Preserve the Traditional Cultural Place Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7957 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7957 To preserve the Traditional Cultural Place of Chi'chil Bimdagoteel Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 17, 2026 Mrs. Grijalva (for herself, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Leger Fernandez, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To preserve the Traditional Cultural Place of Chi'chil Bimdagoteel Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Preserve the Traditional Cultural Place Chi'chil Bimdagoteel Historic District Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Chi'chil Bimdagoteel, meaning ``a broad flat of Emory oak trees'' in Western Apache, and known as Oak Flat in English, is part of the ancestral homelands of Native Americans forcibly removed at gunpoint by the United States Army during the 1880s and held as prisoners of war in concentration camps until the early 1900s. (2) Despite being forcibly removed, Western Apaches and other Native Americans have maintained their deep connections to Chi'chil Bimdagoteel and continue to conduct religious ceremonies, gather medicines, water and other items for ceremonies, gather acorns and other foods, pray, and honor ancestors buried there as they have since time immemorial. (3) The National Historic Preservation Act was enacted in 1966 to help preserve the historical and cultural resources of the United States and authorized the National Park S