Oregon Coastal Land Conveyance Act

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce two bills that are aimed at righting past wrongs and fostering the self-sufficiency of proud nations. The Canyon Mountain Land Conveyance Act of 2013 and the Oregon Coastal Land Conveyance Act will provide homelands for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, respectively--two tribes that are currently without a land base or that have only a nominal land base. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by my friend and colleague, Senator Merkley.

Our country's official policies toward its native peoples have changed over time since the founding of the United States. When European settlers came to American shores, they recognized that the lands on which our Nation now sits were occupied by millions of people organized by hundreds of governments, and these European colonial powers respected these governments as fellow sovereigns. In the late 1700's, when our great Nation was born, it followed suit, making treaties with the governments of the various tribes and aiming to get along with them to ensure peace and prosperity for all. As our Nation became more powerful, its policies toward Native peoples and governments shifted with the political tides of those times. If you examine history books, some of the darkest episodes in our history can be found in the chapters written about our federal government's treatment of the first Americans.

Our Nation's past is littered with failed policies toward its first peoples, and one of those failed policies--that to which scholars refer to as, ``Termination''--had a profoundly negative impact on my State. During the 1950's, the federal government was not in the business of honoring the treaties it made with the Indian tribes nor was it interested in living up to its trust responsibility toward its first peoples. Importantly, and as an aside, the tribes had bargained for these rights in exchange for the millions of acres of lands ceded to the United States to enable our westward expansion. At that time, our official Federal stance was focused on terminating the government-to- government relationships between tribal governments and the United States. In my own State of Oregon, several tribes west of the Cascade Mountains were terminated, including the two that are the subjects of the bills I am introducing today. The Termination Era had tragic effects on those tribes that lost Federal recognition. Members of terminated tribes struggled to retain their cultural and religious identities and to survive in a new landscape in which federal programs for their health, education, and housing did not exist.

The Termination Era was such a disaster that the Federal Government formally rebuked it a mere twenty years later when Presidents Johnson an Nixon ushered in the Self-Determination Era. Now, our Federal stance toward tribes is one that respects tribal sovereignty and supports a tribe's right to determine its own destiny while at the same time, fulfilling our duty as trustee to the various tribes. Our Federal policy of self-determination has been lauded by scholars as being the only Federal Indian policy that has succeeded in benefitting our native peoples. Self-Determination Era policies have resulted in an economic boom all over Indian Country as tribes have used Federal assistance to create jobs for Indians and non-Indians alike all across the Nation, much of the time in rural areas where economic opportunities would otherwise not exist. Many of the tribes in my State, for instance, have been able to build their economies, become more self-sufficient and provide valuable goods and services as well as jobs to surrounding community members.

For a tribe to fully exercise its governmental powers--to protect and nurture its members, to retain its cultural and religious heritage, and to grow its economy--it needs a land base. Even though the Cow Creek and Coos tribes were restored to Federal recognition in the 1980's, they still have not been given back any of their former land from which they can exercise their inherent authority as sovereigns. My bills would provide home bases for these tribes from which they can flourish.

The bills I am introducing today convey 17,826 and 14,804 acres of land that is now managed by the Bureau of Land Management, to the Secretary of the Interior to hold in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, respectively. The bills specify that commercial forestry activities taking place on the land must be done pursuant to all applicable federal laws, and because both of the tribes already own casinos, they specify that the land cannot be used for gaming purposes. Lastly, to address the concerns of counties over lost timber revenues from the Oregon and California Railroad lands within the conveyances, the bills contain provisions ensuring there will be no net loss of O&C lands to the counties.

I want to thank the tribes, counties, and other stakeholders for working together to find the common ground which made these bills a reality.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bills be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce two bills that are aimed at righting past wrongs and fostering the self-sufficiency of proud nations. The Canyon Mountain Land Conveyance Act of 2013 and the Oregon Coastal Land Conveyance Act will provide homelands for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, respectively--two tribes that are currently without a land base or that have only a nominal land base. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by my friend and colleague, Senator Merkley.

Our country's official policies toward its native peoples have changed over time since the founding of the United States. When European settlers came to American shores, they recognized that the lands on which our Nation now sits were occupied by millions of people organized by hundreds of governments, and these European colonial powers respected these governments as fellow sovereigns. In the late 1700's, when our great Nation was born, it followed suit, making treaties with the governments of the various tribes and aiming to get along with them to ensure peace and prosperity for all. As our Nation became more powerful, its policies toward Native peoples and governments shifted with the political tides of those times. If you examine history books, some of the darkest episodes in our history can be found in the chapters written about our federal government's treatment of the first Americans.

Our Nation's past is littered with failed policies toward its first peoples, and one of those failed policies--that to which scholars refer to as, ``Termination''--had a profoundly negative impact on my State. During the 1950's, the federal government was not in the business of honoring the treaties it made with the Indian tribes nor was it interested in living up to its trust responsibility toward its first peoples. Importantly, and as an aside, the tribes had bargained for these rights in exchange for the millions of acres of lands ceded to the United States to enable our westward expansion. At that time, our official Federal stance was focused on terminating the government-to- government relationships between tribal governments and the United States. In my own State of Oregon, several tribes west of the Cascade Mountains were terminated, including the two that are the subjects of the bills I am introducing today. The Termination Era had tragic effects on those tribes that lost Federal recognition. Members of terminated tribes struggled to retain their cultural and religious identities and to survive in a new landscape in which federal programs for their health, education, and housing did not exist.

The Termination Era was such a disaster that the Federal Government formally rebuked it a mere twenty years later when Presidents Johnson an Nixon ushered in the Self-Determination Era. Now, our Federal stance toward tribes is one that respects tribal sovereignty and supports a tribe's right to determine its own destiny while at the same time, fulfilling our duty as trustee to the various tribes. Our Federal policy of self-determination has been lauded by scholars as being the only Federal Indian policy that has succeeded in benefitting our native peoples. Self-Determination Era policies have resulted in an economic boom all over Indian Country as tribes have used Federal assistance to create jobs for Indians and non-Indians alike all across the Nation, much of the time in rural areas where economic opportunities would otherwise not exist. Many of the tribes in my State, for instance, have been able to build their economies, become more self-sufficient and provide valuable goods and services as well as jobs to surrounding community members.

For a tribe to fully exercise its governmental powers--to protect and nurture its members, to retain its cultural and religious heritage, and to grow its economy--it needs a land base. Even though the Cow Creek and Coos tribes were restored to Federal recognition in the 1980's, they still have not been given back any of their former land from which they can exercise their inherent authority as sovereigns. My bills would provide home bases for these tribes from which they can flourish.

The bills I am introducing today convey 17,826 and 14,804 acres of land that is now managed by the Bureau of Land Management, to the Secretary of the Interior to hold in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, respectively. The bills specify that commercial forestry activities taking place on the land must be done pursuant to all applicable federal laws, and because both of the tribes already own casinos, they specify that the land cannot be used for gaming purposes. Lastly, to address the concerns of counties over lost timber revenues from the Oregon and California Railroad lands within the conveyances, the bills contain provisions ensuring there will be no net loss of O&C lands to the counties.

I want to thank the tribes, counties, and other stakeholders for working together to find the common ground which made these bills a reality.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bills be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing was previously scheduled for Thursday, October 10, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building; and will now be held on Thursday, November 7, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of this oversight hearing is to consider the Draft Regional Recommendation regarding the Columbia River Treaty.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record may do so by sending it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by e-mail to Lauren_Goldschmidt @energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Dan Adamson at (202) 224- 2871, Cisco Minthorn at (202) 224-4756 or Lauren Goldschmidt at (202) 224-5488.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Thursday, November 14, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

The purpose of the hearing to consider the nominations of Mr. Steven P. Croley to be the General Counsel of the Department of Energy, Christopher A. Smith to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy, Fossil Energy, and Ms. Esther P. Kia'aina to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, for Insular Areas.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to [email protected] .gov.

For further information, please contact Sam Fowler at (202) 224-7571 or Abigail Campbell at (202) 224-4905.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, at 3:30 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:

S. 182, to provide for the unencumbering of title to non-

Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska, for

purposes of economic development by conveyance of the Federal

reversion interest to the City;

S. 483, to designate the Berryessa Snow Mountain National

Conservation Area in the State of California, and for other

purposes;

S. 771, to provide to the Secretary of the Interior a

mechanism to cancel contracts for the sale of materials CA-

20139 and CA-22901, and for other purposes;

S. 776, to establish the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness in the

State of New Mexico, to provide for the conveyance of certain

parcels of National Forest System land in the State, and for

other purposes;

S. 841, to designate certain Federal land in the San Juan

National Forest in the State of Colorado as wilderness, and

for other purposes;

S. 1305, to provide for the conveyance of the Forest

Service Lake Hill Administrative Site in Summit County,

Colorado;

S. 1341, to modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence

Program as the program applies to units of the National

Forest System derived from the public domain by implementing

a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for

determining cabin user fees, and for other purposes;

S. 1414, to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal

land in the State of Oregon to the Confederated Tribes of

Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians;

S. 1415, to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal

land in the State of Oregon to the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua

Tribe of Indians, and;

S. 1479, to address the forest health, public safety, and

wildlife habitat threat presented by the risk of wildfire,

including catastrophic wildfire, on National Forest System

land and public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management

by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary

of the Interior to expedite forest management projects

relating to hazardous fuels reduction, forest health, and

economic development, and for other purposes.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, 20510-6150, or by email to [email protected].

For further information, please contact please contact Meghan Conklin (202) 224-8046, or John Assini (202) 224-9313.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.