[Senate Report 118-129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                   Calendar No. 272

118th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 118-129

======================================================================
 
    KEWEENAW BAY INDIAN COMMUNITY LAND CLAIM SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2023

                                _______
                                

               December 12, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Schatz, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 195]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 195) to provide compensation to the Keweenaw Bay 
Indian Community for the taking without just compensation of 
land by the United States inside the exterior boundaries of the 
L'Anse Indian Reservation that were guaranteed to the Community 
under a treaty signed in 1854, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    S. 195 would acknowledge the uncompensated taking by the 
federal government of Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) 
lands, provide compensation for the taking of those lands, and 
extinguish all KBIC claims to those lands in exchange for the 
provided compensation.

                               BACKGROUND

    KBIC is a federally recognized Indian Tribe with a 
reservation primarily comprised of two non-contiguous tracts on 
either side of the Keweenaw Bay, in Baraga County in the Upper 
Peninsula, Michigan. The Tribe is the successor in interest to 
two treaties with the United States guaranteeing rights of use 
and occupancy of certain Michigan lands\1\ in 1842 and creating 
a permanent reservation known as the L'Anse Reservation in 
1854.\2\ Both treaties remain in full force and effect.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Treaty with the Chippewa at La Pointe, Oct. 4, 1842, 7 Stat. 
591.
    \2\Treaty with the Chippewa at La Pointe, Sept. 30, 1854, 10 Stat. 
1109.
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    Between 1893 and 1937, under the Swamp Lands Act of 
1850,\3\ the federal government transferred approximately 2,743 
acres from within the Tribe's reservation to the State of 
Michigan without compensation to the Tribe and in violation of 
the Tribe's 1842 treaty.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Sept. 28, 1850, ch. 84, 9 Stat. 519.
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    Separately, under the Canal Lands Act of 1850,\4\ the U.S. 
Department of the Interior (DOI) transferred between 1,333 and 
2,720 acres of land within the Tribe's reservation to the state 
of Michigan to defray the state's cost of constructing the 
Sault Ste. Marie Canal, again without any compensation to the 
Tribe and in violation of the Tribe's 1854 treaty.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Aug. 26, 1852, ch. 92, 10 Stat. 35.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Non-Indian individuals, entities, and local governments 
acquired the former Canal and Swamp lands in good faith and 
have a vested interest in possessing clear title. In a December 
2021 letter, the DOI determined that the Tribe's takings claims 
have merit.\5\ Without S. 195, title to these lands remains 
clouded and the Tribe's claims against the United States for 
illegal taking of these same lands actionable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Letter from Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland to KBIC President 
Warren Swartz, Jr. (December 10, 2021) (on file with Committee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          SUMMARY OF THE BILL

    S. 195 authroizes $33,900,000 to be transferred to the 
Tribe in settlement for the uncompenstated taking of their 
lands and authorizes the use of such funds for any legal 
purpose except for the purchase of land for gaming purposes. S. 
195 also extinguishes all of the Tribe's claims to previously 
taken land and clears title to those lands for current land 
owners.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On January 31, 2023, Senators Peters (D-MI) and Stabenow 
(D-MI) introduced S. 195, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community 
Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023. On the same day, the Senate 
referred the bill to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On May 3, 
2023, the Committee held a legislative hearing to receive 
testimony on S. 195. On July 19, 2023, the Committee held a 
duly convened business meeting to consider S. 195. The 
Committee ordered S. 195 reported favorably, without amendment, 
by voice vote.
    On January 31, 2023, Representative Bergman (R-MI) 
introduced H.R. 650, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land 
Claim Settlement Act of 2023, an identical companion bill to S. 
195. The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources on the same day. On February 21, 2023, the bill was 
further referred to the Natural Resources Subcommittee on 
Indian and Insular Affairs. To date, the House has taken no 
further action on H.R. 650.

                 SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 195

Section 1--Short title

    This section sets forth the short title as the ``Keweenaw 
Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023.''

Section 2--Findings

    This section sets forth the findings of Congress and 
describes the historical context of the Treaties to which the 
Tribe is a party and the land transfers to the state of 
Michigan.

Section 3--Purposes

    This section establishes that the purposes of the Act are 
to--
           acknowledge the uncompensated taking of 
        Reservation Swamp Lands and Reservation Canal Lands by 
        the federal government from the Keweenaw Bay Indian 
        Community;
           to provide compensation to the Community for 
        that taking;
           to extinguish Tribal claims to Reservation 
        Swamp Lands and Reservation Canal Lands and confirm the 
        current ownership of those lands;
           to extinguish all potential claims by the 
        Tribe against the United States, the State of Michigan, 
        and current landowners; and
           to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 
        to compensate the Tribe and to take any other actions 
        to carry out the Act.

Section 4--Definitions

    This section sets forth the definitions used in the Act.

Section 5--Payments

    Section 5(a) directs the Secretary to transfer to the Tribe 
$33,900,000, as soon as practicable, after the funds are 
authorized to be appropriated.
    Section 5(b) authorizes the use of appropriated funds for 
any lawful purpose, including, governmental services, economic 
development, natural resources protection, and land acquisition 
and prohibits the use of appropriated funds to acquire land for 
gaming purposes.
    Section 5(c) authorizes $33,900,000 in appropriations to 
the Secretary of the Interior to carry out subsection (a) for 
fiscal year 2024 to remain available under expended.

Section 6--Extinguishment of claims

    Section 6(a) extinguishes all the Tribes' claims to lands 
transferred under the Swamp Lands Act and the Canal Lands Act 
owned by persons or entities other than KBIC in exchange for 
the compensation provided by the Act, effective on the date on 
which KBIC receives such payment.
    Section 6(b) clears title of all preexisting Tribal rights 
to lands of current owners to Reservation Swamp Lands and 
Reservation Canal Lands, effective on the date on which KBIC 
receives payment pursuant to Section 5(a).

Section 7--Effect

    This section clarifies that the bill does not authorize the 
Secretary to take land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe 
for gaming purposes or authorize the Tribe to use the 
settlement funds to acquire land for gaming purposes.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS



    S. 195 would authorize the appropriation of $34 million in 
fiscal year 2024 for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community as 
compensation for the loss of the lands under the Swamp Land Act 
of 1850 and the Canal Land Act of 1852. The funds could be used 
by the tribe for any lawful purpose, including governmental 
services, economic development, natural resources protection, 
and land acquisition for purposes other than gaming. For this 
estimate, CBO assumes that the Congress will appropriate the 
specified amount in fiscal year 2024.
    S. 195 contains intergovernmental mandates as defined in 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The cost of the 
mandates would not exceed the annual threshold established in 
that act ($99 million in 2023, adjusted annually for 
inflation).
    The bill would extinguish claims of the Keweenaw Bay Indian 
Community against owners of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the 
Reservation Canal Lands. Eliminating an existing right of 
action is a mandate because the right to seek redress and 
recover damages beyond what is provided in the bill would be 
lost. Based on information from the tribe, CBO expects it is 
unlikely that the tribe would pursue such claims. Therefore, 
CBO estimates that the cost, if any, of the mandate would be 
small.
    The bill would prohibit gambling on tribal land obtained by 
the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community with funds from the 
settlement awarded under the bill. Because gaming on such land 
is currently allowed under federal law, the proposed ban would 
be a mandate. However, because the tribe has no plan to use 
settlement funds to obtain land for gaming purposes, the cost 
of the mandate would be small.
    The bill contains no private-sector mandates as defined in 
UMRA.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Julia Aman 
(for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The 
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director 
of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 195 will 
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 195.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    On February 9, 2023, the Committee unanimously approved a 
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is 
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the 
Senate.

                               [all]