[Senate Report 119-70]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 175
119th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-70
======================================================================
KEWEENAW BAY INDIAN COMMUNITY
LAND CLAIM SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2025
_______
September 29, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 642]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill, (S. 642) 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. 642 would acknowledge the uncompensated taking of
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC or Tribe) lands by the
federal government, provide compensation for the taking of
those lands, and extinguish all KBIC claims to those lands in
exchange for the provided compensation.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
KBIC is a federally recognized Indian Tribe with a
reservation primarily comprised of two non-contiguous tracts
within Baraga County in 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 in the
Keweenaw Bay area in 1842\1\ and creating a permanent
reservation known as the L'Anse Indian 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Between 1893 and 1937, in carrying out the Swamp Land Act
of 1850,\3\ the U.S. Government Land Office patented
approximately 2,743 acres from the KBIC's reservation to the
State of Michigan without compensation to the Tribe and in
violation of the 1842 and 1854 treaties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\Act of September 28, 1850, Ch. 84, 9 Stat. 519.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Separately, under the Canal Land Act of 1850,\4\ the U.S.
Department of the Interior (DOI) transferred between 1,333.25
and 2,720 acres of 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 1842 and 1854 treaties. In a December
2021 letter opinion, the DOI determined that the Tribe's
takings claims to the Swamp and Canal lands have merit.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\Act of August 26, 1852, Ch. 92, 10 Stat. 35.
\5\Letter from Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland to KBIC President
Warren Swartz, Jr. (December 10, 2021) (on file with Committee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Indian individuals, entities, and local governments
acquired the former Swamp and Canal lands in good faith and
have a vested interest in possessing clear title. The Tribe has
stated they do not seek ownership of those lands. Through a
multi-year effort, the KBIC worked with neighboring local
governments, the State of Michigan, the DOI, and its
Congressional delegation to develop a resolution of their
claims with the affected parties, as outlined, in the bill.
SUMMARY
S. 642 authorizes $33,900,000 to be transferred to the
Tribe in settlement for the uncompensated 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. 642
also extinguishes all of the Tribe's claims to the previously
taken lands and clears title to those lands for the current
landowners.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 642 was introduced by Senators Peters and Slotkin on
January February 19, 2025.
In the 118th Congress, an identical bill, S. 195, was
introduced by Senators Peters and Stabenow on January 31, 2023.
The Committee held a hearing on S. 195 on May 3, 2023. (S. Hrg.
118-105). On July 19, 2023, the Committee held a business
meeting to consider S. 195 and ordered the bill to be reported
favorably, without amendment. (S. Rept. No. 118-129). S. 195
passed the Senate without amendment by unanimous consent on
December 19, 2023.
H.R. 650, an identical companion bill, was introduced by
Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI) in the House of
Representatives on January 31, 2023. The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in an open business
meeting on March 5, 2025, by a majority voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 642, without
amendment.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Short title
This section provides the short title of S. 642 as the
``Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of
2025.''
Section 2--Findings
This section sets forth Congressional findings.
Section 3--Purposes
This section establishes the purposes of this Act are to--
acknowledge the uncompensated taking of
Tribe's Reservation Swamp Lands and Reservation Canal
Lands by the federal government;
provide compensation to the Tribe for the
taking of those lands;
extinguish all Tribal claims to the
Reservation Swamp Lands and Reservation Canal Lands and
confirm the current ownership of those lands were
obtained in good faith;
extinguish all potential land claims by the
Tribe against the United States, the State of Michigan,
and current landowners; and
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
compensate the Tribe and take any other necessary
actions in order to carry out this Act.
Section 4--Definitions
This section sets forth the definitions of ``Community'',
``County'', ``Reservation'', ``Reservation Canal Lands'',
``Reservation Swamp Lands'', ``Secretary'', and ``State'' that
are used in this Act.
Section 5--Payments
Section 5(a) directs the Secretary to transfer $33,900,000
to the Tribe, as soon as practicable, after the funds are
authorized to be appropriated and made available.
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 funds received in this
subsection 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 2026 and the funds are to remain available under
expended.
Section 6--Extinguishment of claims
Section 6(a) extinguishes all of the Tribes' claims to
lands owned by persons or entities other than KBIC that were
transferred under the Swamp Lands Act and the Canal Lands Act,
in exchange for compensation provided by this Act and becomes
effective on the date on which the Tribe receives such payment
pursuant to section 5(a).
Section 6(b) clears title of all pre-existing Tribal rights
to lands of current owners to the 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:
(1) the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for
the benefit of the Tribe for gaming purposes, or (2) the Tribe
to use funds received in this Act to acquire land for gaming
purposes.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
S. 642 would authorize the appropriation of $34 million in
fiscal year 2026 for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community as
compensation for the loss of land 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 2026.
S. 642 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 ($103 million in 2025, 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
that would be incurred in carrying out the bill. The Committee
believes that S. 642, as reported, will have minimal impact on
regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE TESTIMONY AND COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the U.S. Department of the
Interior from the May 3, 2023, hearing on S. 195 follows:
Statement of Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs,
U.S. Department of the Interior
s. 195, keweenaw bay indian community land claim settlement act of 2023
Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski, and members of
the Committee. My name is Bryan Newland, and I am the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the
Interior (Department).
Thank you for the opportunity to present the Department's
views on S. 195, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim
Settlement Act of 2023, S. 382, Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land
into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023, and S. __, Unlocking
Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic
Developments Act of 2023.
S. 195 would settle the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's
(KBIC) claims to certain lands within the exterior boundaries
of the L'Anse Indian Reservation in Michigan. Specifically, the
bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to
provide monetary compensation to the KBIC for certain lands
while extinguishing any claims by the KBIC to those lands to
provide title certainty to current owners. The bill's findings
and purpose sections provide key details on the claims by the
KBIC and process by which the lands were transferred.
As detailed in the finding section of S. 195, the KBIC was
wrongfully dispossessed of lands reserved in the 1842 Treaty of
La Pointe and 1854 Treaty of La Pointe that were subsequently
conveyed to the State of Michigan under the Swamp Land Act of
1850 and the Canal Land Act of 1852. The KBIC lost 2,743 acres
of land under the Swamp Land Act and between 1,333.25 to 2,720
acres of land under the Canal Land Act. The loss of this land
has negatively impacted the ability of KBIC to exercise
cultural, religious, and subsistence rights on the land as well
as prevented economic growth.
S. 195 authorizes the appropriation of $33.9 million to the
Secretary to transfer to the KBIC as compensation for the loss
of the lands under the Swamp Land Act of 1850 and the Canal
Land Act of 1852. The funds may be used by the KBIC for any
lawful purpose including governmental services, economic
development, natural resources protection, and land
acquisition, but restricts the funds from being used to acquire
land for gaming purposes.
The bill reflects the Department's understanding that the
KBIC does not wish to reassert authority over the lands. S. 195
specifies that when the KBIC receives the monetary
compensation, all claims by the KBIC to the lands lost under
the Swamp Land Act of 1850 and the Canal Land Act of 1852 are
extinguished and the title of current owners of those lands are
cleared of all preexisting rights held by the KBIC or any KBIC
members.
The Department applauds the Tribe's cooperative approach
toward a meaningful resolution to their claims and supports S.
195.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In accordance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered
reported.
[all]