[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 INDIAN DISTRIBUTION JUDGMENT FUND BILL

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am pleased that H.R. 1604, the 
Indian distribution judgment fund bill, passed the Senate yesterday. 
This bill cleared the Senate with bipartisan support, including my 
Michigan colleague, Senator Spencer Abraham. I would like to thank my 
colleague in the House, Representative Dale Kildee, for introducing 
this bill. I believe that H.R. 1604 will pass the House in the next few 
days and will then be signed into law by the President.
  H.R. 1604 is a very important piece of legislation for several 
Michigan tribes. To fully understand this bill, it is necessary to 
understand Michigan history. In the Treaty of 1836, the Chippewa and 
Ottawa Indians of Michigan ceded over 12 million acres of land in 
Michigan to the Federal Government. Approximately 15 cents per acre was 
given to the tribes as compensation for this land.
  In 1946, the U.S. Congress established the Indian Claims Commission, 
a body created to redress some of the worst injustices of the U.S. 
Government/Indian Nation treaty era. The Indian Claims Commission 
determined that the value of the land ceded by the Michigan tribes was 
90 cents an acre, not 15 cents. In 1972, Congress appropriated $10 
million as a final settlement for the land, but the money could not be 
distribute until the tribes reached an agreement on how the funds would 
be distributed. This amount has now grown to over $70 million.
  Over the last few years, the tribes have worked among themselves to 
come to an agreement as to the means of distributing the funds. H.R. 
1604 is the result of this consensus between the parties.
  I would like to commend the tribal leaders for coming together to 
negotiate this agreement. It has taken many years and much negotiating. 
Tribal elder, Arthur LeBlanc, of the Bay Mills Indian Community, 
testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on November 3, 
1997, on behalf of H.R. 1604. Mr. LeBlanc, and other tribal members, 
will now be compensated for a settlement claim that has taken 25 years 
to fully resolve.
  In closing, I offer my strong support for H.R. 1604 and am hopeful 
that it will pass the House quickly and that the tribes will receive 
compensation for their land as soon as possible.

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