Dear Friends of the Native American Community,

The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma seek your support on an issue which is now of critical importance to our people. We are seeking the return of tribal lands which were taken by the United States government in 1883. These lands were originally taken for the purpose of building a military fort for the protection of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. In 1908, the War Department declared the lands surplus. It is our contention that the lands should have reverted back to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes at that time. Over the past 67 years, we have exhausted all of the judicial and legislative remedies available, to no avail. We now seek the return of our land through an Executive order from the President of the United States. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma need you to voice your support at this critical juncture. We ask that you:

1.) Please take the time to read the following letter to the President of the United States, William Clinton, from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma

2.) Send a letter or e-mail to the White House expressing your strong support for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma in our efforts to regain possession of the Fort Reno lands through an Executive order. (Details on how and what to send to the White House will be found at the end of the following letter to the President.)

January 16, 1996

The Honorable William J. Clinton
The President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Franklin Harrison. I am an American citizen. I served proudly with the U. S. Army and I am a decorated Vietnam Veteran. I am also a Native American of the Arapaho Nation. Since my honorable discharge from the military in 1970, I have dedicated myself to helping the Arapaho people rise up from the poverty and destitution under which we have suffered for over a century. As a representative of the Tribal Business Committee of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, I wish to inform you of my intent to help my people in the recovery of the lands of Ft. Reno, Oklahoma. It is my belief that the very survival of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Nations is dependent upon on the reclamation and development of this property. Please allow me a moment to give you a brief historical overview of the Fort Reno lands and our efforts to regain it.

The original Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation of Oklahoma was established by an Executive order signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on August 10, 1869. On July 17, 1883, a total of 9,493 acres, located within the boundaries of this reservation, were set aside through an Executive order signed by President Chester A. Arthur for the Fort Reno Military Reservation. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes found the idea of a military fort appealing, as it would offer them protection from harsh winters, bands of renegade Indians, and other lawless factions of the West. For many years, the Tribes camped just outside the Fort.

The Executive order which established Fort Reno contained a provision which had been recommended to President Arthur by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and by the Secretary of the Interior, through a letter from the Secretary of War, Robert T. Lincoln dated July 17, 1883. It states: "That whenever any portion of the land so set apart may be required by the Secretary of the Interior for Indian purposes, the same shall be abandoned by the military upon notice to that effect to the Secretary of War." The military abandoned Fort Reno in 1908 turning it over to the Quartermaster Corps. It is the contention of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma that the Fort Reno lands should have reverted back to tribal ownership at that time.

The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma have made several attempts to re-acquire the Fort Reno lands, both judicially and legislatively. Judicial action, instigated in 1929, extended over more than ten years and was subsequently dropped, yielding no results. On April 21, 1948, the Fort Reno lands were declared surplus by the War Department and transferred to the Department of Agriculture. On August 25, 1949, Congressman Toby Morris of Oklahoma introduced HR6114, which would have returned 7,000 acres of the Ft. Reno lands back to the tribes. This bill was passed in the House of Representatives. The bill was reported favorably to the Senate floor on August 4, 1950 but was never brought to a vote. In 1952, the Department of Agriculture created an Agricultural Experimental Station on the Ft. Reno lands. The Tribes most recent efforts to gain sponsorship for the enactment of Congressional legislation to transfer the Fort Reno lands were met with resistance and opposition from the Congressional delegation from Oklahoma, Representative Frank Lucas and Senator Don Nickles, who continue to appropriate funds for the Department of Agriculture's Experimental Station.

Mr. President, my people face terrible hardships. Everyday, we confront poverty, hunger and high unemployment. And even more terrible is the high rate of teen suicide. The current tribal land base, consisting of 10,405 non-contiguous acres, is remotely situated and not conducive to economic development. With the tribal population now at over 11,000, we have outgrown this land base. The reclamation and development of the Ft. Reno property presents the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma with a critically important opportunity. It offers us the chance to build economic, political, and cultural stability within our tribes, and even more importantly, it offers us the chance to work together, to rebuild our pride and self-confidence, to establish our independence and to seize our future.

The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes have produced a comprehensive conceptual prototype of land use development which offers a creative and economically viable plan for the utilization of the Fort Reno property. This land holds great potential for economic development in the form of businesses which would serve the Native American community and the local non-Native community. Tribal plans for the land also include agricultural development which would provide not only food and employment, but a very real opportunity to work hand in hand with the Department of Agriculture in a way that would be beneficial both to the Agricultural Experimental Station and to the Tribes.

Oklahoma's Master Plan for marketing tourism calls for the promotion of our Western Heritage and our Native American Culture. The Fort Reno lands offer a unique opportunity to develop this type of tourism as well as recreational projects. Recent statistics gathered by the Oklahoma State Tourism Department reflect that some 24 million tourists per year travel through this geographic area, along Interstate 40, which runs through the Fort Reno land. Pre-existing off ramps are ideally situated for taking advantage of the historical value of Fort Reno. When Fort Reno is restored, it will be the largest Indian Cultural Center in Oklahoma and the greatest tourist attraction on I-40. Educational opportunities include the planned construction of a Native American Museum to house and display artifacts which are to be returned to the tribes under an agreement with both the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D. C. and the Field Museum in Chicago. This facility would help us educate the public and teach our young people about our rich and ancient heritage.

Mr. President, it is my duty to inform you that the principles which you outlined in your "MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES" of April 29, 1994 concerning "Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments" have been violated every step of the way in the case of the Fort Reno land transfer. The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes have made every effort to surmount every bureaucratic requirement with which we have been confronted, only to be continually frustrated in our efforts.

We ask that you:

1.) take appropriate steps to remove all bureaucratic and procedural impediments to working directly and effectively with our tribal government.

2.) initiate a resolution of this matter through government-to-government discussions between our sovereign nations.

3.) initiate a transfer of the Fort Reno lands in trust for the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes by way of Executive order.

It has been the unfortunate history of the United States government to make promises to the American Indian Nations through treaties or executive orders and then, when it is inconvenient to follow through, to change the agreement or renege all together. The Native American community has made great sacrifices in answering this country's call to arms. We have shed our blood and given our lives on foreign soil only to return home and face social ostracism. Through many generations of economic deprivation, we have retained our humanity and our spiritual integrity. We demand the rights which are guaranteed to each American citizen under the U. S. Constitution. We expect to be treated with respect, dignity, and equality. This is, perhaps, the last opportunity for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma to pursue our own economic prosperity and independence as a sovereign people. We ask for your assistance in the Fort Reno land transfer.

Sincerely Yours,

Franklin Harrison

Representative of the
Tribal Business Committee
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma

Dear Friends,

The letter you have just read was e-mailed to President Clinton on January 17, 1996. What follows is a letter of support which the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma now ask that you send to the President of the United States. Every single letter or e-mail message that goes to the White House will be counted. It is critically important to send a large volume of support mail to the White House. Please send the following message along with your signature, to the White House.

Dear Mr. President,

I strongly support the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma in their efforts to regain possession of the Fort Reno lands through an Executive order.

Sincerely,

(Place your name here)

To email this letter of support to the President, please follow these steps:

1.) Type your name into the space provided in the above letter of support.

2.) "Copy" and "paste" this letter of support into your e-mail program as a "new message" (Please copy only the material between the dotted lines above.)

3.) Add any additional words of support or leave as is.

4.) "Copy" and "paste" in the subject "Return Fort Reno"

5.) "Copy" and "paste" in the President's e-mail address which is:

7.) "Forward" a copy of this entire message to all of your friends. (Use the "Forward" function in your e-mail program.) Be sure subject heading reads, "Return Fort Reno (Forward)"

8.) You can also mail a copy of the above letter of support to:

We have an opportunity today, to test the power of the internet as a tool for focusing the "Voice of the People". We have an opportunity to directly shape the human rights policy of our nation through democratic action. Please help us spread this message far and wide. Please help us in our appeal to the heart and conscience of our President.

Letters of support may also be sent directly to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes by mailing to:

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