[Senate Report 118-129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 272
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-129
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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.
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\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.
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\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.
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\4\Aug. 26, 1852, ch. 92, 10 Stat. 35.
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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.
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\5\Letter from Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland to KBIC President
Warren Swartz, Jr. (December 10, 2021) (on file with Committee).
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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]