In the summer of 2000, fifteen landowners in east-central Illinois received notice the Miami Indian Tribe of Oklahoma was suing them. These 15 individuals from 15 separate counties were told they were being sued because the Miami was claiming that some 2.6 million acres rightfully belonged to them under a treaty, the Treaty of Grouseland signed in 1805.

Illinois was granted statehood in 1818, a full 13 years after the Treaty of Grouseland was signed by the United States Government and the Miami Tribe. For this reason, I introduced H.R. 791. Basically, the legislation will waive sovereign immunity and allow the tribe to file its claim in the U.S. Federal Court to seek settlement. I'm not in front of this Committee today to say whether the Miami tribe is right or wrong in its pursuit of this claim. I am here today, however, to say that the property owners of east-central Illinois should not be part of this claim. The Miami's fight should not be with the hard-working, honest citizens of Illinois, nor should it be with the state of Illinois, but rather with the Federal Government.

I am not opposed to the Miami Indian Tribe as a society within our great nation. I fact, I am encouraged by their stature and their ability to diversify our country and influence cur future. And, I will concede that at one point in our nation's history, the Miami may have been rightful owners of the land they are now trying to reclaim. However, I do not feel they are justified in victimizing hard working landowners who live within the area I represent. Those families have owned and paid taxes on their land, in some cases for many generations. The Miami Indian Tribe alleges that the U. S. Government never properly obtained land title from them as required by the 1805 Treaty. Therein lies the dispute.

No one would argue that Native Americans were not wronged in our country's past. We would also welcome all attempts to improve the standard of living to which our Native Americans are subject. However, the landowners of east central Illinois should not pay this price.

Just over a year ago, Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert and I, visited the home of one of the landowners being sued. His name is Rex Walden of Urbana, Illinois. Mr. Walden is a 98-year-old retired farmer. He told the Speaker and I about his life spent on the farm. All he wants now is to leave the farm to his children. Mr. Walden worked the farm and paid taxes all his life. To be sued and face the possibility that he could lose that land because of a 200 year-old treaty is unjust,

at best.

The problem goes beyond Rex Walden and the 14 other landowners. A cloud has been cast over the titles of all property in the 2.6 million acre region. Imagine if you were thinking of locating a business in east central Illinois. Why locate in the region in question when you could locate that business, those jobs, and that tax revenue outside that region?

In closing, I want to thank you again, Chairman Hansen and the Members of the House Resources Committee for holding this hearing. This issue, while regional in scope, is of the utmost importance to the citizens of my congressional district in east central Illinois.

Mr. HAYWORTH. Congressman Johnson, we thank you for your testimony.

Now, we turn to your colleague from the 20th District of Illinois, the Honorable John Shimkus. Good morning, Congressman Shimkus, and thank you for joining us.

STATEMENT

OF THE HON. JOHN SHIMKUS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF

ILLINOIS

Mr. SHIMKUS. Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Resources Committee. It is a pleasure to be here today on H.R. 791, a bill that would protect private landowners in Illinois from American Indian claims to their land.

The bill was introduced by my friend and colleague, Mr. Tim Johnson, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to debate and discuss this.

First, I would like to commend Congressman Johnson for introducing this important piece of legislation. During my campaign for

office, I ran on just a few central promises. One of my promises to voters was that I would protect private property rights. My voting record in Congress so far would strongly back up that claim. That is why I cosponsored this legislation, even though at the time, it did not impact any part of my Congressional district. However, under a new Congressional map, 3 of the 15 counties impacted by this claim could be in my new Congressional district.

The legislation is straightforward and fair to both sides. First, it protects property owners in Illinois who have acted in good faith and done nothing wrong and ensures that they will not lose their homes, farms and businesses. Second, it provides the tribes recourse to the Federal courts. The Miami claim is based upon an assertion that the U.S. Government never properly obtained land title for the tribe, as required by an 1805 treaty between the tribe and the Federal Government. This legislation would allow them to pursue their claim against the United States, with whom their argument is, really, since Illinois was not a state until after 1805; in fact, 13 years later, 1818.

The State of Illinois has carefully reviewed this claim and thoroughly studied the issue raised by the tribe and the relevant historical documents. Based upon this review, the state concluded that the claim lacks any merit. These claims have been made for the sole purpose of establishing a casino and not for any true reparations for the tribe. State law in Illinois limits casino gambling to the 10 existing licenses.

Furthermore, I firmly believe that the current landowners cannot and should not be held accountable for any claims by the Miami or any other Native American tribes. They are innocent people in this claim.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for allowing me to testify on this important piece of legislation, and I am willing to answer any questions the Committee might have, and I yield back my time. [The prepared statement of Mr. Shimkus follows:]

Statement of The Honorable John Shimkus, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois

Mr. Chairman, members of the Resources Committee, it is a pleasure to testify today on H.R. 791, a bill that would protect private landowners in Illinois from American Indian claims to their land. The bill was introduced by my fellow Illinois Congressman, Tim Johnson. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you and your Subcommittee.

First, I would like to commend Congressman Johnson for introducing this important piece of legislation.

During my campaign for office, I ran on just a few central promises. One of my promises to the voters was that I would protect private property rights. My voting record in Congress so far would strongly back up that claim. That is why I cosponsored this legislation, even though, at the time, it did not impact any part of my Congressional District. However, under a new Congressional map, 3 of the 15 counties impact by this claim will be in my new District.

The legislation is straightforward and fair to both sides. First it protects property owners in Illinois, who have acted in good faith and done nothing wrong, and ensures that they will not lose their homes, farms, and businesses. Second, it provides the tribes recourse to the Federal Courts. The Miami claim is based upon an assertion that the United State government never properly obtained land title from the Tribe as required by an 1805 treaty between the Tribe and the Federal Government. This legislation would allow them to pursue their claim against the Unites States, with whom their argument is really with since Illinois was not a state in 1805.

The State of Illinois has carefully reviewed this claim and thoroughly studied the issues raised by the Tribe and the relevant historical documents. Based upon this review, the State concluded that the claim lacks any merit.

These claims have been made for the sole purpose of establishing a casino and not for any true reparations for their tribe. State law in Illinois limits casino gambling to the 10 existing licenses. Furthermore, I firmly believe that current landowners cannot and should not be held accountable for any claims by the Miami or any other native American tribes. They are innocent people in this claim.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for allowing me to testify on this important piece of legislation. I am willing to answer any questions the Committee might have.

Mr. HAYWORTH. Thank you, Congressman Shimkus. And the Chair would note that you have been joined at the witness table by our friend, Congressman Phelps.

We welcome you, sir, and look forward to hearing your comments on this legislation as well.

Mr. PHELPS. May I proceed now, sir?

Mr. HAYWORTH. Yes, indeed, you may proceed, and we thank you for joining us.

Mr. PHELPS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity, even though I just heard a few minutes ago that this hearing was taking place on this subject. I wanted to jump to the chance and let the record show my support. I have several counties presently-I represent the 19th District-that are involved in this situation, and hopefully, it is going to be resolved, because it is an issue that encompasses a rather large part of my district in central Illinois.

This issue has been of great concern for quite awhile now, and I am pleased that we are working here today to get it resolved once and for all.

The Miami Tribe is currently seeking to claim 2.6 million acres of property, including Illinois' Wabash watershed, which includes all or part of 15 counties. Fifteen landowners have been named in the lawsuit, one in each county affected by the lawsuit. The tribe claims this land was not included in the 1805 Treaty of Grouseland. They gave up most of their land to the Federal Government for $600 when they signed that treaty.

The tribe now estimates that the value of the land to be around $30 billion. I am in support of Congressman Johnson's legislation, H.R. 791, and I commend him for his leadership on this issue, which will place this issue's accountability where it belongs, with the Federal Government. This is not a question of who is right and who is wrong, the Miami Tribe or the landowners. This is a question of who is going to take responsibility.

It is no secret that Native Americans have not been treated fairly in the past. However, it is not fair to place blame on the hardworking landowners of today when the whole issue has been brought about by a mistake that the Federal Government made over 150 years ago. These landowners have gone through much hardship to get where they are today, and they should not have their life's work taken right out from underneath them.

Again, I recognize the problems that this issue has brought about to many people, including several of my constituents, and I hope that this hearing will bring us one step closer to ending this issue.

So thanks again, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the landowners in the 19th District in Illinois. I appreciate it.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Phelps follows:]

Statement of The Honorable David D. Phelps, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois

Thank you Chairman, for the opportunity to speak today on this issue that encompasses a rather large part of my district in central Illinois. This issue has been of great concern for a while now, and I am pleased that we are working here today to get it resolved once and for all.

The Miami Tribe is currently seeking to claim 2.6 million acres of property included in Illinois' Wabash Watershed, which includes all or part of 15 counties. Fifteen landowners have been named in the lawsuit one from each county affected by the lawsuit. The Tribe claims this land was not included in the 1805 Treaty of Grouseland. They gave up most of its land to the Federal Government for $600 when it signed that treat. The tribe now estimates that value of the land to be around $30 billion.

I am in support of Congressman's Johnson's legislation, H.R. 791, which will place this issue's accountability where it belongs, with the Federal Government. This is not a question of who's right and who's wrong, the Miami tribes or the landowners. This is a question of who is going to take responsibility.

It is no secret that many Native Americans have not been treated fairly in the past, however it is not fair to place blame on the hardworking landowners of today when the whole issue has been brought about by a mistake that the Federal Government made over 150 years ago. These landowners have gone through much hardship to get where they are today and they should not have their life's work taken right out from underneath them.

Again, I recognize the problems that this issue has brought about to many people, including several of my constituents, and I hope that this hearing will bring us one step closer in ending this issue. Thank you again, for giving me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the landowners of the 19th district of Illinois.

Mr. HAYWORTH. And, Congressman, we thank you for your testimony.

The Chair would invite any questions from either side of the aisle, if there are any questions from our colleagues.

Ms. CHRISTENSEN. I do not have a question, Mr. Chairman. I just ask unanimous consent that two documents be placed in the record. One is a statement by Congressman Dale Kildee, and the other is a Department of the Interior memo released in July of 2000.

Mr. HAYWORTH. Without objection, we are happy to enter that into the record, and the Chair would also note that our trio from Illinois is cordially invited to join us on the dais to hear subsequent testimony about this legislation, if you care to and can accommodate your schedules. Please, by all means, gentlemen, join us here on the dais.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kildee follows:]

Statement of The Honorable Dale E. Kildee, a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan

Mr. Chairman, I oppose H.R. 791, a bill that extinguishes any claim to land, including the claim of aboriginal title, or interest in land within the State of Illinois by the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Potawatomi Tribe of Kansas or their members or predecessors or successors in interest that could be derived from treaties.

This bill also:

1. gives exclusive jurisdiction of claims to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims; 2. limits liability to the United States thereby preventing potential claims arising out of other Federal statutes;

3. gives Indian tribes one year from date of enactment to file claims; and 4. provides only monetary compensation for claims against the United States. The Department of Interior has acknowledged the validity of one the tribe's claims. Last year, the Interior Department wrote a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert and Illinois Governor George Ryan stating that the Prairie Band of Potawatomi has a credible claim to certain land in Illinois. The letter also states the U.S. continues to bear a trust responsibility for that land.

I believe that Congress would be in breach of its trust responsibility to these three tribes by passing this bill. This bill does not provide the same structure afforded to other tribes that are negotiating a fair settlement between all interested parties. Instead, the bill establishes restrictions for these tribes that are not currently set for all other tribes negotiating settlements for claims against the U.S.

Furthermore, this bill would reverse longstanding Federal policy, several Federal laws, and Federal court decisions allowing tribes to pursue claims.

That concludes my remarks. I look forward to hearing the testimony today. Thank you.

[The memorandum dated July 24, 2000, from Derril B. Jordan, Associate Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, submitted for the record on H.R. 791 follows:]