87 



Mr. Faleomavaega. Thank you, Mr. Poynter. 

 Mr. DuBray? 



STATEMENT OF FRED DuBRAY 



Mr. DuBray. Good morning. 



My name is Fred DuBray. I'm the Director of the Cheyenne 

 River Sioux Tribe's Bison Enhancement Project, and President of 

 the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative. 



I'm grateful for the opportunity to present testimony before this 

 subcommittee on behalf of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe mem- 

 bership and the Inter-Trib£il Bison Cooperative. 



We appreciate your concern regarding the management and pres- 

 ervation of our precious fish and wildlife resources, and strongly 

 support the drafting and passage of legislation that will enhance 

 our management capabihty and ensure protection of our sovereign 

 jurisdiction. 



Throughout the past several decades, management of our trust 

 lands has been primarily focused on livestock production in the 

 Plains area. 



The tribe has been influenced by heavily subsidized agricultural 

 programs that tend to ignore provisions for fish, wildlife and rec- 

 reational management, consequently putting these resources in se- 

 rious jeopardy. 



More important, the lack of legislative protection of these fish 

 and wildlife resources threatens our sovereign jurisdiction, as illus- 

 trated by the current litigation with the State of South Dakota in 

 South Dakota vs. Bourland and Rousseau. 



This case arises fi-om the state of South Dakota's assertion that 

 the tribe lacks the capability to adequately manage the taken area 

 lands along the Missouri River within the boundaries of the res- 

 ervation. 



This dispute has directly evolved fi*om the lack of legislative rec- 

 ognition and fiinding of the tribe as a full participant in fish, wild- 

 life, £ind recreational management. 



And as typically in most state-tribal disputes, the prescribed so- 

 lution by the state is to assume jurisdiction, thus undermining our 

 sovereign jurisdiction. 



And that's one of the things that it leads to is not providing this 

 legislative recognition and full support of funding. 



And in 1991, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe prioritized buffalo 

 as an essential wildlife resource, and implemented restoration ef- 

 forts based on traditional vedues, integrated with modem manage- 

 ment principles. 



This recognition of buffalo as a critical species within the prairie 

 ecosystem not only has major implications for the restoration of the 

 prairie, but also for the socioeconomic, cultural, and spiritual well- 

 being of our tribe. 



Because of the intrinsic relationship between the Plains Indian 

 culture and the buffalo culture, the near decimation of the buffalo 

 was mutually devastating to the Plains tribes. Our effort to restore 

 these buffalo to our tribal Isinds provides us with a culturally sound 

 focal point and spearheads our overall ecosystem approach. 



