Wes Watkins: “Mr. Speaker, before us today is H.R. 2880, a bill that would correct several wrongs and have a significant impact on the…”

“Mr. Speaker, before us today is H.R. 2880, a bill that would correct several wrongs and have a significant impact on the members of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole Nations, these tribes historically referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes who still own individual and restricted lands in Eastern Oklahoma. In the first three quarters of the 20th century, the U.S. Congress enacted numerous laws dealing with the allotted lands of the five nations previously mentioned. Collectively these special laws have created an exceedingly complex system of Indian land tenure in Eastern Oklahoma. These laws, like no others applicable elsewhere in the United States, have resulted in far less protection of individual Indian lands by members of the five nations. Perhaps most importantly, the legislation would prevent the acquisition of individual Indian trust lands through adverse possession for members of the Five Nations, a benefit currently provided to individual trust lands in Western Oklahoma and elsewhere in the United States. H.R. 2880, Mr. Speaker, would only apply to the individual Indian restricted allotments of the Five Nations.”