Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 116 Part 4.djvu/419

 PUBLIC LAW 107-331—DEC. 13, 2002 116 STAT. 2847 thousands of such landowners would be likely and any final resolution of disputes would take many years and entail great expense to the United States, the Indian Nations, and the individuals and entities occupying the Drybed Lands and would seriously impair long-term economic planning and development for all parties. (15) The Councils of the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations and the Legislature of the Chickasaw Nation have each enacted tribal resolutions which would, contingent upon the passage of this title and the satisfaction of its terms and in exchange for the moneys appropriated hereunder— (A) settle and forever release their respective claims against the United States asserted by them in United States Court of Federal Claims Case Nos. 218-89L and 630-89L; and (B) forever disclaim any and all right, title, and interest in and to the Disclaimed Drybed Lands, as set forth in those enactments of the respective councils of the Indian Nations. (16) The resolutions adopted by the respective Councils of the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations each provide that, contingent upon the passage of the settlement legislation and satisfaction of its terms, each Indian Nation agrees to dismiss, release, and forever discharge its claims asserted against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims, Case Nos. 218-89L and 630-89L, and to forever disclaim any right, title, or interest of the Indian Nation in the Disclaimed Drybed Lands, in exchange for the funds appropriated and allocated to the Indian Nation under the provisions of the settlement legislation, which funds the Indian Nation agrees to accept in full satisfaction and settlement of all claims against the United States for the damages sought in the aforementioned claims asserted in the United States Court of Federal Claims, and as full and fair compensation for disclaiming its right, title, and interest in the Disclaimed Drybed Lands. (17) In those resolutions, each Indian Nation expressly reserved all of its beneficial interest and title to all other Riverbed lands, including minerals, as determined by the Supreme Court in Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma, 397 U.S. 620 (1970), and further reserved any and all right, title, or interest that each Nation may have in and to the water flowing in the Arkansas River and its tributaries. SEC. 603. PURPOSES. The purposes of this title are to resolve all claims that have been or could have been brought by the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations against the United States, and to confirm that the Indian Nations are forever disclaiming any right, title, or interest in the Disclaimed Drybed Lands, which are contiguous to the channel of the Arkansas River as of the date of the enactment of this title in certain townships in eastern Oklahoma. SEC. 604. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this title, the following definitions apply: (1) DISCLAIMED DRYBED LANDS.—The term "Disclaimed Drybed Lands" means all Drybed Lands along the Arkansas River that are located in Township 10 North in Range 24 East, Townships 9 and 10 North in Range 25 East, Township 25 USC 1779a. 25 USC 1779b.

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