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of Illinois has carefully reviewed this claim and thoroughly studied the issue raised by the tribe and the relevant historical documents.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.

STATEMENT

OF THE

HON.

DAVID PHELPS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF

ILLINOIS

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:]

On January 14, 1998 Mamie Rupnicki, Chairperson of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians of Kansas requested Larry Morrin, Area Director, Minneapolis Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs to review her tribe's claim to the Shab-ch-nay Band Reservation in De Kalb County, Illinois and render an opinion on its merits in preparation for litigation to regain possession of the Reservation. Ms. Rupnicki's request was transmitted to Hilda Manuel, Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs. In a March 25, 1998 memorandum, Depury Commissioner Manuel requested David Hayes, Counselor to the Secretary, to determine whether the land claim of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi was valid. Subsequently, a member of Mr. Hayes' staff, Heather Sibbison, informally requested the Associate Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs, Office of the Solicitor, to review the claim and provide a legal opinion on its merits. This memorandum is in response. to that informal request for a legal opinion on the validity of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi's claim to the Shab-ch-nay Band Reservation,

The area encompassing the Shab-ch-nay Band Reservation is located in Shabbona's Grove, Illinois. It includes Section 23, the west half of Section 25, and the east half of Section 26 in Township 38 North, Range 3 East, Third Principal Meridian in Illinois. In Indian Land Cessions in the United States by Charles C. Royce (Washington, GPO,1900), the claimed area is described as part of Royce Area 148 in Illinois. Currently, the area is in the possession of a few non-Indian families and the State of Illinois, which owns and operates a park in the ares.

BACKGROUND1

'The preparation of this section has been based primarily on copies and transcriptions of historical documents assembled by the attorneys for the Prairie Band of Potawamis in support of the tribe's request for an analysis of its claim to the Shab-ch-nay Band Reservation. Unless otherwise noted, the attorneys for Prairie Band represent that these documents were obtained from the National Archives. Copies of the documents submitted by the attorneys for the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians of Kansas are on file in the Office of the Solicitor. For the purpose