fact, what we earnestly believe would have been the purpose of the work of Congress to have accomplished before the fact had anyone known, which nobody did, for 65 years. No one knew that the Indian nations owned the navigable portion of the 96 miles of riverbed in northeastern Oklahoma and not the State of Oklahoma itself. You have been patient with us. I think we will try to answer questions now because I believe most of the material, Mr. Chairman, has been covered pretty thoroughly. Chairman ABOUREZK. I think it has. In fact, the only real pertinent questions have already been asked at the outset of the testimony. We want to express our thanks to you for your appearance here. We appreciate it. Mr. WILCOXEN. Mr. Chairman, the chiefs and the Governor have prepared statements which they would like to offer into the record. Chairman ABOUREZK. Absolutely. They will be entered into the record as though they were read in full. We thank you for sparing us the reading of all those statements. Mr. Swimmer? STATEMENT OF ROSS 0. SWIMMER, PRINCIPAL CHIEF, CHEROKEE NATION Mr. SWIMMER. I am sure your patience is running thin so I will keep my remarks short. I would like to reiterate what has been said. I consider my legal counsel my right arm and when he is speaking I hope you will consider that to be the words of the tribe. I would like to say that on behalf of the tribes we do support these appraisals and we were asked to come to Washington in good faith with an agreement and we were told not to come to Washington before we three chiefs had reached this agreement. Chairman ABOUREZK. What is the agreement? Mr. SWIMMER. It is an agreement for the sale and lease of the Arkansas riverbed to the U.S. Government and it was drafted at the request of the Interior Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It has a place for the signature of the Secretary and when we made the agreement and brought it to Washington, we were told that we could go no further until Congress authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to sign that agreement. They did not complain about the agreement itself. They said, "When we get authorization to sign it we will sign it." I would like to submit it for the record. Chairman ABOUREZK. It will be accepted for the record. [The agreement follows:] AGREEMENT This Agreement, made and entered into this day of of 1976, at Washington, D.C., by and between the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Morris Thompson, and the Secretary of Interior, John Kleppe, acting for and on behalf of the United States of America, and Ross Swimmer, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, David Gardner, Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation, and Overton James, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, acting for and on behalf of their respective Indian Nations in the State of Oklahoma. Witnesseth: Whereas, the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations have recovered from the State of Oklahoma and other trespassing parties, through litigation concluded in the Supreme Court of the United States, 397 U.S. 620, 90 S.Ct. 1328, April 27, 1970, Rehearings denied, June 1, 1970, 398 U.S. 945, 90 S.Ct. 1834, the fee simple title and possession of the bed of Arkansas River from the confluence of the Grand-Neosho River in Oklahoma to the Western boundary of the State of Arkansas, and Whereas, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma and a specially convened three judge Federal Court on April 15, 1975, has quieted title in said Indian Nations as follows: The Cherokee Nation is the fee simple title Whereas, the Congress of the United States has by Interior Department Appropriation acts for the fiscal years 1973, 1974 and 1975, (86 Stat. 509, 87 Stat. 431, 88 Stat. 809) authorized and directed the Interior Department to survey and appraise the value of the bed of the Arkansas River and said appraisals have been completed by said Department pursuant to said Congressional authorizations, establishing the value of said riverbed property and property rights, therein, and these appraisals have been accepted by the Indian Nations, and Whereas, the United States desires to secure a lease of said riverbed property and property rights as described in Exhibits A, B and C hereto attached and made a part hereof, from the Cherokee Nation, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations of Oklahoma. Now therefore, it is agreed between the parties hereto as follows: In consideration of the payment of the sum of $60,338,509.83 divided as follows: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma $35,221,002.20, Choctaw Nation and Chickasaw Nations of Oklahoma $25,117,507.63, and ninety-nine annual lease payments in the sum of $5,834,277.94 each payable $3,873,960.56 to the Cherokee Nation and $1,960, 317.38 to the Choctaw Nation and Chickasaw Nation, which annual sums represent lease payments for the remaining identified assets per the appraisals of the United States Government listed in Exhibits A, B, and C at an annualized rate of 5 percent per annum; the aforesaid tribes or nations lease all of said remaining identified assets shown in Exhibits A, B, and C hereto attached for said period of 99 years and for said consideration set forth herein and hereby waive all claim of damages arising from any unlawful taking and withholding of such property. Said sum of $60,338,509.83 represents those assets shown as items 2, 3 and 4 of Exhibits A, B and C. All payments to be made to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations of Oklahoma under the terms of this agreement shall be divided three-fourths to the Choctaw Nation and one-fourth to the Chickasaw Nation. It is mutually understood and agreed that this Agreement shall not become effective until ratified by Congress and approved by the President. |