[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 127 (Monday, November 13, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




LETTER OF CLARIFICATION FROM THE BURT LAKE BAND OF OTTAWA AND CHIPPEWA 
                                INDIANS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 13, 2006

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, during hearings held in 1997 by the House 
Resources Committee, representatives of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa 
and Chippewa Indians provided testimony that confused some land rights 
claims in Northern Michigan.
  These statements were not approved by the Burt Lake Band's Tribal 
Council. As a result Mr. Curtis Chambers, Chairman of the Burt Lake 
Band, has written an open letter to members of Congress, to correct the 
record on this issue.
  Without objection, I request that the following letter from the 
Chairman of the Burt Lake Band be included into the Congressional 
Record.
                                             The Burt Lake Band of


                            Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Inc.,

                               Brutus, Michigan, October 25, 2006.
       Dear Members of the U.S. Congress: During June 24, 1997, 
     hearings held before the House Natural Resources Committee, 
     the individuals who were charged with presenting the Burt 
     Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians' formal position on 
     the Michigan Indian Lands Claims Settlement Act, P.L. 105-
     143, made some statements which require correction. Those 
     statements suggested that the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and 
     Chippewa Indians was and is claiming rights in lands in 
     Michigan's Emmet and Charlevoix Counties, Beaver Island, High 
     Island and Garden Island. Unfortunately, those statements 
     were made without the prior approval of the Burt Lake Band's 
     Tribal Council and they were and are factually inaccurate.
       During those same hearings, those same Burt Lake 
     representatives also presented the House Resources Committee 
     with a map which they suggested was an accurate 
     representation of the Burt Lake Band's aboriginal territory. 
     That map was not an accurate representation of that territory 
     and it should never had been presented for that purpose.
       To complete this clarification, the Burt Lake Band would 
     like to note that its research has confirmed that the Little 
     Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians did, in fact, received 
     allotments in southwestern Cheboygan County, Michigan and 
     that the Burt Lake Band respects the Little Traverse Band's 
     right to assert any and all rights which stem from the award 
     of those allotments.
       Because the historical records of the United States 
     Congress are often used by law makers, attorneys and 
     historians, we would greatly appreciate your assistance in 
     seeing that this letter is printed in the Congressional 
     Record of the United States House of Representatives to make 
     the above stated corrections.
           Cordially,
                                                  Curtis Chambers,
     Chairman.

                          ____________________