Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act

IB Union Calendar No. 549 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 733 [Report No. 116–665] To provide for the transfer of certain Federal land in the State of Minnesota for the benefit of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 23, 2019 Ms. MCCOLLUM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources DECEMBER 18, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. COLE, Mr. COOK, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Mrs. TORRES of California DECEMBER 18, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 733 RH A BILL To provide for the transfer of certain Federal land in the State of Minnesota for the benefit of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 733 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leech Lake Band of 4 Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE RESERVATION RES- 6 TORATION. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 8 (1) the Federal land described in subsection 9 (b)(1) was taken from members of the Leech Lake 10 Band of Ojibwe during a period— 11 (A) beginning in 1948; 12 (B) during which the Bureau of Indian Af- 13 fairs incorrectly interpreted an order of the Sec- 14 retary of the Interior to mean that the Depart- 15 ment of the Interior had the authority to sell 16 tribal allotments without the consent of a ma- 17 jority of the rightful landowners; and 18 (C) ending in 1959, when the Secretary of 19 the Interior was— 20 (i) advised that sales described in sub- 21 paragraph (B) were illegal; and 22 (ii) ordered to cease conducting those 23 sales; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 733 RH (2) as a result of the Federal land described in 1 subsection (b)(1) being taken from members of the 2 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Leech Lake Band 3 of Ojibwe hold the smallest percentage of its original 4 reservation lands of any Ojibwe bands in Minnesota; 5 (3)(A) the applicable statute of limitations pro- 6 hibits individuals from pursuing through litigation 7 the return of the land taken as described in para- 8 graph (1); but 9 (B) a Federal judge ruled that the land could 10 be restored to the affected individuals through the 11 legislative process; 12 (4) a comprehensive review of the Federal land 13 demonstrated that— 14 (A) a portion of the Federal land is en- 15 cumbered by— 16 (i) utility easements; 17 (ii) rights-of-way for roads; and 18 (iii) flowage and reservoir rights; and 19 (B) there are no known cabins, camp- 20 grounds, lodges, or resorts located on any por- 21 tion of the Federal land; and 22 (5) on reacquisition by the Tribe of the Federal 23 land, the Tribe— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 733 RH (A) has pledged to respect the easements, 1 rights-of-way, and other rights described in 2 paragraph (4)(A); and 3 (B)(i) does not intend immediately to mod- 4 ify the use of the Federal land; but 5 (ii) will keep the Federal land in tax-ex- 6 empt fee status as part of the Chippewa Na- 7 tional Forest until the Tribe develops a plan 8 that allows for a gradual subdivision of some 9 tracts for economic and residential development 10 by the Tribe. 11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) FEDERAL LAND.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 14 land’’ means the approximately 11,760 acres of 15 Federal land located in the Chippewa National 16 Forest in Cass County, Minnesota, the bound- 17 aries of which shall be depicted on the map, 18 and described in the legal description, sub- 19 mitted under subsection (d)(1)(B). 20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal 21 land’’ includes— 22 (i) any improvement located on the 23 Federal land described in subparagraph 24 (A); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 733 RH (ii) any appurtenance to the Federal 1 land. 2 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Agriculture. 4 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 5 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. 6 (c) TRANSFER TO RESERVATION.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 8 rights and paragraph (2), the Secretary shall trans- 9 fer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary 10 of the Interior all right, title, and interest of the 11 United States in and to the Federal land. 12 (2) TREATMENT.—Effective immediately on the 13 transfer under paragraph (1), the Federal land shall 14 be— 15 (A) held in trust by the United States for 16 the benefit of the Tribe; and 17 (B) considered to be a part of the reserva- 18 tion of the Tribe. 19 (d) SURVEY, MAP, AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 21 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 22 of enactment of this Act, complete a plan of 23 survey to establish the boundaries of the Fed- 24 eral land; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 733 RH (B) as soon as practicable after the date of 1 enactment of this Act, submit a map and legal 2 description of the Federal land to— 3 (i) the Committee on Natural Re- 4 sources of the House of Representatives; 5 and 6 (ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs 7 of the Senate. 8 (2) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The map and legal 9 description submitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall 10 have the same force and effect as if included in this 11 Act, except that the Secretary may correct any cler- 12 ical or typographical error in the map or legal de- 13 scription. 14 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal 15 description submitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall 16 be on file and available for public inspection in the 17 office of the Secretary. 18 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex- 20 pressly provided in this section, nothing in this sec- 21 tion affects any right or claim of the Tribe, as in ex- 22 istence on the date of enactment of this Act, to any 23 land or interest in land. 24 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 733 RH (A) EXPORTS OF UNPROCESSED LOGS.— 1 Federal law (including regulations) relating to 2 the export of unprocessed logs harvested from 3 Federal land shall apply to any unprocessed 4 logs that are harvested from the Federal land. 5 (B) NON-PERMISSIBLE USE OF LAND.— 6 The Federal land shall not be eligible or used 7 for any gaming activity carried out under the 8 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 9 2701 et seq.). 10 (3) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—Any commercial 11 forestry activity carried out on the Federal land 12 shall be managed in accordance with applicable Fed- 13 eral law. 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 549 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 733 [Report No. 116–665] A BILL To provide for the transfer of certain Federal land in the State of Minnesota for the benefit of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. DECEMBER 18, 2020 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:28 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H733.RH H733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS