Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation Settlement Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1492 To provide for the settlement of claims relating to the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation in Illinois, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 9, 2023 Mr. MORAN (for himself and Mr. MARSHALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs A BILL To provide for the settlement of claims relating to the Shab- eh-nay Band Reservation in Illinois, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Prairie Band Pota- 4 watomi Nation Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation Settlement 5 Act of 2023’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 8 (1) pursuant to the Treaty of July 29, 1829, 9 made and concluded at Prairie du Chien (7 Stat. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1492 IS 320) (commonly known as the ‘‘Second Treaty of 1 Prairie du Chien’’), the Potawatomi and other af- 2 fected Indian Tribes ceded certain land in northern 3 Illinois, except for 2 parcels totaling 1,280 acres for 4 Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay and his Band at 5 their village near Paw Paw Grove, Illinois; 6 (2)(A) pursuant to the Treaty of September 26, 7 1833, made at Chicago (7 Stat. 431) (commonly 8 known as the ‘‘Treaty of Chicago’’), the Potawatomi 9 and other Indians ceded approximately 5,000,000 10 acres of land, including the Shab-eh-nay Band Res- 11 ervation; but 12 (B) the Senate rejected the provision that ceded 13 that reservation, with the effect of affirming the In- 14 dian-held title and boundaries of the Shab-eh-nay 15 Band Reservation; 16 (3)(A) in 1849, while Chief Shab-eh-nay was 17 visiting his relatives in Kansas, the Commissioner of 18 the General Land Office of the United States sold 19 the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation at public auction 20 to non-Indians who erroneously believed that they 21 had acquired good title to the land on which the 22 Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation is located; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1492 IS (B) the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation is ille- 1 gally occupied as of the date of enactment of this 2 Act; 3 (4) the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation con- 4 tinues to exist; 5 (5)(A) there is no evidence that Chief Shab-eh- 6 nay and his Band abandoned the Shab-eh-nay Band 7 Reservation; but 8 (B) even if Chief Shab-eh-nay and his band did 9 abandon the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation, that 10 abandonment could not be the basis for extin- 11 guishing the treaty-recognized Indian title to the 12 Reservation; 13 (6) the Shab-eh-nay Band held recognized title 14 to the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 15 (7) Congress has never acted by treaty or stat- 16 ute to extinguish the recognized Indian title to the 17 Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 18 (8) the Tribe is the successor in interest to 19 Chief Shab-eh-nay and his Band and the rightful 20 owner and occupant of the Shab-eh-nay Band Res- 21 ervation; 22 (9) the United States continues to bear a trust 23 responsibility to the Tribe for the Shab-eh-nay Band 24 Reservation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1492 IS (10) the Tribe pursued a claim against the 1 United States under the Act of August 13, 1946 2 (Public Law 79–726; 60 Stat. 1049) (commonly 3 known as the ‘‘Indian Claims Commission Act’’) and 4 was paid for the loss of certain land in northern Illi- 5 nois, but the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation was 6 specifically excluded by the Indian Claims Commis- 7 sion from the land for which the Commission award- 8 ed additional compensation; 9 (11) the Federal Government, through the ac- 10 tions of the General Land Office, has deprived the 11 Tribe of the right of exclusive use and occupancy of 12 the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation without legal au- 13 thorization or just compensation; 14 (12) certain non-Indian individuals, entities, 15 and local governments occupying land within the 16 boundaries of the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation as 17 of the date of enactment of this Act, including the 18 State and the County— 19 (A) acquired ownership interests to the 20 land in good faith; and 21 (B) should be able to possess clear title to 22 the land; and 23 (13) the United States has a moral and legal 24 responsibility— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1492 IS (A) to help secure a fair and equitable set- 1 tlement of past inequities to the Tribe; and 2 (B) to ensure protection of the ownership 3 interests of non-Indian occupants of the Shab- 4 eh-nay Band Reservation. 5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 6 (1) to acknowledge the unlawful sale by the 7 Federal Government of the valuable right held by 8 the Tribe to the exclusive use and occupancy of the 9 Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 10 (2) to reaffirm Federal recognition of the own- 11 ership by the Tribe of, and jurisdiction over, land 12 that the Tribe owns within the Shab-eh-nay Band 13 Reservation; 14 (3) to promote the economic self-sufficiency of 15 the Tribe and the members of the Tribe; 16 (4) to extinguish the Indian title to, and con- 17 firm the ownership by the State, the County, and 18 certain individuals and entities of, certain land with- 19 in the boundaries of the Shab-eh-nay Band Reserva- 20 tion; 21 (5) to provide stability and security to the State 22 and residents of the State, the local governments 23 and the areas over which the local governments exer- 24 cise jurisdiction, and businesses regarding the own- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1492 IS ership and use by the Tribe of the Reaffirmed Res- 1 ervation; 2 (6) to extinguish potential claims by the Tribe 3 against the United States, the State, the local gov- 4 ernments, and private individuals and entities that 5 could be a direct consequence of not reaching a set- 6 tlement with the Tribe; 7 (7) to require the Secretary to preserve and 8 protect, but not manage, the Reaffirmed Reservation 9 in furtherance of the trust responsibility of the Fed- 10 eral Government; and 11 (8) to authorize the Secretary— 12 (A) to execute the waiver and release of 13 claims and compensate the Tribe; and 14 (B) to take any other action necessary to 15 carry out this Act. 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 19 Dekalb County in the State. 20 (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local 21 government’’ means any unit of local government ex- 22 ercising authority over land located within the Res- 23 ervation as of the date of enactment of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1492 IS (3) REAFFIRMED RESERVATION.—The term 1 ‘‘Reaffirmed Reservation’’ means— 2 (A) the Reservation; and 3 (B) any land located within the Replace- 4 ment Area that is held in trust after being 5 taken into trust by the Secretary for the benefit 6 of the Tribe pursuant to section 4(b). 7 (4) REPLACEMENT AREA.—The term ‘‘Replace- 8 ment Area’’ means the aboriginal territory of the 9 Tribe, located in the State near Shabbona, which is 10 all of the land contained within the area that is 11 bounded as follows: 12 (A) On the north by Interstate 88. 13 (B) On the west by Interstate 39. 14 (C) On the south by State Route 30 and 15 Preserve Road. 16 (D) On the east by South 4th Street and 17 State Route 23. 18 (5) REPURCHASED LANDS.—The term ‘‘Repur- 19 chased Lands’’ means the approximately 129 acres 20 of land purchased and owned by the Tribe within 21 the Reservation as of the date of enactment of this 22 Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1492 IS (6) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 1 means the approximately 1,280 acres of land in the 2 State— 3 (A) reserved in the Treaty of July 29, 4 1829, made and concluded at Prairie du Chien 5 (7 Stat. 320) (commonly known as the ‘‘Second 6 Treaty of Prairie du Chien’’) and the Treaty of 7 September 26, 1833, made at Chicago (7 Stat. 8 431) (commonly known as the ‘‘Treaty of Chi- 9 cago’’); and 10 (B) described as follows: sec. 23, the W1⁄2 11 of sec. 25, and the E1⁄2 of sec. 26 in T. 38 N., 12 R. 3 E., Third Principal Meridian. 13 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of the Interior. 15 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 16 of Illinois. 17 (9) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Prai- 18 rie Band Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized 19 Indian Tribe. 20 SEC. 4. REAFFIRMATION OF SHAB-EH-NAY BAND RESERVA- 21 TION. 22 (a) REAFFIRMATION OF RESERVATION STATUS.— 23 The Repurchased Lands is reaffirmed as Indian country 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1492 IS (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States 1 Code). 2 (b) TRANSFER OF LANDS INTO TRUST.—Not later 3 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 4 if the Tribe transfers title to any or all of the Repurchased 5 Lands to the United States, the Secretary, not later than 6 180 days after the date of that transfer, shall take the 7 transferred land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 8 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Repurchased Lands 9 transferred and taken into trust under subsection (b) shall 10 be part of the Reaffirmed Reservation and administered 11 in accordance with the laws and regulations generally ap- 12 plicable to land held in trust by the United States for an 13 Indian Tribe. 14 SEC. 5. EXTINGUISHMENT OF INDIAN TITLE; CONFIRMA- 15 TION OF LAND OWNERSHIP. 16 (a) EXTINGUISHMENT OF INDIAN TITLE.—The title 17 to all land within the exterior boundaries of the Reserva- 18 tion held by the Tribe on the date of enactment of this 19 Act, except for the Repurchased Lands, is extinguished. 20 (b) CONFIRMATION OF LAND OWNERSHIP.—Title to 21 land and interests in land within the exterior boundaries 22 of the Reservation held by the State, the local govern- 23 ments, or any individual or entity on November 5, 1849, 24 is recognized and confirmed. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1492 IS SEC. 6. WAIVER AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS. 1 (a) CLAIMS AGAINST UNITED STATES, STATE, 2 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND OTHER PARTIES.—The 3 Tribe and the Secretary shall execute appropriate docu- 4 ments providing for the relinquishment by the Tribe of 5 all claims against— 6 (1) the United States for a breach of the trust 7 responsibility associated with any sale of any portion 8 of the Reservation; and 9 (2) the State, local governments, and any other 10 individual or entity occupying the Reservation for 11 any trespass and related damages in connection with 12 the occupation and use of the Reservation during 13 the period beginning on November 5, 1849, and end- 14 ing on the effective date described in subsection (b). 15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The relinquishment of 16 claims under subsection (a) shall take effect on the later 17 of— 18 (1) the date on which the Tribe receives pay- 19 ment of all of the settlement funds under section 7; 20 and 21 (2) the date on which the Secretary publishes in 22 the Federal Register a notice that the documents de- 23 scribed in subsection (a) have been executed by the 24 Secretary and the Tribe. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1492 IS SEC. 7. SETTLEMENT FUNDS. 1 Subject to the appropriation of funds, the Secretary 2 shall pay to the Tribe $50,000,000 over 5 years in full 3 settlement of the claims of the Tribe, to be managed, in- 4 vested, and used by the Tribe to promote economic devel- 5 opment and land acquisition, as determined by the Tribe 6 in accordance with the constitution and laws of the Tribe. 7 SEC. 8. LAND ACQUISITION; TRIBAL AUTHORITY TO ENTER 8 INTO AGREEMENTS; NO USE OF CONDEMNA- 9 TION OR EMINENT DOMAIN. 10 (a) LAND ACQUISITION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the date of enactment 12 of this Act, the Tribe may acquire from 1 or more 13 willing sellers not more than a total of 1,151 acres 14 of land within the exterior boundaries of or abutting 15 the Reservation or within the exterior boundaries of 16 the Replacement Area using the settlement funds re- 17 ceived by the Tribe under section 7 or other funds 18 of the Tribe. 19 (2) TRANSFER OF ADDITIONAL LANDS INTO 20 TRUST.—At the request of the Tribe, the Secretary 21 shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any 22 land acquired under paragraph (1) not later than 23 180 days after the date on which the Tribe transfers 24 title to such land to the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1492.IS S1492 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1492 IS (b) RECOGNITION OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT AU- 1 THORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH STATE 2 AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Tribe may enter into 3 agreements with the State and any local government re- 4 garding the Reaffirmed Reservation and activities occur- 5 ring on the Reaffirmed Reservation, including agreements 6 relating to jurisdiction, land use, and services. 7 (c) NO USE OF CONDEMNATION OR EMINENT DO- 8 MAIN.—Land or interests in land within the exterior 9 boundaries of the Reservation or the Replacement Area— 10 (1) may not be acquired by condemnation or 11 eminent domain under this Act; and 12 (2) shall be acquired only by purchase with pay- 13 ment of fair market value. 14 (d) CULTURAL AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION OF 15 RESERVATION.—Land owned by the State and local gov- 16 ernments located within the boundaries of the Reservation 17 shall be managed to protect any human or cultural re- 18 mains, consistent with applicable Federal and State law 19 and subject to the consent of the Tribe. 20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 21 There is authorized to be appropria [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]