[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3412 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3412

To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the 
 Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa 
                                Indians.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 16, 1999

  Mr. Stupak introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the 
 Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa 
                                Indians.

    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 ``Charlotte Beach Land Claims 
Settlement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Bay Mills Indian Community has a valid interest in 
        certain lands in the Charlotte Beach area of Chippewa County, 
        Michigan, that are located within the Community's traditional 
        homelands;
            (2) The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe may have a valid interest in 
        certain lands in the Charlotte Beach area of Chippewa County, 
        Michigan, that are located within the Tribe's traditional 
        homelands;
            (3) the Community filed a lawsuit against certain 
        landowners to ascertain ownership of lands that were once owned 
        and held in trust by the State of Michigan for the Community 
        but which were sold by the State without the consent of the 
        Tribes or the United States;
            (4) the landowners now hold clouded title to such lands and 
        want to clear their title to the lands;
            (5) the Community has agreed to relinquish its interests in 
        the Charlotte Beach Lands in return for its selection of 
        Alternative Lands that will be taken into trust by the 
        Secretary;
            (6) the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe has agreed not to assert its 
        potential claim of interest in the Charlotte Beach Lands in 
        return for its selection of Alternative Lands that will be 
        taken into trust by the Secretary;
            (7) it is in the best interests of the Tribes and legally 
        necessary for the landowners that the Congress provide for a 
        land settlement agreement by passage of this Act; and
            (8) it is in the best interests of the Tribes that the 
        described Alternative Lands be taken into trust as part of the 
        settlement of the land claim.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to settle the land claims of the Tribes against the 
        landowners; and
            (2) to direct the Secretary to take into trust for the 
        benefit of the Tribes the Alternative Lands in settlement of 
        the Tribes' land claims.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Alternative lands.--The term ``Alternative Lands'' 
        means the following:
                    (A) The lands chosen and acquired by the Community 
                for transfer to the United States to be held in trust 
                for the Community as part of the settlement of the 
                claims of the Community to the Charlotte Beach Lands. 
                These Alternative Lands, comprising 21.55 acres, more 
                or less, are located in Vanderbilt, Michigan, and are 
                more particularly described in the Community's March 
                1999 Trust and Reservation Acquisition Request 
                submitted to the Minneapolis Office of the Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs.
                    (B) The lands chosen and acquired by the Sault 
                Tribe for transfer to the United States in trust for 
                the Sault Tribe as a part of the settlement of the 
                potential claims of the Sault Tribe to the Charlotte 
                Beach Lands.
            (2) Charlotte beach lands.--The term ``Charlotte Beach 
        Lands'' means those lands in the Charlotte Beach area of 
        Michigan and described as follows: Government Lots 1, 2, 3, and 
        4 of section 7, T45N, R2E, and Lot 1 of section 18, T45N, R2E, 
        Chippewa County, State of Michigan.
            (3) Community.--The term ``Community'' means the Bay Mills 
        Indian Community, a federally recognized Indian tribe.
            (4) Sault tribe.--The term ``Sault Tribe'' means the Sault 
        Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized 
        Indian tribe.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (6) Tribes.--The term ``Tribes'' means the Community and 
        the Sault Tribe.

SEC. 4. ACCEPTANCE OF ALTERNATIVE LANDS.

    (a) By the Community.--Upon relinquishment by the Community of any 
and all claims to the Charlotte Beach Lands and dismissal with 
prejudice of Bay Mills Indian Community v. Western Life Assurance 
Company et al., Case No. 2:96-CV-275, United States District Court for 
the Western District of Michigan-Northern Division and Bay Mills Indian 
Community v. State of Michigan et al., Michigan Court of Claims, File 
No. 96-16482-CM--
            (1) the Secretary shall take the Alternative Lands 
        described in section 3(1)(A) into trust for the benefit of the 
        Community as part of the settlement of the Community's claims 
        to the Charlotte Beach Lands; and
            (2) the Alternative Lands described in section 3(1)(A) 
        shall become part of the Community's reservation.
    (b) By the Sault Tribe.--The Secretary shall take the Alternative 
Lands described in section 3(1)(B) into trust for the benefit of the 
Sault Tribe as settlement of the Sault Tribe's claims to the Charlotte 
Beach Lands. Upon the taking of the Alternative Lands into trust, any 
and all potential claims of the Sault Tribe in and to the Charlotte 
Beach Lands shall be relinquished and extinguished thereby, and the 
lands taken into trust shall become part of the Sault Tribe's 
reservation.
    (c) Settlement of Land Claims.--The Alternative Lands are taken 
into trust as provided in this section as part of the settlement of 
land claims of the Tribes within the meaning of section 20(b)(1)(B)(i) 
of Public Law 100-497.

SEC. 5. EXTINGUISHMENT OF TITLE AND CLAIMS.

    (a) Approval and Ratification of Prior Transfers.--Any transfer, 
before the date of the enactment of this Act, of land or natural 
resources located within the boundaries of the Charlotte Beach Lands 
from, by, or on behalf of any Indian, Indian nation, or tribe or band 
of Indians (including the 2 bands of the Sault Ste. Marie Ottawa and 
Chippewa Indians of Michigan of which O-shaw-wan-no and Sha-wan were 
chiefs) or any member thereof, shall be deemed to have been made in 
accordance with the Constitution and all laws of the United States, 
including without limitation, the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790, 
Act of July 22, 1790 (ch. 33, sec. 4; 1 Stat. 137), and Congress hereby 
does approve and ratify such transfers effective as of the date of such 
transfers.
    (b) Aboriginal Title Extinguished.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), any 
        aboriginal title held by any Indian, Indian nation, or tribe or 
        band of Indians (including the 2 bands of the Sault Ste. Marie 
        Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan of which O-shaw-wan-no 
        and Sha-wan were chiefs and their members) to any land or 
        natural resources, the transfer of which was approved and 
        ratified by subsection (a), shall be regarded as extinguished 
        as of the date of such transfer.
            (2) The tribes.--To the extent that the Charlotte Beach 
        Lands involve land or natural resources to which the Tribes had 
        aboriginal title, relinquishment by the Tribes under section 4 
        shall be regarded as an extinguishment of such aboriginal 
        title.
    (c) Extinguishment of Claims.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), any 
        claim (including any claim for damages for trespass, use, or 
        occupancy) by, or on behalf of, any member of any Indian, 
        Indian nation, or tribe or band of Indians (including the 2 
        bands of the Sault Ste. Marie Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of 
        Michigan of which O-shaw-wan-no and Sha-wan were chiefs) or any 
        member thereof against the United States, any State or 
        subdivision thereof or any other person which is based on--
                    (A) any interest in or right involving any land or 
                natural resources of which was approved and ratified by 
                subsection (a), or
                    (B) any aboriginal title to land or natural 
                resources the extinguishment of which was effected by 
                subsection (b),
shall be regarded as extinguished as of the date of any such transfer.
            (2) The tribes.--All claims of the Tribes against the 
        United States, the State of Michigan, or any other person or 
        entity based on claims to the Charlotte Beach Lands (including 
        without limitation, claims for trespass damages, use, or 
        occupancy) shall be deemed to have been extinguished as of the 
        date of relinquishment by the Tribes under section 4.
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