Inhofe places hold on Indian land bill

<br>TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Objections from the oil and gas industry are delaying consideration of a bill that would change the way five American Indian tribes in Oklahoma deal with land transactions. <br><br>U.S.

Friday, September 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Objections from the oil and gas industry are delaying consideration of a bill that would change the way five American Indian tribes in Oklahoma deal with land transactions.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., announced that he had placed a hold on the measure on Thursday, a day after the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, of which he's a member, approved the legislation.

``There are still a number of unresolved questions concerning the legislation which constituents are continuing to bring to my attention,'' Inhofe told the Tulsa World's Washington bureau. ``I want to take whatever time is necessary to address these various issues.''

This past week, the committee held a hearing in which several tribal officials raised concerns over the proposed law's potential impact. Leaders of the five tribes involved testified in support of the legislation.

Inhofe continued to support the bill until the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association voiced its concerns two days ago.

If their concerns are not resolved, Inhofe said he has told Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., and Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the ranking member and chairman of the committee, that the legislation would be held over until next year.

The measure sponsored by U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins, R-Okla., is designed to give ``restricted'' lands of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole tribes the same legal standing granted to the land of other tribes.

Land transactions for those five tribes now go through state district court, while other tribes are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Concerns about the bill included how the measure no longer would allow proceeds from land transactions to be paid directly to an individual tribal member and how Oklahoma's oil and gas industry could be affected.

Michael Flick, president of Drake Exploration, warned that the legislation could repeal the law of adverse possession and lead to the loss of homes and farms in eastern Oklahoma as well as money to Indian heirs.

``This is a bad deal for oil and gas operators, natural gas pipeline operators in eastern Oklahoma and for the future incomes of the Indian heirs and people themselves,'' Flick, of Tulsa, said.

Inhofe said the OIPA's concerns focused on its members having to go to the federal government to get lands once owned by a tribal member.

A spokesman for Watkins said there is hope that a compromise can be reached to allow the bill to move forward this year. Watkins is leaving Congress at the end of his current term.