951 Claims Commission land claims to 
add their Grand Coulee claim; 
(13) the Spokane Tribe had no such claim to 
amend, having settled its Claims Commission land 
claims with the United States in 1967; 
(14) the Spokane Tribe has suffered significant 
harm from the construction and operation of Grand 
Coulee Dam; 
(15) Spokane tribal acreage taken by the 
United States for the construction of Grand Coulee 
Dam equaled approximately 39 percent of Colville 
tribal acreage taken for construction of the dam; 
(16) the payments and land transfers made 
pursuant to this Act constitute fair and equitable