[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 533 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 533

To provide for the equitable settlement of certain Indian land disputes 
                      regarding land in Illinois.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2001

 Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Fitzgerald) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the equitable settlement of certain Indian land disputes 
                      regarding land in Illinois.

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

SECTION 1. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, the Ottawa Tribe of 
        Oklahoma, and the Potawatomi Tribe of Kansas have raised 
        questions with respect to the title of certain lands within the 
        State of Illinois based upon treaties negotiated with the 
        United States.
            (2) The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit in the 
        United States District Court for the Southern District of 
        Illinois against private landowners who hold title pursuant to 
        land patents issued by the United States alleging that the 
        Miami Tribe are the rightful owners of 2,600,000 acres of land 
        within the State of Illinois.
            (3) There are no allegations that the State of Illinois and 
        its citizens have violated the Trade and Intercourse Act of 
        1790 or any other Federal law against any of the aforementioned 
        tribes, and therefore the sole issue is whether the United 
        States properly acquired title to the lands claimed by the 
        tribes before the issuance of Federal land patents.
            (4) None of the aforementioned tribes currently resides or 
        has federally recognized Indian trust land in the State of 
        Illinois, nor does the State of Illinois contain any other 
        federally recognized Indian trust land.
            (5) The pendency of the lawsuit and the potential for 
        additional lawsuits may result in severe economic hardships for 
        residents of Illinois who have in good faith relied upon the 
        land patents issued by the United States.
            (6) The Congress shares with the State of Illinois and the 
        party defendants to the lawsuits a desire to remove all clouds 
        on titles resulting from such Indian land claims, while 
        allowing the tribes to resolve any outstanding issues with the 
        United States over compensation for the Federal acquisition of 
        the property.
    (b) Extinguishment of Title and Claims.--
            (1) Claims based upon treaties.--Except with regard to the 
        United States as a defendant as provided in subsection (c), any 
        claim by any Indian tribe, any member of any Indian tribe, or 
        any predecessors or successors in interest thereof in or to any 
        land or interest in land in the State of Illinois arising out 
        of Article IV of the Treaty of Grouseland, dated August 21, 
        1805 (7 Stat. 91); and any claim by any Indian tribe, any 
        member of any Indian tribe, or any predecessors or successors 
        in interest thereof in or to any land or interest in land in 
        land in DeKalb County, Illinois, arising out of Article III of 
        a treaty with the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and 
        Potawatamie Indians, dated July 29, 1829 (7 Stat. 320) or 
        Article 2 of a treaty with the United Tribes of the Ottawas, 
        Chipawas and Pottowotomees, dated August 24, 1816 (7 Stat. 146) 
        is hereby extinguished.
            (2) Aboriginal title and claims extinguished.--To the 
        extent that any Indian tribe described in paragraph (a) or any 
        member of such tribe, or any predecessors or successors in 
        interest thereof had aboriginal title to any land or interest 
        in land described in paragraph (1), such aboriginal title is 
        hereby extinguished. Except with regard to the United States as 
        a defendant as provided in subsection (c), any claims based 
        upon such aboriginal title to such lands is hereby 
        extinguished.
    (c) Claims Against the United States.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, exclusive jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the 
United States Court of Federal Claims to hear, determine, and render 
judgment with respect to any claim otherwise extinguished by subsection 
(b). The United States shall be the only person or entity liable 
regarding such a claim and monetary damages shall be the only available 
remedy. All such claims against the United States shall be extinguished 
unless filed not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (d) Definition of Claim.--For the purposes of this Act, the term 
``claim'' includes, but is not limited to, any claim for trespass 
damages, use and occupancy, natural resources, and hunting and fishing 
rights.
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