Biden administration supports bill to resolve U.P. tribe's land claim

Washington ― The Biden administration supports legislation introduced by Michigan lawmakers that would compensate a Native American tribe in the Upper Peninsula for the federal government’s unlawful taking of thousands of acres of their reservation land in Baraga County dating back generations.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland testified Wednesday at a Senate hearing that the Department of the Interior endorses the bill and applauds the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), an Ojibwe nation, for its "cooperative approach."

"The community was wrongfully dispossessed of lands reserved in the 1842 and 1854 Treaties of La Pointe, and those lands were later conveyed to the state of Michigan," said Newland, a former tribal president of the Bay Mills Indian Community in the U.P. "The department supports this legislation."

He noted the tribe may use the $33.9 million in funds authorized under the bill for any lawful purpose but to acquire lands for gaming. The legislation would also extinguish the tribe's claims to the lands ― roughly 4,000 to nearly 5,500 acres of its L’Anse Indian Reservation ― and clear the title for current landowners of the tribe's claims. The takings occurred between 1855 and 1937.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that his "long overdue" legislation would "right a historical wrong" by authorizing federal funds through the U.S. Department of Interior. U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, has introduced identical legislation in the House.

"The tribe has worked diligently and in good faith with me and with the rest of the Michigan congressional delegation, as well as the state of Michigan, their local neighbors and others to find a resolution to this issue," Peters said.

U.P. tribe seeks compensation after feds took reservation land generations ago

Such legislation is relatively uncommon, in part because many tribes opt to pursue their land claims in court. But tribal leaders at KBIC said they didn’t want the matter to become contentious because those who now own the land purchased it in good faith and aren’t the ones who wronged the tribe so long ago.

"This bill is a testament to how working in the spirit of collaboration can lead to positive results," Doreen Blaker, president of the Keweenaw Bay Tribal Council, said during Wednesday's testimony.

"Our Tribal Council sought to advance these claims and the justice our tribe is due through non-adversarial means, so that we can maintain harmony with our neighbors."

She noted their effort has garnered the support of local governments near the reservation including the Village of L’Anse, which lies partially in the reservation, and the Baraga County Board of Commissioners, as well as that of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Tribal Assistant Secretary R.D. Curtis and Councilman Rodney Loonsfoot both joined Blaker in the hearing room.

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has about 3,500 members, 1,800 of whom live on the L’Anse Reservation that hugs the shores of Keweenaw Bay of Lake Superior about 30 miles south of Houghton.

If the tribe hadn’t lost access to the lands along the shores of Lake Superior, Blaker has said that members likely would have used it to establish homesteads, a fishery or to seed wild rice, which is a staple of their diet. She also sees lost opportunities for economic development over the years.

The bill text acknowledges the loss of the reservation lands without compensation hurt the development of the tribe’s economy; caused a “harmful disconnect” between the tribe and its land; and impeded the exercise of cultural, religious and subsistence rights.

The tribe's attorney has said the $33.9 million figure was calculated with the help of an economics consulting firm in Boston that examined in part the fair market value of the land at the time it was taken and accounted for interest, as well as adding back the value of some land that the tribe managed to purchase back over time, about $1.5 million worth.

Committee Chairman Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asked Blaker how important the bill is in relation to clarifying the "cloud" on the title for current owners of the land that was taken.

"We've done our best to work with the local units of government, so that property owners wouldn't have to worry about that ― that working government to government will take care of this problem," Blaker responded. "So that when the bill gets passed, the cloud will be lifted."

mburke@detroitnews.com