I know you have been asked for a lot of money during your tenure as Senators, from various groups. Please, Senators, keep in mind we are not minorities. We are not special interest groups. We are members of indigenous nations, whose lands we are renting to you.

[Applause.]

Mr. TAKEN ALIVE. I would ask, and I beg your apology and your indulgence, if I could physically hand to one of your staff people in the presence of my relatives who are seated behind me, a copy of the 1889 Act-if one of your staff members could come and accept this.

Honorable Senators, chapter 405 of this act of 1889 says, "An Act to divide a portion of the reservation of the Sioux Nation of Indians in Dakota into separate reservations and to secure the relinquishment of Indian title to the remainder, and for other purposes." This is the act, Senators, that former Under Secretary Gover, working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said was an illegal act. This is why he said it was an illegal act. He did not say that. This is why we believe, and we concur, that it is an illegal act. Section 28, that this act shall take effect only upon the acceptance thereof and consent thereto by the different bands of the Sioux Nation of Indians, in manner and form prescribed by the top article of the treaty between the United States and said Sioux Indians, concluded April 29, 1868, which said acceptance and consent shall be made known by proclamation by the President of the United States upon satisfactory proof presented to him that the same has been obtained in a manner and form required by said top article of said treaty, which proofs shall be presented to him within one year from the passage of this Act, and upon failure of such proof of proclamation, this act becomes of no effect, null and void. We move to the section 30 that says that all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

Honorable Senators, we have proof that the three-fourths signatures were not obtained, and that is why this act is an illegal act. And that is why the boundaries have been illegally made. And that is why we must sit down as nations and talk about our title and deed to these lands, because indeed they are ours, beginning with the fact that a pact does not supersede a treaty.

We must also talk about the reparations that we have been hearing all day today-the need for money for schools; the need for health; the need for roads. Senators, I would ask you, as members of this committee, and maybe it is going to take longer than our lifetime, but our children, our grandchildren need to sit down and right this wrong.

Finally, a copy of the Fort Laramie treaty of 1868, as an example. It says, from this day forward, all war between the parties to this agreement shall forever cease. The Government of the United States desires peace and its honor is hereby pledged to keep it. The Indians desire peace and pledge their honor to maintain it. This is the spirit that I talk about. This is the spirit that I bring to this hearing today.

Honorable Senators, when this act of 1889 was put forth, we saw tremendous, tremendous amounts of illegal taking. We saw in 1924 our grandparents and great-grandparents forced to become mem

bers of this great country. And I know many of them are glad that they are members of this country, but just the act of not being asked to be members of a country could possibly be a human rights violation.

On and on through history up to today, continuing taking and taking and taking. I am fearful for my children and grandchildren. The population growth, and there is land up here that is going to be confiscated unless we sit down and take a look at the March 2, 1889 map. And again for the record, if I could ask some of my relatives to give a copy to you of the 1868 treaty as an example. And there are other treaties that we could talk about, such as the 1851 land treaty.

Again, the spirit of our discussions today as nations must continue on. I respect the integrity each and every one of you who are members of this committee, and especially those of you two who sit here with us.

Senators I would like to close, because testimony means you talk from your heart; testimony means you talk the truth; testimony means that you share this willingly and in good faith, trusting.

I would like to close my testimony by singing the song that honors this flag, because in our culture, we believe respectfully that we own part of that flag as a result of the battle of Breezy Grass of 1876.

[Applause.]

Mr. TAKEN ALIVE. We also respect and admire our grandfathers who fought for this country in a World War I and all the way up to today, in memories of our people who will continue to defend this country. It is not being unpatriotic to this country. Rather, these treaties that I speak about are found in your Constitution. In fact, the reason treaties are put in a constitution is to guarantee the dealings with indigenous people, our ancestors, who still occupy these lands, so let them.

I would like to close by singing a song to the flag that each and every one of us knows.

[Song in Lakota language].

Mr. TAKEN ALIVE. Thank you, Honorable Senators. [Applause.]

The CHAIRMAN. It was an appropriate song for an appropriate time.

Before I call upon and recognize your distinguished Senator, may I advise the group that the record of the committee will be kept open until September 30. So those of you who wish to submit statements on issues being discussed today may do so, and send that to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. May I also assure the witnesses who testified today that your full statements, because I realize that many of you did not provide the full statement, will be made part of the record.

With that, may I call upon your great Senator, Senator Johnson. Senator JOHNSON. Thank you again, Chairman Inouye, for convening this hearing here in South Dakota. Too often, we have opportunities on our committee to hear experts, so-called experts in Washington, DC, but is important I think to this committee to come out to the home of the under the tribal homes across this

Nation, to hold hearings where we can directly hear from the people themselves.

I want to commend you, Chairman Inouye, as well for sacrificing the time that might more typically have been used for the committee to ask questions or to express comments of their own in order to maximize the amount of time available for the witnesses to testify themselves. I think that it is the greater good for the committee to spend more time listening and less time talking, and I think once again your wisdom was correct.

I do not have questions at this point. We are going to need to conclude soon, but I do have some closing comments that I want to make relative to all of the witnesses before the committee today.

Chairman Grey, I appreciate all that you have done for SissetonWahpeton. We are working very closely with you on a new IHS facility. I have toured it personally. It is in abominable condition. Much of it is a matter of old, old derelict buildings, trailer houses that should have been hauled to the landfill long ago. We are at the very early stages of replacing that facility. We are also working with you to expand the BDM water system, to again provide opportunities for clean, potable drinking water for members of the tribe. President Ranfranz, thank you for all that you do at Flandreau, and for your service as leader of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen Association. I think you have done great work in that regard, and with the particular attention that you have given toward economic development issues and ways that we can help you break down the cycle of poverty and dependence that we have had so much of for far too long. I have appreciated your leadership in that regard.

Mr. Chytka, thanks to you and to Chairwoman Archambeau for all that you have done on the Yankton Reservation. I have shared your frustration in particular over the lack of responsiveness on the part of the Corps of Engineers relative to the burial site problems that now have become chronic. I thought it was bad enough when we first heard the White Swan experiences. I personally toured that, and participated in ceremonies there. But we seem not to be making the progress that we ought to have. It is my understanding that you and your tribe have just concluded a 14-hour mediation process with the Corps regarding burial sites. I applaud your tenacity, but this is a circumstance that should not require that kind of longstanding negotiation. It is simply a matter of the Federal Government doing what is right.

For Chairman Bourland, I want to thank you for your leadership on so many things on the Cheyenne River. Again, I have toured your health care facility as well. It is in terrible condition, and I want to share with you my great frustration that even the plans for a new facility, deleting obstetrics care, I was shocked on my tour that you helped lead on Cheyenne River to find that women about to give birth are expected to get on icy highways and drive 100 miles to Pierre in order to deliver a baby-literally life and death and sometimes death has resulted from that. I appreciate all that you have done relative to nursing home legislation. This has been an issue that has been highlighted by a number of our tribal chairs, but it is in keeping with the kind of respect that needs to be shown to our elders. I agree with you that the legislation is not moving as quickly as we want it to move, but I remain determined

that we are going to make this happen, and we can correct this longstanding injustice.

For President Kindle, I again appreciate your leadership on a whole range of things. We are making some progress with many issues on your reservation, as well as Lower Brule and as well as Pine Ridge, but we have much more to be done. I share your frustration over the new juvenile detention facility, but without the resources as yet to staff it and to make it work in the way that it needs to be done; the shortages of housing; the needs that we have for ambulance and medical care and that regard; and for school facilities is simply overwhelming, and I appreciate your bringing those issues to the committee today.

And for President Steele, again, you have raised and your tribal members have raised profound issues as well on a whole range of issues. I appreciate the documentation you provided me today on the National Park Service conflict. We are having this go on at the same time as we are having Corps of Engineers problems on the Yankton. And all of these are problems that could easily have been corrected with the kind of consultation and government-to-government respect and courtesy that ought to be the standard way of operating, and yet, it has not been the case in too many instances. And so, I appreciate your emphasis on that.

I also appreciate that you are working with the other tribal chairs and presidents, particularly with Andy Grey, relative to articulating in a strong fashion the treaty statement that I am looking forward to reviewing it now and finalizing this, but I am looking forward to submitting into the Congressional Record for all time, to have this as something in the United States record, and you have played a key role in making that happen.

Vice Chairman Iron, again thanks to you and your tribal members for your insights on JTAC, on the lost records of schools, roads, health care needs there. I appreciate again your raising the Percy Good Eagle matter. I know that there and on the SissetonWahpeton, the interest in honoring people who have served with great distinction, and I will do the best we can to make sure that these people are in fact properly honored.

Last, of course, to Chairman Jandreau-there is a great deal that you have done that I have had an opportunity to work with you on, but most of all your leadership on trust issues and your taking on the formal leadership role that you have had has been extraordinary. This is an area where, again, Chairman Inouye and I are going to have to work closely with you. I have submitted legislation with Senator Daschle and Senator McCain, as you know, where we are trying to incorporate the tribal perspectives on trust management reform, rather than having something imposed from the top down incorrectly; have the resolution of this problem come from native peoples themselves. We are trying to accomplish that, and the work of your commission and your leadership has been helpful in great regard there. We also have, again, the question of violence against women, and whether native people or non-native people, there we have much catching up to do and much work that needs to be done.

So in conclusion, let me simply say that this, I think, has been a very beneficial hearing, certainly for Senator Inouye and myself,

but everything is on the record here. This is being transcribed, and this is being returned to Washington, DC for the review of the other members of the committee, Republican and Democrat, and for their respective staffs. I think this will be very beneficial to get the insights directly from native leaders here in the State of South Dakota.

Again, the only way that we will successfully address many problems is to start out with an understanding that this does indeed involve a government-to-government relationship that must respect the sovereignty of our tribes and must respect the Federal Government's responsibilities for treaty and trusts, and that while many years have passed, and while gaming revenues have been generated in some places, they do nothing to diminish the legal obligations and responsibilities that we have to conduct our affairs in a government-to-government basis, with a spirit of integrity and dignity and respect for our native peoples.

So I want to simply conclude the hearing by saying that you have contributed mightily today to a better understanding on the part of the Federal Government of its responsibilities and obligations, and of its opportunities. So thank you again for your testimony and for all that you contributed to this hearing. I yield back to the Chairman.

[Applause.]

The CHAIRMAN. I have heard your sad voices of anger and frustration. I have been hearing them for the past 15 years, when I first became chairman of this committee, and since then as part of the leadership of the Indian Affairs Committee.

I would like to respond to some of the issues that were brought up. The first witness spoke of not being able to place certain lands in trust. The reason given by the Administration was that these lands are not your ancestral lands. You came from somewhere else. Well, I am certain those of you who have studied the history of the United States will conclude that this is a great country. This is a magnificent country, but it is a country like all other countries that are run by men. We make mistakes, and sometimes we make terrible mistakes. For example, our founding fathers in those days of the Revolution, studied government of the Iroquois Confederacy to establish the Government of the United States. The Iroquois had a confederation of tribes. They selected a supreme chief, selected by the clan mothers-women voted in those days. They called it something else but they had a House and a Senate. They had a judiciary. If you look at the writings of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, you will see a reference to the role that this Iroquois Nation played in establishing the model for our country.

Our founding fathers recognized your sovereignty-and that was put in the Constitution of the United States, if you look in the Constitution. It is very clear that Indian Nations are sovereign nations. And as a result of that recognition of your sovereignty, the relationship between the Government of the United States and the sovereign governments of Indian country was carried out through treaties. Eventually, the United States entered into 800 treaties with sovereign Indian nations, signed by either the President or the Secretary of State, and signed by the Chief or whoever was the Elder. But I am sorry to tell you that of the 800 treaties, 430 are still in