Press release

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (MI) introduced Keweenaw Bay Indian Community President Doreen Blaker before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Thursday during a hearing to receive testimony on legislation, including the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023.

Blaker testified in support of the bipartisan, bicameral legislation, which would resolve a more than 150-year issue for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and local residents and provide legal clearance for current landowners in the area.

Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior Bryan Newland, who previously served as tribal president of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan, also participated in the hearing and testified in support of the bill. Peters announced the legislation earlier this year with U.S. Congressman Jack Bergman (R-MI-1), who introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“President Blaker has served on the Tribal Council for over 14 years and has been a strong proponent of preserving the tribe’s culture, lands and natural resources,” said Peters. “The tribe has worked diligently and in good faith with me and with the rest of the Michigan congressional delegation, as well as the State of Michigan, their local neighbors, and others to find a resolution to this issue. This bipartisan, bicameral, and long-overdue legislation will address these longstanding claims of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, while clearing title of current landowners in the community.”

“Our Council is immensely proud of how far we have come to finally obtaining the justice that our Tribe has long sought,” said Blaker. “The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community would like to express our utmost gratitude to Sen. Peters and Sen. (Debbie) Stabenow for introducing the KBIC Settlement Act in the Senate, as well as Rep. Bergman for introducing companion legislation in the House. Enactment of the KBIC Settlement Act would have wide-reaching benefits.”