[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE BILL ``TO PROVIDE FOR AND APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT OF 
        CERTAIN LAND CLAIMS OF THE BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CANDICE S. MILLER

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2003

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, for more than 100 years, the 
Bay Mills Indian Community has sought justice for the illegal sale of 
over 110 acres of Chippewa County lands which, prior to the sale, had 
been homeland to a large group of the Tribe's ancestors. Today I am 
introducing legislation that finally brings relief to this group of 
Michigan's Native people.
  The legislation I propose today also brings too-long awaited relief 
to the non-Indian citizens of Michigan who live within the Tribe's 
Chippewa county claim area. Because the Indian claim has remained 
unresolved for many years, innocent homeowners have watched their 
property values plummet to 90 percent below what that property would 
otherwise be worth on the open market. This legislation accomplishes 
these ends by ratifying the Land Settlement Agreement signed by the Bay 
Mills Indian Community and the State of Michigan on August 23, 2002.
  This Land Settlement Agreement is the product of a long and careful 
negotiation process between the Tribe and the State. It calls for the 
extinguishment of all of the Tribe's title and right to the Chippewa 
County disputed lands and in return provides for the Tribe to receive 
replacement land in Port Huron that will be put into trust (and 
therefore protected by federal law from illegal sale) by the Secretary 
of the Interior. Further, the settlement is structured in such a way as 
to ensure that neither the taxpayers of Michigan nor the taxpayers of 
the United States will ever be saddled with the cost of paying a 
monetary damage award, which otherwise could be quite substantial, to 
the Tribe.
  Finally, and of particular importance to my constituents in the 10th 
District, the settlement agreement will enable the City of Port Huron 
and the Tribe to engage in desperately needed and mutually beneficial 
economic development, of a casino. The people of Port Huron approved a 
June 2001 casino advisory referendum. This legislation is critical in 
allowing the residents of the Port Huron community to actively 
participate in its economic recovery through the establishment of a 
casino approved by the people. The Port Huron community has been 
brutalized by the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs, a double-
digit unemployment rate that doubles our state and federal average and 
a Canadian casino located just 500 yards from our border. That casino 
attracts more than 1 million American visitors per year, which is 
devastating to our tourism and entertainment business. A casino on the 
American side of the border would create 3,000 American jobs while 
providing competition to our Canadian neighbors at the only border 
crossing with Ontario where we have not responded by having a casino of 
our own.
  Resolution of this land claim is long overdue. In sponsoring this 
legislation, I am proud to be part of a solution crafted to benefit the 
Tribe, residents of the claim area, and the taxpayers of Michigan.
  I join with the members of the Bay Mills Indian Community, the 
Charlotte Beach landowners, my constituents in Port Huron, and my 
distinguished colleague Congressman Don Young in support of this 
proposed settlement. This legislation provides a fair solution that is 
long overdue for many Native Americans.

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