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ANADARKO, OK - On Friday, June 23, 2000, the members of the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache Intertribal Land Use Committee were alerted by a contact in the Interior Department that during the coming week, the Red River Boundary Compact (HJR 72) is slated to come to the floor of Congress. This measure has been on the table since its introduction last October, not having met the original deadline of December 31, 1999.

The compact, devised by the Oklahoma and Texas Boundary Commissions, proposes a change in the boundary between the two states. The current boundary, established by Supreme Court ruling in 1926, lies on the southern bank of the Red River. This bill would change it to the vegetation line on the southern bank. This alters the jurisdiction of considerable land.

About a third of the boundary passes through land that was part of the original reservations of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, or was allotted to individuals in these tribes, as well as those of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations.

This bill would cause tens of thousands of acres of land owned by tribes and Indian and non-Indian individuals to change hands from Oklahoma to the state of Texas. This concerns all land owners involved, as Texas assesses property at almost three times the rate in Oklahoma. Another sore point with the tribes was the lack of representation from all tribal nations affected.

The state of Texas does not recognize federal or trust land. There is apprehension that this would ultimately mean rights of Indian tribes and individuals would be at risk. Much of the revenues from oil and gas in the river bed, for example, go into a trust fund to benefit tribal members. There is fear that these revenues would be endangered.

Consequently, the KCAILUC has sent to Washington additional wording they feel must be inserted into HJR 72 before they can accept it, albeit reluctantly. The new clause submitted reads as follows:

"The Compact shall not in any manner alter any present or future rights and interest of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Tribes, the Chickasaw Nation, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and their members or Indian successors-in=interest, nor to any tribal trust lands or allotted lands that may be held in trust, or lands subject to a federal restriction against alienation, nor any boundaries that exist now or that may be established in the future under federal law, nor shall this Compact in any manner alter the sovereign rights, jurisdiction, or other governmental interest, of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Tribes, the Chickasaw Nation, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, presently existing, or which may be acknowledged by federal and tribal law."

Oklahoma officials have, in the past, objected to language which protects future rights of the Indians, and Texas has been pushing hard to pass this bill as it stands. The tribes hope to defeat the measure, or at least, to insure the rights of their people.