Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 91 authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to assess sanitation and safety conditions on land set aside to provide Columbia River Treaty Tribes access to traditional fishing grounds, and to enter into contracts with Tribes or Tribal organizations to improve the identified conditions. The Columbia River Treaty Tribes, through a series of treaties in 1855, established access to ``usual and accustomed fishing areas'' and ancillary fishing facilities on the Columbia River. Starting in the 1930s, construction of the dams of the Columbia River Power System resulted in flooding and destruction of Tribal villages, homes, and traditional fishing sites, severely impacting the Tribal members' ability to exercise these treaty rights. The tribes and their citizens have never been fully compensated for their losses. In a series of agreements and laws starting in 1939, the Federal Government acquired and developed small parcels of land to serve as ``in-lieu'' and treaty fishing access sites, providing members of the Columbia River Treaty Tribes access to exercise their rights to fish in the Columbia and reside at their traditional fishing places and fishing stations.…”