Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
A federal bill that would compensate the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for land illegally taken from it a century ago has advanced in the United States Senate.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023 was passed without discussion last week by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, as part of a package of bills.
The Act would pay $33.9 million to the KBIC in exchange for as much as 5,500 acres of land that was originally awarded to the Tribe in the Treaties of 1842 and 1854. However, between 1855 and 1937, the federal government took control of the property. As much as half was awarded to the State of Michigan, as compensation for costs incurred in building the locks at Sault Ste. Marie.
The Act was introduced into the U.S. Senate by Democrats Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow. An identical bill was introduced into the U.S. House by Republican First District Representative Jack Bergman. The House bill is still pending in a subcommittee. It eventually needs to pass both the full House and Senate, and be signed by President Joe Biden.
In exchange for the payment, the KBIC would relinquish its claim to the land, which would result in clear title for the present-day owners.
Local governments, including Baraga County, and the villages of L’Anse and Baraga, have supported the legislation. KBIC Tribal Council President Doreen Blaker called it “a testament to what we can achieve when we come together and work in the spirit of cooperation.”
The compensation could be used by the KBIC for governmental services, economic development, natural resource protection, and land acquisition.
