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MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2002

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Friday held a long-delayed hearing on a bill to distribute $138 million to members of the Western Shoshone Nation of Nevada.

The panel's three witnesses said they supported a payout. Two, however, said land was also needed.

Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb and an aide said the Western Shoshone's 1863 treaty did not recognize the tribe's 23 million acre land base. The courts have ruled the same, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The sparsely attended hearing was filled with tribal members who oppose the payout. Throughout the hearing, they voiced objections to what some witnesses and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.

Get the Story:
WESTERN SHOSHONE TRIBE: $120 million payment has Bush backing (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 8/3)

Get the Bill:
S. 958, A bill to provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the Western Shoshone identifiable group.

Relevant Documents:
Written Witness Testimony (8/2) | Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Report | Cover Letter | Summary of Conclusions

Relevant Links:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights - http://www.cidh.oas.org/DefaultE.htm
Dann Tresspass Questions and Answers, Bureau of Land Management (Note: the IACHR refers to this document in its cover letter) - http://www.nv.blm.gov/News.Releases/keepdonotuse/
danns/DannQ&A02RevMar30.htm
Western Shoshone Treaty of Ruby Valley, 1863 - http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/
shoshone/ruby_valley.html

Related Stories:
Western Shoshone are 'homeless' (8/2)
Report finds human rights violations (8/1)
Shoshone land 'not for sale' (7/22)