Legislation, S. 1848, Land Held in Trust for Cherokee Nation, 1967

The author is discussing the Chilocco Bill, which would give the federal government control of some land currently owned by a Native American tribe. The author says that the Senate has appointed conferees to negotiate the bill, but that the House has not yet done so. The author urges the reader to call the Senate conferees and stress the importance of keeping the tribe's mineral rights, as giving them up would impede the tribe's development.

The text describes a bill that would allow the Cherokee Nation to purchase back 2,667.94 acres of land from the United States government for $3.75 per acre. The land was originally part of the Cherokee Outlet which the federal government bought from the Cherokee Nation in 1893. The bill would allow the Cherokee Nation to use the land for farming and grazing purposes. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that the bill be amended to include provisions for transfer or disposal of the land in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.

The text contains a letter from GBP to W.W. Keeler, discussing the Chilocco Bill. The bill would give the Cherokee Nation title to a piece of extra-territorial land, and the Senate Sub-Committee Report of August 21, 1967 noted that the land is located many miles away from other lands of the Cherokee Nation. GBP informs Keeler that their delegation did a good job in convincing their colleagues of the merit of the bill, and that they are already working on steps for future use of the land.

Ed Edmondson is the congressman for Oklahoma's 2nd district. He serves on the House of Representatives' Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and is the chairman of the subcommittee on Mines and Mining. He is pushing for the passage of the Chilocco bill, which would provide funding for the Cherokee Nation. However, due to changes made by the Senate and the upcoming Labor Day recess, he does not expect the bill to pass until September.

The text contains a letter from a senator to a member of the Cherokee Nation, thanking them for their testimony in support of a bill that would provide for the US to hold certain lands in trust for the Cherokee Nation. The senator assures the Cherokee Nation that he will do what he can to see that the bill is approved.

The letter is from Bill Keeler, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, to Senator Fred Harris. Keeler thanks Harris for introducing a bill to provide that certain lands of the Chilocco Indian School be held in trust. Keeler says he appreciates all the help Harris is giving the Cherokees.

The text contains a letter from Earl Bey Pierce to Ed Edmondson discussing the matter of the Chilocco School property. Pierce explains that the Cherokee people desperately need the property and have been without its use for many years. He says that they would be willing to accept less than the full value of the property if it is not possible to obtain it all. Pierce also discusses the loss of the mineral rights to the property, saying that it is a difficult concession to make but that the Cherokee people are willing to accept it if it means they can keep the property.

The Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee has reported a bill that would make significant changes to the Chilocco Indian School. Fred R. Harris, a senator from Oklahoma, says he will still support the overall goals of the bill, but he wants to hear from the school's stakeholders about their strategy for moving forward.