In identifying many if not most of the California tribes as eligible for an expedited processing of their petitions, S. 611 would allow resolution of the special California problem with economies of scale for both tribes and the federal government. Thus, the process would become affordable. * S. 611 may help resolve questions pertaining to intergovernmental relations between the United States and unacknowleged California tribes. * S. 611 would allow about a half dozen terminated rancherias to apply for recognition under a fast track procedure. (In the 100th Session, Congress formally disavowed the effects of the termination policy. Under that policy, 38 California rancherias previously treated as reservations were terminated. Distributees of those rancherias included descendants of about 60 California Indian tribes. Many of these rancherias (and their distributees], terminated between 1961 and 1970, have been "unterminated" in the courts.) In considering federal acknowledgment legislation, the Committee must keep in mind the special California situation and the great injustices which have resulted (and will continue to result through deprivation of services) if legitimate California tribes continue to be unrecognized through no fault of their own. TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL D. MASON, ON S. 611 BEFORE THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE Chairman Inouye and Members of the Committee, my name is Michael D. Mason. I am a staff attorney with the Native American Program Oregon Legal Services (NAPOLS) in Portland, Oregon. Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on S. 611, the Federal Acknowledgment Administrative Procedures Act. My testimony is on the potential impact of S. 611 on Indian tribes whose federal relation was terminated by Congress between 1954 and 1962. My firm has worked with terminated tribes in Oregon for over 10 years. We have assisted in the restoration of the Klamath Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians. We currently represent the Coquille Indian Tribe in its restoration effort and this testimony is presented on the tribe's behalf. To our knowledge, this is the last tribe terminated in Oregon that is eligible for restoration by Congress. Congress terminated the status of some 109 Indian tribes and bands between 1954 and 1962. Starting with the Menominee In Tribe in 1972, Congress has restored the federal relationship with 11 terminated tribes and confederations of tribes. addition, 23 bands in California (rancherias) were judicially restored because of the BIA's failure to legally implement their termination acts. See Table Bluff Band of Indians v. Watt, 532 F. Supp. 255 (N.D. Cal. 1981); Smith v. United States, 515 F. Supp. 56 (N.D. Cal 1978); Duncan v. Andrus, 517 F. Supp. 1 (N.D. Cal 1977); Hardwick v. United States, Cir. No. 79-1710 (N.D. Cal 1983). Several tribes and bands remain terminated. Four rancherias are in litigation. See, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians v. United States, Civ. No. 86-3660 (N.D. Cal.). Fourteen rancherias in California have not sought restoration. The Catawaba Tribe in South Carolina, the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon, the Northern Ponca Tribe in Nebraska, and the mixed-blood Utes of Utah also remain terminated. And although NAPOLS has worked for ten years to locate terminated tribes in Oregon and to restore their federal relationship, we cannot rule out the possibility that another tribe remains terminated in western Oregon besides the Coquille. Nothing in this bill would reduce Congress' power to restore the federal relationship with these Indian tribes through restoration legislation. As Chairman Inouye stated in his dear colleague letter accompanying the draft bill, "this bill is not intended to supplant Congress' plenary power to acknowledge other tribes whose unique circumstances might be The better accommodated by the legislative process." Letter of Senator Daniel Inouye, February 3, 1989. Indeed, the Congress is moving to so restore recognition of the Coquille Tribe. Coquille Tribe Restoration Bill, H.R. 881, is scheduled for markup in the House Interior Committee. S. 521, its companion bill, is awaiting action by this Committee. Also, the Nebraska congressional delegation is considering introducing a bill to restore the Northern Ponca Tribe which in 1962 was the last Indian tribe to be terminated. The unique circumstances of terminated tribes make them better accommodated for particularized congressional action. Tribes that once had a federal relationship had land bases and access to federal Indian programs, including loans for economic These lands and this access were lost at development. termination. Congress has used restoration legislation to provide for remedial measures such as return of reservation lands, e.g., the Grand Ronde Restoration Act of 1983, Public Law No. 98-165 (25 U.S.C. § 713-713g) and to provide for remedial attention regarding economic development, e.g., the Klamath Tribe Restoration Act of 1986, Public Law No. 99-398 (25 U.S.C. $566-566h). The value of remedial language in a restoration bill is well illustrated by the example of the Grand Ronde Restoration The tribe once had a reservation totalling about Act of 1983. 55,000 acres. At the date of restoration, the tribe owned nothing but a small cemetery. The Act provided for a reservation plan which was to be presented to Congress. Congress reestablished the tribe's reservation in 1988, returning to the tribe nearly 10,000 acres of the tribe's See, The Grand Ronde Reservation Act, P.L. former reservation. No. 100 -425 (25 U.S.C. $713-713g). The reservation is prime timberland in Oregon that is expected to generate $1 million in revenue annually. The tribe is using this revenue for economic development, scholorships, and social programs. Without it, the tribe would have to forego most of these programs and projects and rely on federal dollars for the rest. Mere return of federal status, or acknowledgment, would not have resulted in this tribe's success story. S. 611 changes existing law to permit tribes whose federal relationship Congress terminated to be recognized through the administrative process created by the Act. S. 611 provides terminated tribes with an additional route for recognition while preserving Congress' power to directly restore such a tribe. It should not be used to lengthen the already long period these tribes have waited to see justice done or to limit the remedial action that only Congress may provide. The Coquille Indian Tribe generally supports S. 611. The Tribe, however, respectfully requests that the Committee make it clear that it intends that there be no departure from Congress' practice of restoring terminated tribes through particular legislation that addresses the unique circumstances |