And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 15:39:05 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Liz Pollard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Red River Boundary Compact update Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> KCA OPPOSITION TO RED RIVER BOUNDARY COMPACT DRAWS SUPPORT FROM MANY IMPORTANT SOURCES ANADARKO, OK, November 20, 1999. -- The Red River Boundary Compact (H.J.Res. 72), introduced to Congress on October 19, is under heavy fire from the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Tribes of Oklahoma, backed by some influential supporters. The Compact, devised by the Boundary Commissions of the states of Texas and Oklahoma, would change the boundary between the two states. Historically, that boundary is specified by a Supreme Court decision of 1925 as the south bank of the Red River. The Compact proposes to change that border to the vegetation line on the south bank. The controversy results from the fact that the Boundary Commission contained only one Indian in its membership, while several sovereign Indian nations hold property on that existing border. A considerable proportion is public land, derived from the tribes' former reservations, held in trust for the tribes, including Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache (KCA), but it is known that Texas does not recognize public land. The KCA Intertribal Land Use Committee registered its opposition to H.J.Res. 72 shortly after its introduction in Congress. It also asked for help from the National Congress of American Indians. The latter granted its support and wrote to influential members of Congress, as well as to Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, on their behalf. Babbitt suggested a strongly worded amendment to the Compact, which was subsequently supported by KCA, by the Oklahoma Boundary Commission, and by the Chickasaw Nation, which also holds property along the Red River. While no official word has come from the Choctaw Nation, it also holds land in the area, and it is believed they will support this position, according to Mary Pewo, KCA staff member. The amendment requested by Babbitt reads: "The compact shall not affect or diminish any present or future rights and interest of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Tribes, the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and their members or successors in interests, nor any boundaries that are now, or may be established, under federal law, nor shall this Compact affect or abate the sovereign rights, jurisdiction, or other governmental interests, of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Tribes, the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, presently existing, or which may be acknowledged, by federal and tribal law." Currently, H.J.Res. 72 awaits further deliberation on the floor of Congress, which may not come until the next session after the first of the year. FOR MORE INFO: Liz Pollard * Smoke Signals Enterprises 505 W. Louisiana Ave., Anadarko, OK 73005 (405)247-2251 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Elizabeth "Liz" Pollard * Smoke Signals Enterprises Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * On the Web: http://www.smokesig.com Web sites designed and developed include: American Indian Exposition: http://www.indianexpo.org Moccasin Telegraph: http://www.indianexpo.org/moccasin.html Housing Authority of the Apache Tribe: http://www.apachehousing.org Wichita & Affiliated Tribes http://www.wichita.nsn.us Soil and Plant Laboratory, Inc. http://www.soilandplantlaboratory.com -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-