[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 642 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 642
To provide compensation to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for the
taking without just compensation of land by the United States inside
the exterior boundaries of the L'Anse Indian Reservation that were
guaranteed to the Community under a treaty signed in 1854, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 19, 2025
Mr. Peters (for himself and Ms. Slotkin) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide compensation to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for the
taking without just compensation of land by the United States inside
the exterior boundaries of the L'Anse Indian Reservation that were
guaranteed to the Community under a treaty signed in 1854, 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 ``Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land
Claim Settlement Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is a federally
recognized Indian Tribe residing on the L'Anse Indian
Reservation in Baraga County in the Upper Peninsula of the
State of Michigan;
(2) the Community is a successor in interest to the Treaty
with the Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi and Lake Superior,
made and concluded at La Pointe of Lake Superior October 4,
1842 (7 Stat. 591) (referred to in this section as the ``1842
Treaty''), which, among other things, guaranteed the
usufructuary rights of the Community over a large area of land
that was ceded to the United States, until such time that those
usufructuary rights were properly and legally extinguished;
(3) the Community is also a successor in interest to the
Treaty with the Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior and the
Mississippi, made and concluded at La Pointe September 30, 1854
(10 Stat. 1109) (referred to in this section as the ``1854
Treaty'');
(4) article 2, paragraph 1 of the 1854 Treaty created the
L'Anse Indian Reservation as a permanent reservation;
(5) pursuant to article 13 of the 1854 Treaty, the 1854
Treaty became ``obligatory on the contracting parties'' when
ratified by the President and the Senate on January 10, 1855;
(6) in 1850, Congress enacted the Act of September 28, 1850
(sections 2479 through 2481 of the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C.
982 through 984)) (commonly known and referred to in this
section as the ``Swamp Land Act''), which authorized the State
of Arkansas and other States, including the State of Michigan,
to ``construct the necessary levees and drains to reclaim''
certain unsold ``swamp and overflowed lands, made unfit thereby
for cultivation'' and stating that those lands ``shall remain
unsold at the passage of this act'';
(7) following enactment of the Swamp Land Act, the State
claimed thousands of acres of swamp land in the State pursuant
to that Act;
(8) between 1893 and 1937, the General Land Office patented
2,743 acres of land to the State that were located within the
exterior boundaries of the Reservation;
(9) the right of the Community to use and occupy the unsold
land within the Reservation had not been extinguished when the
United States patented the Reservation Swamp Lands to the
State;
(10) in 1852, Congress enacted the Act of August 26, 1852
(10 Stat. 35, chapter 92) (referred to in this section as the
``Canal Land Act''), to facilitate the building of the Sault
Ste. Marie Canal at the Falls of the St. Mary's River, to
connect Lake Superior to Lake Huron;
(11) pursuant to the Canal Land Act, the United States
granted the State the right to select 750,000 acres of unsold
public land within the State to defray the cost of construction
of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal;
(12) the State identified and selected, among other land, a
minimum of 1,333.25 and up to 2,720 acres within the exterior
boundaries of the Reservation;
(13) the Department of the Interior approved the land
selections of the State, including the Reservation Canal Lands,
after ratification of the 1854 Treaty;
(14) the Secretary noted that the approval described in
paragraph (13) was ``subject to any valid interfering rights'';
(15) the 1854 Treaty set apart from the public domain all
unsold land within the Reservation to the Community as of
September 30, 1854, which preceded the date on which the State
established legally effective title to the Reservation Canal
Lands;
(16) the Community made claims to the Department of the
Interior with respect to the Reservation Swamp Lands and the
Reservation Canal Lands, providing legal analysis and
ethnohistorical support for those claims;
(17) in December 2021, the Department of the Interior
stated that ``We have carefully reviewed pertinent documents,
including the Tribe's expert reports, and have determined that
the Tribe's claims to the Swamp Lands and Canal Lands have
merit'';
(18) the United States, through the actions of the General
Land Office, deprived the Community of the exclusive use and
occupancy of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation
Canal Lands within the Reservation, without just compensation
as required under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States;
(19) the loss of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the
Reservation Canal Lands without just compensation has--
(A) impacted the exercise by the Community of
cultural, religious, and subsistence rights on the
land;
(B) caused a harmful disconnect between the
Community and its land;
(C) impacted the ability of the Community to fully
exercise its economy within the Reservation; and
(D) had a negative economic impact on the
development of the economy of the Community;
(20) certain non-Indian individuals, entities, and local
governments occupy land within the boundaries of the
Reservation--
(A) acquired ownership interests in the Reservation
Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands in good
faith; and
(B) have an interest in possessing clear title to
that land;
(21) this Act allows the United States--
(A) to secure a fair and equitable settlement of
past inequities suffered by the Community as a result
of the actions of the United States that caused the
taking of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the
Reservation Canal Lands without just compensation; and
(B) to ensure protection of the ownership of the
Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands
by non-Indian occupants of the Reservation, through the
settlement of the claims of the Community to that land,
and through that action, the relief of any clouds on
title;
(22) a settlement will allow the Community to receive just
compensation and the local landowners to obtain clear title to
land, without long and protracted litigation that would be both
costly and detrimental to all involved; and
(23) this Act achieves both justice for the Community and
security for current landowners through a restorative and non-
confrontational process.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to acknowledge the uncompensated taking by the Federal
Government of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation
Canal Lands;
(2) to provide compensation to the Community for the
uncompensated taking of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the
Reservation Canal Lands by the Federal Government;
(3) to extinguish all claims by the Community to the
Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands and to
confirm the ownership by the current landowners of the
Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands, who
obtained that land in good faith;
(4) to extinguish all potential claims by the Community
against the United States, the State, and current landowners
concerning title to, use of, or occupancy of the Reservation
Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands; and
(5) to authorize the Secretary--
(A) to compensate the Community; and
(B) to take any other action necessary to carry out
this Act.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Community.--The term ``Community'' means the Keweenaw
Bay Indian Community.
(2) County.--The term ``County'' means Baraga County,
Michigan.
(3) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the L'Anse
Indian Reservation, located in--
(A) T. 51 N., R. 33 W.;
(B) T. 51 N., R. 32 W.;
(C) T. 50 N., R. 33 W., E\1/2\;
(D) T. 50 N., R. 32 W., W\1/2\; and
(E) that portion of T. 51 N., R. 31 W. lying west
of Huron Bay.
(4) Reservation canal lands.--The term ``Reservation Canal
Lands'' means the 1,333.25 to 2,720 acres of Community land
located within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation that
the Federal Government conveyed to the State pursuant to the
Act of August 26, 1852 (10 Stat. 35, chapter 92).
(5) Reservation swamp lands.--The term ``Reservation Swamp
Lands'' means the 2,743 acres of land located within the
exterior boundaries of the Reservation that the Federal
Government conveyed to the State between 1893 and 1937 pursuant
to the Act of September 28, 1850 (sections 2479 through 2481 of
the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 982 through 984)) (commonly
known as the ``Swamp Land Act'').
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Michigan.
SEC. 5. PAYMENTS.
(a) Transfer of Funds.--As soon as practicable after the date on
which the amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection (c) is
made available to the Secretary, the Secretary shall transfer
$33,900,000 to the Community.
(b) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Community
may use the amount received under subsection (a) for any lawful
purpose, including--
(A) governmental services;
(B) economic development;
(C) natural resources protection; and
(D) land acquisition.
(2) Restriction on use of funds.--The community may not use
the amount received under subsection (a) to acquire land for
gaming purposes.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out subsection (a) $33,900,000
for fiscal year 2026, to remain available until expended.
SEC. 6. EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS.
(a) In General.--Effective on the date on which the Community
receives the payment under section 5(a), all claims of the Community to
the Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands owned by
persons or entities other than the Community are extinguished.
(b) Clear Title.--Effective on the date on which the Community
receives the payment under section 5(a), the title of all current
owners to the Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands
is cleared of all preexisting rights held by the Community and any of
the members of the Community.
SEC. 7. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act authorizes--
(1) the Secretary to take land into trust for the benefit
of the Community for gaming purposes; or
(2) the Community to use land acquired using amounts
received under this Act for gaming purposes.
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