Mr. Chairman, in 1977, Congress passed and President Jimmy Carter signed the Siletz Restoration Act which reaffirmed the attitude and the ability of the United States to correct mistakes that have occurred in the past.

The Siletz people have endured much, and this plan, which is a requirement of the Restoration Act, exemplifies the capacity and the capability of the Siletz people.

We have a statement, Mr. Chairman, that we would like to submit for the record, and I would like to summarize that.

Senator MELCHER. Without objection, the entire statement will be made a part of the record.

Mr. HALLETT. Mr. Chairman, except for the technical differences, S. 2055 is the same as the draft bill transmitted by the Department of the Interior to the President of the Senate by letter dated November 19, 1979.

Senator MELCHER. Without objection, this also will be included in the record.

[The prepared statement, letter, and draft bill appear at the end of Mr. Hallett's testimony.]

Mr. HALLETT. On December 26, 1979, the Secretary transmitted to this committee the complete Siletz Reservation Plan document.

Section 7 of the Restoration Act provides for the establishment of a reservation for the tribe through the enactment of subsequent legislation that requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop and submit within 2 years to the Congress, in the form of legislation, a plan for the establishment of the reservation. The plan we have approved and submitted to Congress, which is reflected in S. 2055, was jointly developed by the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs with consultation throughout the process with State and local people.

Prior to the submission to Congress, the plan was reviewed throughout the Department of the Interior and by the Office of Management and Budget. The first section of S. 2055 declares 37 specified parcels totaling some 3,630 acres of public domain lands located within Lincoln County.

Section 2 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept the conveyance of a specified 36.55 acre tract of land known as Government Hill to hold such tract in trust for the confederated tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon. That tract is now owned by the City of Siletz.

Section 3 of the bill provides that land held in trust pursuant to sections 1 and 2 shall be the Siletz Reservation and shall be subject to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and other provisions extended or reextended to the Siletz Tribes by the Restoration Act.

Section 4 of the bill maintains the status quo regarding any hunting or fishing rights.

Section 5 of the bill provides that the State of Oregon shall continue to have criminal and civil jurisdiction on the Siletz Reservation. We believe that S. 2055 represents a reasonable approach to the establishment of a reservation mandated by Congress and strikes an appropriate balance between the interests of the tribe and those of the local community, the State, and the Federal Government.

Although there is an absence of real estate transactions in the area, the estimated value of the land to be included in the reservation under

section 1 of the draft bill ranges from $300 to $750 per acre, with a total value of $1,890,000 to $2,722,000, excluding the value of the timber.

The land would provide the tribe with a continuing source of income from timber receipts in an annual gross amount of $630,000 a year. From that sum the tribe has agreed to pay 5 percent to Lincoln County for 25 years to replace revenues that would otherwise have accrued to the county under the Bureau of Land Management's administration of land. Another sum of approximately $60,000 a year, or 10 percent, would be deducted under the authority of 25 U.S.C. 406 (a) to partially offset the Bureau of Indian Affairs' management costs estimated at approximately $175,000 annually.

It is the present policy that, with tribal concurrence, the amount collected as timber sale administrative fees can be used for intensive forest management practices on the reservation. The value of the land to be included in the reservation under section 2 of the bill is estimated at $2,500 per acre with a total value of approximately $91,375. Timberland was considered most suitable for inclusion in the reservation because of its abundance in Lincoln County. The continuing value of timber and its renewable nature, a tradition of timber-related employment in many tribal families, and a lack of controversy such as that surrounding land including water resources made it most suitable.

The public domain land would be included in the reservation under section 1 of the bill and is located in scattered parcels throughout Lincoln County. The land does contribute to the Department of the Interior's timber programs, but given the tribe's plans to continue present timber use of the land, we believe that inclusion of the land in the reservation is appropriate. Inclusion of this land would not have negative impacts that inclusion of forest lands or public lands would have.

Public land was considered more suitable for inclusion on the reservation than private land because of the difficulty of reaching a voluntary sale agreement for private land before the date of the submission of the reservation plan to Congress. Little private timberland is for sale in Lincoln County, and the appropriation of funds for the purchase of private land could cause prices to escalate. Inclusion of public land means that no land would have to be taken through the exercise of eminent domain and that no private land would have to be removed from the local tax rolls.

The land to be included in the reservation under section 2 of the bill will permit the tribe to centralize tribal facilities and activities at a location to which the tribe has strong historic, cultural, and emotional ties.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes our statement. [Testimony resumes on p. 33.]

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM HALLETT, COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE JANUARY 30, 1980, HEARING OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, UNITED STATES SENATE, ON S. 2055, A BILL TO ESTABLISH A RESERVATION FOR THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF SILETZ INDIANS OF OREGON.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am pleased to testify

in favor of enactment of S. 2055.

Except for technical differences, S. 2055 is the same as the draft bill transmitted by the Department of the Interior to the President of the Senate by a letter dated November 19, 1979. On December 26, 1979, the Secretary transmitted to this Committee the complete "Siletz Reservation Plan" document.

The Siletz Indian Tribe Restoration Act of 1977 restored Federal recognition or acknowledgement of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon and made the tribal governing body and the tribal members again eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States for Indians because of their status as Indians.

Section 7 of that Act provides for the establishment of a reservation for the tribe through the enactment of subsequent legislation and requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop and submit within two years to the Congress, in the form of legislation, a plan for the establishment of the reservation. The section also requires that the reservation land be located in Lincoln County, Oregon, that there be consultation with state and local groups, and that the plan be approved by the tribe's elected officials. The plan we have approved and submitted to the Congress, and which is reflected in S. 2055, was jointly developed by the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs with consultation throughout the process with state and local groups. Prior to submission

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to the Congress, the plan was reviewed throughout the Department of the Interior and by the Office of Management and Budget.

The first section of S. 2055 declares 37 specified parcels totalling some 3,630 acres of public domain lands located in Lincoln County, Oregon, and administered by the Bureau of Land Management, to be held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon. Such lands will remain subject to any existing rights-of-way, licenses, leases, permits, and easements.

Section 2 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept the conveyance of a specified 36.55 acre tract of land known as Government Hill and to hold such tract in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon. The tract is now owned by the City of Siletz.

Section 3 of the bill provides that the lands held in trust pursuant to sections 1 and 2 shall be the Siletz Reservation and shall be subject to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and other provisions reextended to the Siletz Tribes by the Restoration Act.

Section 4 of the bill maintains the status quo regarding any hunting or fishing rights of the Siletz Indians by providing that the establishment of the Siletz Reservation does not grant or restore any hunting, fishing, or trapping rights.

Section 5 of the bill provides that the State of Oregon shall continue

to have civil and criminal jurisdiction on the Siletz Reservation.

We believe that S. 2055 represents a reasonable approach to the establishment of the reservation mandated by the Congress and strikes an appropriate balance between the interests of the tribe and those of the local community, the State of Oregon, and the Federal Government.

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Although there is an absence of real estate transactions in the area,

estimates of the value of the land to be included in the reservation under section I of the draft bill range from $300 to $750 per acre, with a total value of approximately $1,089,000 to $2,722,500 excluding the value of timber.

The land would provide the tribe with a continuing source of income from timber receipts, in a gross annual amount estimated at $630,000. Of that sum, the tribe has agreed to pay 5% to Lincoln County for 25 years to replace revenues that would have otherwise accrued to the county under the Bureau of Land Management's administration of the land. Another sum, estimated at $60,000 annually, would be deducted, under the authority of 25 U.S.C. 406(a) to partially offset Bureau of Indian Affairs management costs, estimated at approximately $175,000 annually. The value of the land to be included in the reservation under section 2 of the bill is estimated at $2,500 per acre, with a total value of approximately $91,375.

Timberland was considered most suitable for inclusion in the reservation because of its abundance in Lincoln County, the continuing value of timber and its renewable nature, a tradition of timber-related employment in many tribal families, and a lack of controversy such as that surrounding land including

water resources.

The public domain land that would be included in the reservation under section I of the bill is located in scattered parcels throughout Lincoln County. The land does contribute to the Department of the Interior's timber programs but, given the tribe's plans to continue the present timber use of the land, we believe that inclusion of the land in the reservation is appropriate. Inclusion