<DOC>
[108 Senate Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:94449.wais]
S. Hrg. 108-620
TRIBAL PARITY ACT
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
S. 1530
TO PROVIDE COMPENSATION TO THE LOWER BRULE AND CROW CREEK SIOUX TRIBES
OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOR DAMAGE TO TRIBAL LAND CAUSED BY PICK-SLOAN PROJECTS
ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER
__________
JUNE 15, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
94-449 WASHINGTON : DC
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado, Chairman
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Vice Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, KENT CONRAD, North Dakota
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico HARRY REID, Nevada
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
GORDON SMITH, Oregon MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
Paul Moorehead, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
Patricia M. Zell, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
S. 1530, text of................................................. 3
Statements:
Big Eagle, Sr., Duane, chairman, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe...... 10
Daschle, Hon. Tom, U.S. Senator from South Dakota............ 6
Jandreau, Michael, chairman, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe......... 10
Johnson, Hon. Tim, U.S. Senator from South Dakota............ 1
Lawson, Michael L., senior associate, Morgan, Angel and
Associates, Public Policy Consultants...................... 8
Mooney, Ross, acting director of Trust Services, BIA,
Department of the Interior................................. 7
.............................................................
Appendix
Prepared statements:
Big Eagle, Sr., Duane........................................ 19
Jandreau, Michael............................................ 21
Lawson, Michael L. (with attachments)........................ 25
Mooney, Ross................................................. 113
Additional material submitted for the record:
Letter from M. Michaels Rounds, Governor, State of South
Dakota..................................................... 114
TRIBAL PARITY ACT
----------
TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2004
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:08 a.m. in
room 485, Senate Russell Building, Hon. Tim Johnson, (acting
chairman of the committee), presiding.
Present: Senator Johnson.
STATEMENT OF HON. TIM JOHNSON, U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Johnson. I will bring the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs to order.
Today, the Committee on Indian Affairs will conduct a
hearing regarding S. 1530, a bill to provide compensation to
the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Sioux Tribes of South Dakota for
damage to tribal land caused by Pick-Sloan projects along the
Missouri River.
Before we begin, I want to thank Chairman Campbell and Vice
Chairman Inouye for permitting this hearing to take place. I
also want to thank their staffs for their assistance in making
this happen.
I want to especially thank Senator Daschle for his
leadership on Missouri River issues in general. Senator Daschle
was instrumental in getting the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development Trust Fund
Acts passed to begin with. Senator Daschle's leadership on
Indian issues is a blessing to our tribes throughout South
Dakota, and truly our tribes have no better friend in
Washington than my friend and colleague, Senator Tom Daschle.
I want to welcome our South Dakota witnesses to the
committee. Chairman Jandreau of the Lower Brule Tribe is truly
the Dean of our tribal leaders. As a tribal leader for over 30
years, I rely on his experience and perspective and I
appreciate the wisdom that he has so kindly provided my office
throughout the years.
I also want to extend a big welcome to Chairman Big Eagle
of the Crow Creek Tribe. This past year has presented Duane
with many challenges. Chairman Big Eagle has been a tireless
advocate for the children of Crow Creek, whether it has been
advocating for better educational facilities or for real
solutions for the youth suicide crisis on his reservation.
During these challenging times, I appreciate the leadership
that Chairman Big Eagle has demonstrated. Thank you for your
friendship and I am pleased that Diane could join you here for
the hearing today.
I want to welcome Norm Thompson and Crystal Kirkie of the
Crow Creek Tribal Council, as well as Chairman Frazier of the
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to this committee, and thank them
for being part of this important hearing, and for all that they
do for their constituents, for their people.
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Tribe were
both impacted by two significant dam projects located on the
Missouri River, the Fort Randall Dam and the Big Bend Dam. Both
projects resulted in the inundation of several thousands of
acres of land on the reservations of these two Indian tribes.
In 1962, Congress attempted to mitigate the impacts of these
two projects on the two reservations and the Indian people who
were living on them by enacting the Big Bend Recovery Act. This
Act was insufficient. Thus, Congress felt it was necessary to
enact the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development
Trust Fund Act of 1996, and then one year later, the Lower
Brule Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development Trust Fund Act.
Both these Acts created an infrastructure development trust
fund for the respective tribes. Last year, Senator Daschle
sponsored, and I cosponsored, S. 1530. This bill recognizes the
need to amend the Acts, compensating these tribes at a more
appropriate level. It is with great pleasure that I recognize
first Leader Daschle, followed by four witnesses, Ross Mooney,
Chairman Michael Jandreau, Chairman Duane Big Eagle, and Dr.
Mike Lawson.
[Text of S. 1530 folows:]
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
Senator Johnson. I know that we are anticipating a vote
sometime around 12:10 this afternoon so I am going to do what I
can to expedite the testimony here. Before we go to the first
panel, I defer to South Dakota's Senior Senator, the Democratic
Leader, Senator Tom Daschle.
Welcome, Tom.
STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS A. DASCHLE, U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH
DAKOTA
Senator Daschle. Thank you very much, Tim, first for
chairing this important hearing and for cosponsoring S. 1530.
Your leadership and commitment to Native Americans and the
incredible work that you invest on a daily basis on their
behalf is widely recognized. Once again, your presence here
this morning is yet the latest illustration of your commitment
to these issues.
I, like you, would like to thank Chairman Campbell and Vice
Chairman Inouye and their remarkable staffs for their
cooperation and the effort that they have made to allow us to
have this hearing today. Like you, I also want to welcome our
chairs, Mike Jandreau and Duane Big Eagle, remarkable chairs
that have done so much on behalf of their people; and recognize
as well Chairman Harold Frazier of Cheyenne River who certainly
knows the consequences of damming the Missouri River as well as
anybody in our State.
Because of the interest that you noted in finishing our
hearing within an hour, I want to be very brief this morning.
Let me simply say that the consequences of the dams and the
construction of those dams was devastating for people who lived
and generated their livelihoods all along the Missouri River.
Land, homes, local economies, entire communities were actually
destroyed. Families who lived along the river were forced into
housing, oftentimes inadequate and poorly constructed. Many
lost their whole way of life.
The compensation from the Federal Government could never
possibly be sufficient to deal with the loss that many of these
people experienced. We can never erase the damage that has been
done. But if we have an obligation, we have an obligation to do
the best we can to rebuild what some have lost in the best way
we know how. That really is what the Joint Tribal-Federal
Advisory Committee, or so-called JTAC legislation passed over
the last few years has been designed to do.
Chairmen Jandreau and Big Eagle can tell you how they have
used that compensation for the benefit of their people. But in
the various JTAC bills, different methodologies for calculating
compensation have now been used. S. 1530 is an attempt to level
the playing field for all the affected tribes. Knowing there is
confusion about what truly constitutes parity, it is a
complicated equation and I am very pleased that Mike Lawson,
who is a real expert, can be here to explain how we might
define it in policy terms, hoping this hearing will move us one
step forward and closer to achieving a final and most
importantly the just compensation to all tribes that were so
devastated by the Pick-Sloan flooding and all of the
experiences that came as a result of it.
So Mr. Chairman, I thank you again for your commitment to
this legislation. I thank our tribal leaders for their
willingness to come to express again the need for early passage
of this bill. My hope is that once and for all we can make the
commitment on behalf of the Federal Government that needs to be
made in support of the many, many thousands of Native Americans
who lost so much with the construction of the dams, now some 50
years ago.
I thank you for your chairing this hearing this morning,
and I will turn the dais over to my colleagues from South
Dakota.
Senator Johnson. Thank you, Senator Daschle, for your
extraordinary leadership. I think it is fair to say that
Congress would not even be to the point of debating this issue
were it not for your leadership and your guidance on this
matter.
I appreciate that you have ongoing obligations on the
floor, and certainly understand if you felt a need to return to
the Capitol. Thank you again for your statement this morning,
and I look forward to working very closely with you and with
our tribal leaders in South Dakota on this issue.
Senator Daschle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Johnson. Our first panel this morning consists of
Ross Mooney who is acting director of Trust Services, Bureau of
Indian Affairs [BIA], Department of the Interior here in
Washington, DC. Welcome, Mr. Mooney. Your entire written
statement will be received in the record, so if you so choose
to summarize in an oral fashion, that is very acceptable to the
Chair.
STATEMENT OF ROSS MOONEY, ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF
TRUST SERVICES, BIA, DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR.
Mr. Mooney. Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I
am pleased to be here today to present the views of the
Administration on S. 1530, the Tribal Parity Act.
If enacted, S. 1530 would increase the compensation to the
Lower Brule and Crow Creek Tribes for their loss of lands and
cultural resources as a result of the Pick-Sloan project. The
intent of this legislation is to put the compensation on par
with that provided to similarly situated tribes in the region
that have already received compensation for losses resulting
from Pick-Sloan.
Section 2 of S. 1530 references a methodology determined
appropriate by the General Accounting Office. We are under the
assumption the sponsors are referring to the GAO reports of May
1991 concerning the Fort Berthold and Standing Rock Sioux
Tribes; and January 1998 concerning the Cheyenne River Sioux,
in which questions were raised about the calculations used to
determine the amounts of the compensation provided.
Within appendix 3 of the January 1998 GAO report, there is
a table which states in the footnotes that dollar amounts shown
are not comparable. The original payments authorized and the
additional compensation authorized are not comparable across
the five reservations or with each other. In 1991, testimony
provided on behalf of GAO stated the question of whether
additional compensation should be provided to the tribes is a
policy decision for the Congress.
To summarize, the Department is not in a position to
comment on whether these two tribes were equitably compensated
that at this time. However, we will be happy to work with the
sponsor of the bill, this committee, and the tribes to
determine if, in fact, there was an inequitable calculation
regarding the original principal amounts.
This concludes my testimony and I will be happy to respond
to any questions you may have.
Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Mooney appears in appendix.]
Senator Johnson. Thank you for your testimony today, Mr.
Mooney. We on the committee, I think it is fair to say,
recognize that this is a policy determination that ultimately
needs to be made. On the other hand, it is important that that
determination not be made on some random basis and that there
be a sense of fairness and uniformity to however it is we do
approach the resolution of the compensation package.
I would simply say, I would hope that, as you indicated in
your statement, that you would be willing to work with us in a
constructive fashion to create an equitable compensation
package for the Lower Brule and the Crow Creek Tribes.
Mr. Mooney. Surely.
Senator Johnson. We very much appreciate that and we
recognize your expertise in this area, and we will be working
closely with you, Mr. Mooney. Thank you for your testimony.
Mr. Mooney. Thank you.
Senator Johnson. The second panel this morning consists of
Michael Lawson, Ph.D., senior associate, Morgan, Angel and
Associates, Public Policy Consultants of Washington, DC; also
Michael Jandreau, chairman, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of Lower
Brule, SD; and Duane Big Eagle, Sr., chairman, Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe of Fort Thompson, SD.
Would you please join us at the witness table?
Mr. Lawson, welcome to the hearing this morning. We will
begin this panel with your testimony. As I indicated earlier,
your full statement is received for the record. If you choose
to summarize in oral fashion, that is acceptable to the
committee.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL L. LAWSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, MORGAN, ANGEL
AND ASSOCIATES, PUBLIC POLICY CONSULTANTS
Mr. Lawson. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Mike
Lawson, a historian with Morgan, Angel and Associates, a public
policy consulting firm here in Washington. I am grateful to
have the opportunity to testify today in regard to S. 1530, the
Tribal Parity Act. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would
like to provide my written statement for the hearing record,
along with my report entitled, Parity Compensation for Losses
from Missouri River Pick-Sloan Dam Projects, and then summarize
my findings.
Senator Johnson. Without objection, these documents are
received into the record.
[Referenced documents appears in appendix.]
Mr. Lawson. I was asked to review the proposed Tribal
Parity Act in light of previous compensation that Congress has
provided to tribes impacted by the Pick-Sloan Dam projects,
based on a methodology approved by the General Accounting
Office. The bottom line, Mr. Chairman, is that both the Lower
Brule Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe are due
additional compensation from the United States if parity is to
be maintained among the Missouri River tribes.
Please allow me to elaborate. On two prior occasions,
Congress has provided final settlements to Missouri River
tribes based on a methodology for determining fair compensation
recommended by the GAO in 1991. The 102d Congress enacted
Public Law 575 in 1992 which authorized the establishment of a
recovery trust fund capitalized at $149.2 million for the Three
Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North
Dakota. The 106th Congress approved Public Law 511 in 2000,
which appropriated $290.7 million for the establishment of a
recovery trust fund for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South
Dakota.
The method for determining additional compensation approved
by Congress in these two prior statutes was based on a
calculation of the difference between the amounts determined by
the tribes to be warranted at the time of taking, and the
amounts that Congress eventually provided to them as
compensation. The compensation recommended by the GAO in 1991
and reiterated in a 1998-GAO report on the Cheyenne River
compensation, was to take the difference between the amounts
requested by the tribes and the amounts appropriated by
Congress and add to that difference the average annual rate of
interest that would have accrued over time had the amount of
difference been invested in AAA-rated corporate bonds. AAA is
the highest grade of corporate bonds as determined by bond
rating services such as Moody's Investment Services.
In accordance with this method of determining fair
compensation, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe is entitled to a
parity payment and additional final compensation of
$147,082,140, and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe to $78,417,853,
for their Pick-Sloan damages. The calculations on which these
amounts are based are summarized in the table I have provided
to the committee entitled, Basis for Parity Compensation. I
would be happy to walk the committee through these numbers,
either now or at any time in the future.
The damages suffered by the Lower Brule and Crow Creek
Sioux Tribes as a result of the Fort Randall and Big Bend Dam
projects are comparable to the impacts of the Garrison Dam on
the Three Affiliated Tribes at Fort Berthold and of the Oahe
Dam on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. This is especially true
in regard to the loss of natural resources and reservation
infrastructure, and the forced relocation of tribal members.
I have concluded based on my review that additional
compensation for the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Sioux Tribes is
warranted and required if the United States is to treat all of
the Missouri tribes equally. I therefore support S. 1530 as
being a consistent, accurate and a fair method by which the
Federal Government can provide parity to all of the Missouri
River Tribes.
This concludes my remarks. I would be happy to answer any
questions that you may have.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Lawson appears in appendix.]
Senator Johnson. Thank you, Dr. Lawson. I think what we
will do is conclude the testimony of this panel and then
reserve questions for after that testimony has been provided.
The committee also welcomes Marshall Matz to the table as
well, a highly respected counsel here in Washington on these
kinds of issues.
Second on our panel today we will turn to Chairman Jandreau
for your statement, and again your full statement is received
for the record.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL JANDREAU, CHAIRMAN, LOWER BRULE SIOUX
TRIBE
Mr. Jandreau. First I would like to thank the committee. I
would like to thank Senator Daschle and yourself for
cosponsoring this bill.
I would like to state that the amount of dollars that are
to be received have been a long time coming. We are very
grateful for the initial trust fund that was given to us. We
have been able to accomplish a tremendous amount on our
reservation with that. We are grateful also to you and to
Senator Daschle and to Congress for allowing us that
opportunity.
However, in spite of the fact that we have used these
dollars to impact positively the growth and development of our
tribe, we still suffer the same issues of poverty, of
joblessness, not to as large an extent as it was previously,
but we have a long way to go for the entire development. We
need to be able to leverage more with private industry to make
our dollars effectively work for our tribes.
We need this opportunity and I guess I feel a little ill at
ease because the last time I was here I had the elders of our
tribe, many of them, here supporting this actively. We could
not afford to do it this time. However, they are in support of
the expansion of this.
I thank you for the opportunity to come and testify before
you today.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Jandreau appears in appendix.]
Senator Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your
testimony, and most of all for your longstanding extraordinary
leadership of the Lower Brule Tribe.
Last on this panel, Chairman Duane Big Eagle, Sr. Duane,
welcome to the committee and again, as with the others, your
full statement is received for the record.
STATEMENT OF DUANE BIG EAGLE, Sr., CHAIRMAN, CROW CREEK SIOUX
TRIBE
Mr. Big Eagle. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Duane Big
Eagle, chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. I thank you very
much for the opportunity to testify in support of the Tribal
Parity Act, S. 1530.
I would like to thank Senator Daschle for the introduction
of legislation and you, Senator Johnson, for cosponsoring. The
legislation before you this morning is of great importance to
the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. We support it and urge its
favorable consideration by the committee and the Congress.
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, like Lower Brule, is a Band of
the Great Sioux Nation and a signatory of the Fort Laramie
Treaty of 1851 and the Fort Sully Treaty of 1865. The Missouri
River established our western boundaries directly across the
river from Lower Brule. The Big Bend Dam connects our two
reservations and its construction affected our two reservations
in a similar manner. It flooded our best bottomlands and
required us to relocate our town. For us, that is Fort
Thompson. In 1996, the Congress enacted Public Law 104-223,
creating the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development
Trust Fund Act. It established a trust fund of $27.5 million
for the benefit of the tribe. The legislation before you today,
S. 1530, the Tribal Parity Act, would complement that earlier
law.
We are not seeking any advantage over any other tribe, just
parity. The additional compensation called for in the Tribal
Parity Act was computed by Dr. Lawson based on methodology used
by the GAO for our other tribes. The amount included in the
legislation was not computed by either the Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe or the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. It is the amount that Dr.
Lawson has computed. It would bring us up to the standard used
by the Congress for the Cheyenne River.
Candidly, Mr. Chairman, our tribe needs every dollar that
is fairly owed to us. Our unemployment rate is high. Our health
problems are a significant barrier to progress, and our
education and infrastructure systems are in need of great
improvement. With the interest on the trust fund, we could much
more effectively meet the challenges we face on our
reservation, and these challenges cannot be overstated. We are
a small tribe with great human needs. The Tribal Parity Act is
vital to the progress and the future of the Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe.
Mr. Chairman, we all know painfully the history of the
reservations in the United States and the history of the Great
Sioux Nation tribes in particular. We are not near any major
population centers. We have a casino, as does Lower Brule, that
will never be a major source of income. For us to stand a
chance, we must at a minimum be fairly compensated for the land
that was taken by the Pick-Sloan. The $78 million in the parity
bill for Crow Creek, if added to our current trust fund, would
give us a trust fund of $105 million. The interest on this
trust fund would provide Crow Creek with resources necessary to
make a significant difference in the lives of our people, in
the lives of our children and grandchildren. It would, in
short, give our tribe a second chance.
Thank you for your consideration. I would be pleased to
answer any questions.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Big Eagle appears in appendix.]
Senator Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me begin some questions for Dr. Lawson. As I understand
from your testimony, the Cheyenne River and the Three
Affiliated settlements which were approved by Congress were
based on the damages claimed by the tribes at the time of
taking. Is that a correct observation?
Mr. Lawson. That is correct.
Senator Johnson. By comparison, the Lower Brule and Crow
Creek trust funds were not based on the damages claimed by the
tribes at the time, but were based on a per-acre calculation.
Is it fair to say that that discrepancy is at the heart of this
debate and of the parity bill?
Mr. Lawson. Yes; what this legislation seeks to do is to
resolve this discrepancy between two different methodologies of
determining the fair compensation.
Senator Johnson. As a historian, it would be interesting to
me and to the committee to go back just a few years. Why wasn't
the Fort Berthold, Standing Rock, and Cheyenne River Sioux
formula used in 1996?
Mr. Lawson. We have not completely found all the
documentation on that, but it seems to be that these two tribes
were not aware of that formula in 1996 and 1997, and
surprisingly neither the GAO nor the Congress made them aware
that this methodology had been applied in the previous
legislation.
Senator Johnson. The amount called for in your testimony
today is somewhat higher than the parity bill as it was
originally introduced. I gather that this is simply the effect
of additional interest in the intervening years. Is that
correct?
Mr. Lawson. Yes; that is correct. The original bill as
introduced reflected the calculation of interest through
calendar year 2002. The revised numbers reflect the calculation
that includes the interest through calendar year 2003.
Senator Johnson. If you could put together a written
analysis of the difference between the Fort Berthold, Standing
Rock, Cheyenne River formula versus the 1996 approach, that
would be very helpful. We could put that in the record.
Mr. Lawson. I would be happy to do that.
Senator Johnson. That would be very helpful. Thank you.
I appreciate that the final assessment about whether the
reconciliation process is complete or not is a question that
only the members of the Lower Brule and the Crow Creek Tribes
themselves can answer. But from your perspective, would this
parity in approach be a significant step toward reconciliation
between the Indian and non-Indian communities along the
Missouri River?
Mr. Lawson. From my perspective, I view this legislation as
being a final settlement for all of the damages that these
tribes have suffered as a result of the Pick-Sloan dam
projects.
Senator Johnson. Very good.
For Chairmen Jandreau and Big Eagle, again I thank you both
for your testimony and for coming all the way to Washington to
testify on this important legislation. I wonder if you could
summarize for me in a brief fashion what the existing trust
funds that you have under current law have allowed you to do on
your respective reservations. Chairman Jandreau, what has that
money been used for?
Mr. Jandreau. The dollars that received through the trust
fund have been leveraged to develop approximately $15 million
worth of buildings that were sorely needed, a new tribal
headquarters, a community center, a new office for the Wildlife
Department. It contributed to the expansion of our rural water
storage facilities. It helped us and solely was used for the
construction of an ambulance office and garage.
It has also been used to set up a fund for burial of our
people that meets standards that are much higher than were
allowed before. It has allowed us to provide a substantial
increase in our educational dollars for the youth. It has
allowed us to do some things with economic development, and as
far as it was able, to expand a loan program on the reservation
for individual members of the tribe.
Totally, those dollars have been a significant part of
helping to reduce and level the employment processes on the
reservation. Those things roughly are what we have done up to
this point.
Senator Johnson. As you know, thanks to your hospitality, I
have had an opportunity to tour those facilities on the Lower
Brule. I can attest myself to what a wonderful improvement in
the quality of life and the public health and safety and
welfare of the people these projects have created. I am
appreciative of your leadership in very innovatively using the
dollars available in a way that maximizes their impact.
Can you imagine any way that these projects would have been
built, completed, or these programs put underway, without the
resources from the trust fund?
Mr. Jandreau. I guess knowing South Dakota and the
inability to access with the limited resources that we had
prior to this, it may have been able to be done, but it would
have taken a long, long time to make it happen.
Senator Johnson. The revenue from the trust fund, that is
going to be required for some years to come now to pay off this
indebtedness. So there is not a lot of additional room for
still new initiatives or projects, given the revenue that you
have. Is that correct?
Mr. Jandreau. Yes; many of the plans that we laid out, or
many of the developments that we have laid out in our plan are
not going to be able to be accomplished for a long time, even
under the old trust fund. With the new trust fund, should it be
capitalized efficiently, will allow us the opportunity to meet
the plan that we submitted to Congress.
Senator Johnson. Can you give us some examples of things
that you would be able to do if we were able to pass this
legislation and improve the size of the trust fund?
Mr. Jandreau. I sincerely believe that we would be able to
complete our detention facility, holistically, that we are now
in the process of constructing; that we could in all
probability reduce unemployment to zero simply because of the
outlaying plans that there are to employ not only adults, but
youth; that we would expand our educational opportunity capital
by at least 50 percent to 75 percent greater than we are
providing today; that we could develop some of the economic
opportunities such as tourism development and other activities
that would stabilize the long-term growth of the reservation
more effectively. We have the plans, but not the dollars.
Senator Johnson. Thank you for that.
On the Lower Brule, is there broad support for this
legislation among the people on the Council with the Elders?
Mr. Jandreau. I guess, you know, you have been around
reservations for a long time, Senator.
Senator Johnson. Unanimity is never possible, but a large
consensus.
Mr. Jandreau. If there is anything that there is any
unanimity on, it would be in support of this.
Senator Johnson. Very good.
I would note as well that the Lower Brule sits astride very
historic land related to the Lewis and Clark trip up the
Missouri River.
Chairman Big Eagle, I would ask you the same questions that
I did to Mike. Could you give us a general picture of how have
you used the resources from your existing trust fund up until
now?
Mr. Big Eagle. Senator, after a series of meetings with the
three districts that we have on the Crow Creek Reservation and
much consultation with the Elders and the tribal members asking
them what they felt their wants and needs are, in our Big Bend
District we purchased a school building that now provides
educational facilities for over 40 children and 16 Head Start
children. In our Fort Thompson and Crow Creek Districts, we
have put up community buildings; the Crow Creek District in
particular, with a gymnasium, so that children that are out
there literally in the middle of nowhere can now have
recreational activities in the evenings, which offsets what we
like to feel is the ongoing suicide rate in our teenagers on
the reservation.
Senator Johnson. Share with us, have you had a recent spate
of youth suicide?
Mr. Big Eagle. Yes; we have. I believe it was addressed to
me by one of Senator Daschle's staff at one point in time that
a township of 2,200 people had an average of 22 suicide
attempts or successes a month.
Senator Johnson. A month.
Mr. Big Eagle. A month.
Senator Johnson. That is remarkable.
Mr. Big Eagle. We have also purchased a tract of land at
the insistence of a local rancher that would refuse to sell his
land to anybody else but the tribe, that sits adjacent to the
substation or the grid that is located north of Fort Thompson
there, and have been working with South Dakota public utilities
and other outside investment firms on developing wind energy. I
believe in last week's Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Senator
Daschle commented that South Dakota could produce 276,000
megawatts with wind energy. We are at present hoping that we
will someday establish at least 150 wind turbines on that tract
of land for a start.
Senator Johnson. You have the circumstance where you are
located in an area where there is a lot of wind potential, but
also you are next to the Big Bend Dam and the electricity grid
that runs through there. So both you and Lower Brule have some
potential in that regard, I would think.
Mr. Big Eagle. We have set aside $100,000 annually for a
student scholarship program for those that want to continue
school and further their education. Like Lower Brule, I think
Chairman Jandreau has kind of summed up a lot of the other
useful purposes that the infrastructure has provided, the
doorways that it has opened. We are grateful for that at this
time.
Senator Johnson. If you were to have a significantly
enhanced trust fund, any thoughts about the kinds of things
that you would use that revenue for?
Mr. Big Eagle. At the present time, some of the issues that
I work on, as you are aware of, is our educational facilities
that are collapsing as we speak. I meet with the elderly who
live in an outdated 1969 elderly center and have asked the
tribe for help in setting up some kind of assisted living
quarters because the houses that they live in have so many
other relatives living in them.
We have a large variety of contact with the elderly people
in our community and they provide a lot of support in things
that we want to do. So other than major road repair, probably
we had to pass up the opportunity to work with a company out of
Colorado that had contracts with the military to develop
decontamination devices in this state of terrorism that we go
through. We would have liked to have been able to put up a
building that would have been suitable for such a factory and
probably would have created somewhere in the area of 50 to
whatever jobs.
Senator Johnson. I have had an opportunity to tour the
school at Stefan. In fact, Kevin Gover was with us those years
ago. It was in deplorable condition then. Since then, things
have only become worse. Thanks to your work and working with
Senator Daschle, we have made some improvements on the
gymnasium there, but there is much that remains to be done.
Let me ask both the Chairmen here, either one of you can
take this, to describe the planning process in place on your
reservations that will assure the committee that the trust
funds will be utilized in accordance with the wishes of the
tribal people themselves; that there is a thoughtful public and
organized utilization of the money. That this is not just free
cash lying around someplace; that there is in fact a very
systematic way of utilizing the trust fund.
Mr. Jandreau. Senator, at Lower Brule presently we have an
Infrastructure Development Committee that consists of
approximately 16 people who are in various parts of the tribe,
program directors, individuals of the community. Also in
addition to that, we have representatives from the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and from Indian Health Service who we utilized
in an ongoing process to deal with any way that these dollars
are programmed to be funded; any way that they will affect a
plan into the future. Those activities after hearing by this
particular committee, after being vetted to the public, are
then provided to the Tribal Council for enactment. That is how
we move this process forward at Lower Brule.
Senator Johnson. Does the BIA have a role in this?
Mr. Jandreau. Yes; their role is primarily advisory, the
same way with Indian Health Service. Their role is primarily
advisory. But the strength of personality that is there, if it
is something that is not being conducted in a proper way, they
are there to help with a guiding hand also.
Senator Johnson. And there is an audit process that is
involved?
Mr. Jandreau. We have a yearly audit that is accomplished
on all funds that are received by our tribe.
Senator Johnson. Chairman Big Eagle, what is the process on
your reservation?
Mr. Big Eagle. Although we lack a committee, we meet with
the people in our Tribal Council chambers and listen to their
ideas and suggestions as to what they want done. We try to do
this in a manner that we include all three districts. Like I
say, we get a lot of advice from our tribal membership, our
elderly and our young, and we try to follow at any point their
direction. As I say, if anybody knows best what they need, it
is them.
So at some point in time, based on the unemployment ratio
on the Crow Creek Reservation----
Senator Johnson. What would you estimate that to be?
Mr. Big Eagle. I would probably guess at this point
somewhere in the high 80's, 85 percent.
Senator Johnson. High 80's of unemployment?
Mr. Big Eagle. Yes, sir; people have the opportunity to
work on farms and ranches and travel to surrounding towns to
commute for work. We try to employ as many as we can on a full-
time or part-time basis. The Corps of Engineers recently now
has started employing tribal members from both Lower Brule and
Crow Creek, which has been very helpful.
So I think whether it is a committee or whether it is just
a general community meeting with the people, we both look at
going in the same direction. That is what is best for the
benefit of our tribes.
Senator Johnson. Again, as I asked Chairman Jandreau, in
your view there is pretty broad-based support on your Council
and among your people for this legislation?
Mr. Big Eagle. Yes; at our last Tuesday council meeting, we
had a large turnout of different Bands of our people and the
Districts. And on this day, I think that they are all offering
up prayer at this point in time for the success of our trip.
Senator Johnson. Thank you, and I know that neither of you
are particularly fond of a lot of travel back and forth from
South Dakota to Washington, but your presence here is
critically important, and your insights are very valuable to
the committee.
We of course will share this with the committee and staff,
and as was noted at the outset that the goal here is not simply
to augment the trust fund for the sake of augmenting the trust
fund. What is at work here is trying to arrive at a systematic,
equitable, fair way of determining what a fair trust fund
compensation amount might be. That is what we are attempting to
do here.
It would be interesting to know a little more about the
dynamic of why some trust funds are arrived at in a far
different fashion than these trust funds were, but in any event
these are two tribes with enormously urgent needs, high levels
of unemployment and poverty. Great progress has been made
thanks to the leadership of these two Chair, but much, much
more needs to be done.
It seems critically important to me if we are going to draw
this whole debate to a closure that all the tribes up and down
the Missouri River who have been negatively impacted by the
flooding of their historic land base should know that they have
been treated fairly and equitably. Otherwise, there can never
be very much satisfaction about any of this.
So thank you for your leadership, what you have done here.
Dr. Lawson, thank you for your insights. We look forward to
some written response to that one point that we raised with
you.
Mr. Lawson. Mr. Chairman, I wonder if I might add a
personal note for the record?
Senator Johnson. Certainly.
Mr. Lawson. This whole endeavor of studying the impact of
the Pick-Sloan dams on the Missouri River tribes began for me
more than 30 years ago when I needed to find a subject to write
a doctoral dissertation about. Okay? Over the years, all of the
tribes that received additional compensation have used in part
or in whole my research. I just wanted to say what an enormous
good feeling it gives to me that these Indian people have
received a very practical application of that research and that
they have been able to enjoy the additional compensation that
Congress has provided them over the years.
Senator Johnson. We are very appreciative of your work. I
think it is fair to say that it is rare that academic work has
such very real-life applications as yours has. We have more
work to do here, but we will fall back on your study and your
examination in large measure in the course of doing this.
Keep it in mind again that the revenue for the creation of
these trust funds is not out of the general fund, but rather
comes from the electricity production on these earthen dams
that in fact flooded these tribes. So there is a certain
justice at the end of the day in that regard as well.
Thank you for your testimony. We will have ongoing
communications with all of you as we move this legislation
forward in a constructive bipartisan fashion. I most simply say
thank you for your presence here today. I think the fact that
the Chairman and the Ranking Member were very willing to allow
us to go forward with this hearing today is a good omen. I am
confident that we will reach a point where we can draw a close
to this whole debate about Missouri River flooding
compensation.
Thank you again.
With that, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:18 p.m., the committee was adjourned, to
reconvene at the call of the Chair.]
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A P P E N D I X
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Additional Material Submitted for the Record
=======================================================================
Prepared Statement of Duane Big Eagle, Chairman, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I am Duane Big Eagle,
Chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. Thank you very much for the
opportunity to testify in support of the Tribal Parity Act, S. 1530.
First, I would also like to thank Senator Daschle for the
introduction of the legislation, and Senator Johnson for cosponsoring.
The legislation before you this morning is of great importance to the
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. We support it and urge its favorable
consideration by the Committee and the Congress.
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is, like Lower Brule, a constituent band
of the Great Sioux Nation and a signatory of the Fort Laramie Treaty of
1851 and the Fort Sully Treaty of 1865. The Missouri River establishes
our western boundary, directly across the river from Lower Brule. The
Big Bend Dam connects our two reservations and its construction
effected our two reservations in a similar manner. It flooded our best
bottomlands and required us to relocate our town; for us that is Fort
Thompson.
In 1996, the Congress enacted Public Law 104-223 creating the Crow
Creek Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development Trust Fund Act. It
established a Trust Fund of $37,500,000 for the benefit of the tribe.
The legislation before you today, S. 1530, the Tribal Parity Act, would
compliment that earlier law.
We are not seeking any advantage over any other tribe, just parity.
The additional compensation called for in the Tribal Parity Act was
computed by Dr. Lawson based on methodology used by the GAO for other
tribes. The amount included in the legislation, was not computed by
either the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe or the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. It is
the amount that Dr. Lawson has computed would bring us up to the
standard used by the Congress for Cheyenne River.
Candidly, Mr. Chairman, our tribe needs ever dollar that is fairly
owed to us. Our unemployment rate is too high, our health problems are
a significant barrier to progress, and our education and infrastructure
systems are in need on great improvement.
With the interest on the trust fund, we could much more effectively
meet the challenges we face on the reservation, and these challenges
can not be overstated. We are a small tribe with great human needs. The
Tribal Parity Act is vital to the progress and future of the Crow Creek
Sioux Tribe.
Mr. Chairman, we all know--painfully--the history of the
reservations in the United States and the history of the Great Sioux
Nation Tribes, in particular. We are not near any major population
center. We have a casino, as does Lower Brule, but that will never be a
major source of income. For us to stand a chance, we must, at aminimum,
be fairly compensated for the land that was taken by the Pick-Sloan.
The $78 million in the Parity bill for Crow Creek, if added to our
current trust fund, would give us a trust fund of $105 million. The
interest on this trust fund would provide Crow Creek with the resources
necessary to make a significant difference in the lives of our people
and the lives of our children and grandchildren. It would, in short,
give our tribe a second chance. Thank you for your consideration. I
would be pleased to answer any questions.
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