| OCR Text |
Show land outright for the tribe. 178 Senate 2201, a bill "To Convey Certain Lands to the Zuni Indian Tribe for Religious Purposes," was made law (Public Law 98-408) on August 28, 1984, despite a Congressional atmosphere of budget cutting and extreme frugality in social programs (including most Indian programs). 179 The Act contained a number of provisions. Federal public lands within the Kolhu/wala:wa boundaries were directly transferred to Zuni ownership. The Secretary of the Interior was directed to acquire through purchase or trade any Arizona state public lands. The Secretary of the Interior was also authorized (but not directed) to acquire for the tribe all of the public lands within the boundaries of the Kolhu/wala:wa area. In fact, however, behind the scenes the tribe had found it necessary to agree to purchase those private lands in order to gain the support of Senator Goldwater, who was responsible for pushing the legislation through the Senate (in the House of Representatives Morris Udall worked for the legislation). Two other provisions were also written into the act. One provided that all lands acquired by any of the various means for the tribe would be put into trust status for the Zunis. Another provision gave the Apache County, Arizona an equal number of acres from the public domain as that received by the Zunis. This provision was needed in order to gain the support of the non-Indian Apache County officials who were worried about losing taxable assets under the legislation. On October 17, 1984 the Zuni Tribe honored Senator Goldwater for his role in 178. Senate Report 98-441, May 14, 1984. 179. Public Law 98-408. - 123 - |
