[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21310]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
      SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS LAND PROCLAMATION

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the 
immediate consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 2120) to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to proclaim as reservation for the 
benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians a parcel of 
land now held in trust by the United States for that Indian tribe.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 2120

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

     SECTION 1. LAND TO BE PROCLAIMED RESERVATION.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary of the Interior shall proclaim as 
     reservation for the benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of 
     Chippewa Indians the parcel of land now held in trust by the 
     United States and having the legal description as follows: 
     That portion of Section 19, Township 41 North, Range 3 West, 
     Michigan Meridian, described as: All of the NW1/4SW1/4 and 
     all of the S1/2SW1/4 Northerly of a line described as 
     beginning 650 feet Northerly along the centerline of Highway 
     ``Mackinac Trail'' from the intersection of said centerline 
     with the South Section line of Section 19, Township 41 North, 
     Range 3 West, thence Northeasterly to the Southeast corner of 
     the NW1/4SW1/4 of said Section, containing 65 acres, more or 
     less (except the highway right-of-way and easements of 
     record).
       (b) Applicable Law; Effective Date.--The Secretary's 
     proclamation shall be pursuant to section 7 of the Act of 
     June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 467) and shall be deemed effective 
     as of April 19, 1988.

                          Committee Amendment

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the committee 
amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Committee amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

                               H.R. 2120

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

     SECTION 1. LAND TO BE PROCLAIMED RESERVATION.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary of the Interior shall proclaim as 
     reservation for the benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of 
     Chippewa Indians the parcel of land now held in trust by the 
     United States and having the legal description as follows: 
     That portion of Section 19, Township 41 North, Range 3 West, 
     Michigan Meridian, described as: All of the NW1/4SW1/4 and 
     all of the S1/2SW1/4 Northerly of a line described as 
     beginning 650 feet Northerly along the centerline of Highway 
     ``Mackinac Trail'' from the intersection of said centerline 
     with the South Section line of Section 19, Township 41 North, 
     Range 3 West, thence Northeasterly to the Southeast corner of 
     the NW1/4SW1/4 of said Section, containing 65 acres, more or 
     less (except the highway right-of-way and easements of 
     record).
       (b) Applicable Law; Effective Date.--The Secretary's 
     proclamation shall be pursuant to section 7 of the Act of 
     June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 467) and the property shall be 
     deemed a reservation as of April 19, 1988, for purposes of 
     the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the committee amendment be considered as read and printed 
in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
  There was no objection.
  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, this measure addresses an inequity 
caused by the failure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to act in a 
timely manner on a request first made in 1983. Introduced by our 
colleague, Representative Bart Stupak, this measure would declare land 
held in trust for a Tribe located in Michigan as part of the Tribe's 
reservation.
  Shortly after the land was placed into trust in 1983, the Tribe made 
the first of several requests to have the land declared a part of its 
reservation. Eventually, the Bureau of Indian Affairs took various 
actions leading the Tribe to believe that the land was a part of the 
Tribe's reservation.
  However, in February, 2006, the Interior Department reversed course 
and informed the Tribe that the land placed into trust in 1983 was not 
part of the Tribe's Reservation. The pending measure clarifies and 
rectifies the situation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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