[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1817 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1817

 To validate a conveyance of certain lands located in Carlton County, 
  Minnesota, and to provide for the compensation of certain original 
                                 heirs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 28, 1999

   Mr. Grams introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To validate a conveyance of certain lands located in Carlton County, 
  Minnesota, and to provide for the compensation of certain original 
                                 heirs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. VALIDATION OF CONVEYANCE OF LANDS.

    (a) Validation.--
            (1) In general.--The conveyance of the lands described in 
        subsection (b) shall be deemed to be valid. Any interest in 
        those lands of the United States, including any interest held 
        in those lands that is held in trust by the United States shall 
        be treated as if those lands had been held by the United States 
        on the date of that conveyance under absolute fee simple title.
            (2) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on the 
        date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Conveyance.--
            (1) In general.--The conveyance of lands described in 
        paragraph (2) is the issuance of a patent by the Director of 
        the Bureau of Land Management on February 17, 1955, and 
        recorded in the Office of the County Recorder for Carlton 
        County on April 28, 1955, in Book 137 of Deeds, page 243.
            (2) Description of lands.--The lands described in this 
        paragraph are as follows: The North Half of the Southwest 
        Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/4\) of Section Fifteen (15), Township 
        Forty-nine (49), Range Seventeen (17), LESS AND EXCEPT A tract 
        of land in the North Half of the Southwest Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/
        4\) of Section Fifteen (15), Township Forty-nine (49), Range 
        Seventeen, described as follows: commencing at the Northeast 
        corner of said North Half of the Southwest Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/
        4\) thence South along the East line of said North Half of the 
        Southwest Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/4\) a distance of 626.13 feet, 
        thence West on a line parallel with the North Line of said 
        North Half of the Southwest Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/4\) a distance 
        of 417.42 feet, thence North on a line parallel with the East 
        line of said North Half of the Southwest Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/
        4\) a distance of 626.13 feet, more or less, to the North line 
        of said North Half of the Southwest Quarter (N\1/2\SW\1/4\), 
        thence East along said North line a distance of 417.42 feet, 
        more or less to the point of commencement, containing 6 acres 
        of land, more or less.

SEC. 2. COMPENSATION OF ORIGINAL HEIRS.

    (a) Notification.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and in such manner as to ensure that 
compensation may be made under subsection (b) by the date specified in 
that subsection, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 
section as the ``Secretary'') shall provide, for the 46 heirs of the 
original alottee of the lands described in section 1(b)(2) (Ka ba ga a 
ko kwe (aka Louis Bellanger) of the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa 
Indians) notice of--
            (1) the right of those heirs to appropriate compensation 
        for the conveyance of lands referred to in section 1(a); and
            (2) procedures (which the Secretary shall establish) for 
        applying to receive that compensation.
    (b) Compensation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall take such action as may be 
necessary to ensure that reasonable efforts have been made to 
compensate the heirs referred to in subsection (a) in accordance with 
the procedures established by the Secretary under paragraph (2) of that 
subsection.
                                 <all>