[106th Congress Public Law 465]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ465.106]
[[Page 114 STAT. 2019]]
Public Law 106-465
106th Congress
An Act
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Sand Creek
Massacre National Historic Site in the State of Colorado. <<NOTE: Nov.
7, 2000 - [S. 2950]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Sand Creek Massacre
National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000. 16 USC 461 note.>>
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) <<NOTE: Federal Register, publication.>> 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) <<NOTE: Deadline.>> 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.
Approved November 7, 2000.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2950:
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SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-418 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 146 (2000):
Oct. 5, considered and passed Senate.
Oct. 23, considered and passed House.
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