By GRAHAM JAEHNIG

gjaehnig@mininggazette.com

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee on July 19 approved bipartisan, bicameral legislation authored by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) to settle the longstanding land claims of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and clear the title of current landowners in the community. The announcement comes from a July 25 press release from Sen. Peters’ office.

S.195 – Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023, was introduced on January 31 by Peters. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow co-sponsored the bill, in coordination with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community along with state and local governments – to address longstanding claims of the KBIC while clearing the title of current landowners in the community. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI-01) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

The KBIC land claims involve the dispossession of between about 1,333 and 2,720 acres of land transferred by the U.S. government to the State of Michigan as compensation for the construction of Sault Ste. Marie Canal, as well as about 2,743 acres of swampland. The KBIC asserts that as a result of the 1842 and 1854 Treaties, these lands were not available for transfer and therefore transferred illegally.

KBIC President Doreen Blaker testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 3 saying, in part:

“The (KBIC) Community understands that our neighbors who currently hold this land have clean hands and we do not seek to disturb their ownership. However, the Community is still entitled to just compensation.”

Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, also testified before the committee. The bill reflects the Department’s understanding that the KBIC does not wish to reassert authority over the lands, said Newland.

S. 195 specifies that when the KBIC receives the monetary compensation, all claims by the KBIC to the lands lost under the Swamp Land Act of 1850 and the Canal Land Act of 1852 are extinguished and the title of current owners of those lands are cleared of all preexisting rights held by the KBIC or any KBIC members.

The bill authorizes the appropriation of $33.9 million to the Secretary to transfer to the KBIC as compensation for the loss of the lands under the Swamp Land Act of 1850 and the Canal Land Act of 1852. The funds may be used by the KBIC for any lawful purpose including governmental services, economic development, natural resources protection and land acquisition, but restricts the funds from being used to acquire land for gaming purposes.

The legislation, which still faces votes from the Senate and House, has garnered support from a variety of community partners and government leaders, including Blaker and KBIC Vice President Toni Minton, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Baraga County Board of Commissioners and other key stakeholders throughout Michigan.

The U.S. Congress website states that S.195 is a bill to provide compensation to the KBIC 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.

The release from Peters’ office states: Through two treaties signed in 1842 and 1854 – the KBIC was guaranteed occupancy over a large area of land established as the L’Anse Reservation. However, between 1855 and 1937, and despite the treaties still remaining in effect, thousands of acres of the reservation were taken by the federal government without compensation and awarded to the State of Michigan. The KBIC contends that the inappropriate transfer of these lands has created substantial economic and other harm, through the loss of valuable land in prime locations along Lake Superior that could have been used for a variety of revenue-generating activities over the past 150 years. Meanwhile, non-Indian individuals, entities and local governments have since acquired the land at issue – in good faith – and now seek to ensure they possess clear title to the land.

Local leaders have also expressed support for the settlement of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s land claims, states Peters’ release. In a letter to KBIC, the Baraga County Board of Commissioners expressed its support for “a legislative settlement that will right this wrong with just compensation for the land that was taken.” Likewise, in a letter to KBIC, Village of Baraga President Wendell Dompier said the Village supported “a legislative settlement that will allow the tribe to be made whole from the land that it lost.”

L’Anse Village President Ron Ervast is quoted as saying: “The KBIC Land Claim Settlement Act makes the tribe whole for land taken without compensation. I’m glad our Michigan Congressional Delegation is taking action to right those wrongs, and doing so in a way that preserves current ownership. It’s a resolution that helps everyone, and adeptly avoids picking winners and losers.”

Peters said the bipartisan bill would settle claims brought by the KBIC and provide legal clearance for local residents who currently own the property at issue,.

“I worked alongside the tribe and local community on this needed solution, and I’m pleased the bill advanced to the full Senate,” he stated in his release.