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

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3144 To provide for the settlement of claims relating to the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation in Illinois, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 9, 2023 Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois (for himself, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. MANN, and Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 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\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3144 IH 320) (commonly known as the ‘‘Second Treaty of 1 Prairie du Chien’’), the Potawatomi and other af- 2 fected Indian Tribes ceded certain land in northern 3 Illinois, except for 2 parcels totaling 1,280 acres for 4 Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay and his Band at 5 their village near Paw Paw Grove, Illinois; 6 (2)(A) pursuant to the Treaty of September 26, 7 1833, made at Chicago (7 Stat. 431) (commonly 8 known as the ‘‘Treaty of Chicago’’), the Potawatomi 9 and other Indians ceded approximately 5,000,000 10 acres of land, including the Shab-eh-nay Band Res- 11 ervation; but 12 (B) the Senate rejected the provision that ceded 13 that reservation, with the effect of affirming the In- 14 dian-held title and boundaries of the Shab-eh-nay 15 Band Reservation; 16 (3)(A) in 1849, while Chief Shab-eh-nay was 17 visiting his relatives in Kansas, the Commissioner of 18 the General Land Office of the United States sold 19 the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation at public auction 20 to non-Indians who erroneously believed that they 21 had acquired good title to the land on which the 22 Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation is located; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3144 IH (B) the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation is ille- 1 gally occupied as of the date of the enactment of 2 this Act; 3 (4) the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation con- 4 tinues to exist; 5 (5) there is no evidence that Chief Shab-eh-nay 6 and his band abandoned the Shab-eh-nay Band Res- 7 ervation which, even if true, could not be the basis 8 for extinguishing the treaty-recognized Indian title 9 to the Reservation; 10 (6) the Shab-eh-nay Band held recognized title 11 to the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 12 (7) Congress has never acted by treaty or stat- 13 ute to extinguish the recognized Indian title to the 14 Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 15 (8) the Tribe is the successor in interest to 16 Chief Shab-eh-nay’s Band and the rightful owner 17 and occupant of the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 18 (9) the United States continues to bear a trust 19 responsibility to the Tribe for the Shab-eh-nay Band 20 Reservation; 21 (10) the Tribe pursued a claim against the 22 United States under the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to cre- 23 ate an Indian Claims Commission, to provide for the 24 powers, duties, and functions thereof, and for other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3144 IH purposes’’, approved August 13, 1946 (commonly 1 known as the ‘‘Indian Claims Commission Act’’) and 2 was paid for the loss of certain lands in northern Il- 3 linois, but the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation was 4 specifically excluded by the Commission from the 5 lands for which it awarded additional compensation; 6 (11) the Federal Government, through the ac- 7 tions of the General Land Office, has deprived the 8 Tribe of the right of exclusive use and occupancy of 9 the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation without legal au- 10 thorization or just compensation; 11 (12) certain non-Indian individuals, entities, 12 and local governments occupying land within the 13 boundaries of the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation as 14 of the date of the enactment of this Act, including 15 the State and the County— 16 (A) acquired ownership interests to the 17 land in good faith; and 18 (B) should be able to possess clear title to 19 the land; and 20 (13) the United States has a moral and legal 21 responsibility— 22 (A) to help secure a fair and equitable set- 23 tlement of past inequities to the Tribe; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3144 IH (B) to ensure protection of the ownership 1 interests of non-Indian occupants of the Shab- 2 eh-nay Band Reservation. 3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 4 (1) to acknowledge the unlawful sale by the 5 Federal Government of the valuable right held by 6 the Tribe to the exclusive use and occupancy of the 7 Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation; 8 (2) to reaffirm Federal recognition of the own- 9 ership by the Tribe of, and jurisdiction over, land 10 that the Tribe owns within the Shab-eh-nay Band 11 Reservation; 12 (3) to promote the economic self-sufficiency of 13 the Tribe and the members of the Tribe; 14 (4) to extinguish the Indian title to, and con- 15 firm the ownership by the State, the County, and 16 certain individuals and entities of, certain land with- 17 in the boundaries of the Shab-eh-nay Band Reserva- 18 tion; 19 (5) to provide stability and security to the State 20 and residents of the State, the local governments 21 and the areas over which the local governments exer- 22 cise jurisdiction, and businesses regarding the own- 23 ership and use by the Tribe of the Reaffirmed Res- 24 ervation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3144 IH (6) to extinguish potential claims by the Tribe 1 against the United States, the State, the local gov- 2 ernments, and private individuals and entities that 3 could be a direct consequence of not reaching a set- 4 tlement with the Tribe; 5 (7) to require the Secretary to preserve and 6 protect, but not manage, the Reaffirmed Reservation 7 in furtherance of the trust responsibility of the Fed- 8 eral Government; and 9 (8) to authorize the Secretary— 10 (A) to execute the waiver and release of 11 claims and compensate the Tribe; and 12 (B) to take any other action necessary to 13 carry out this Act. 14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this Act: 16 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 17 Dekalb County in the State. 18 (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local 19 government’’ means any unit of local government 20 that exercises authority over land located within the 21 Reservation as of the date of the enactment of this 22 Act. 23 (3) REAFFIRMED RESERVATION.—The term 24 ‘‘Reaffirmed Reservation’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3144 IH (A) the Reservation; and 1 (B) any land located within the Replace- 2 ment Area that is held in trust after being 3 taken into trust by the Secretary of the Interior 4 for the benefit of the Tribe after the date of the 5 enactment of this Act. 6 (4) REPLACEMENT AREA.—The term ‘‘Replace- 7 ment Area’’ means the aboriginal territory of the 8 Tribe, located in the State near Shabbona, which is 9 all of the approximated land that is bounded as fol- 10 lows: 11 (A) On the north by Interstate 88. 12 (B) On the west by Interstate 39. 13 (C) On the south by State Route 30 and 14 Preserve Road. 15 (D) On the east by South 4th Street and 16 State Route 23. 17 (5) REPURCHASED LANDS.—The term ‘‘Repur- 18 chased Lands’’ means the approximately 129 acres 19 of land purchased and owned by the Tribe within 20 the Reservation as of the date of the enactment of 21 this Act. 22 (6) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 23 means the approximately 1,280 acres of land in the 24 State reserved in the treaty of July 29, 1829 (7 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3144 IH Stat. 320) and the Treaty of September 26, 1833 (7 1 STAT. 431) and described as follows: sec. 23, the 2 W\1/2\ of sec. 25, and the E\1/2\ of sec. 26 in T. 3 38 N., R. 3 E., Third Principal Meridian. 4 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of the Interior. 6 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 7 of Illinois. 8 (9) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Prai- 9 rie Band Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized 10 Indian Tribe. 11 SEC. 4. REAFFIRMATION OF SHAB-EH-NAY BAND RESERVA- 12 TION. 13 (a) REAFFIRMATION OF RESERVATION STATUS.— 14 The Repurchased Lands is reaffirmed as Indian Country 15 (as that term is defined in section 1151 of title 18, United 16 States Code). 17 (b) TRANSFER OF LANDS INTO TRUST.—If, not later 18 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 19 the Tribe transfers title to any or all of the Repurchased 20 Lands to the United States, the Secretary, not later than 21 180 days after such transfer, shall take the transferred 22 land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 23 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—Repurchased Lands trans- 24 ferred under subsection (b) shall be part of the Reaffirmed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3144 IH Reservation and administered in accordance with the laws 1 and regulations generally applicable to land held in trust 2 by the United States for an Indian tribe. 3 SEC. 5. EXTINGUISHMENT OF INDIAN TITLE; CONFIRMA- 4 TION OF LAND OWNERSHIP. 5 (a) EXTINGUISHMENT OF INDIAN TITLE.—The 6 Tribe’s Indian title to all lands within the exterior bound- 7 aries of the reservation as of the date of enactment of this 8 Act, except for the Repurchased Lands, is extinguished. 9 (b) CONFIRMATION OF LAND OWNERSHIP.—Title to 10 lands and interests in lands within the exterior boundaries 11 of the Reservation held by the State, the local govern- 12 ments, or any individual or entity on November 5, 1849, 13 is recognized and confirmed. 14 SEC. 6. WAIVER AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS. 15 (a) CLAIMS AGAINST UNITED STATES, STATE, 16 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND OTHER PARTIES.—The 17 Tribe and the Secretary shall execute appropriate docu- 18 ments providing for the relinquishment by the Tribe of 19 all claims against— 20 (1) the United States for a breach of the trust 21 responsibility associated with any sale of any portion 22 of the Reservation; and 23 (2) the State, the local governments, and any 24 individuals or entities occupying the Reservation for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3144 IH any trespass and related damages in connection with 1 the occupation and use of the Reservation during 2 the period beginning on November 5, 1849, and end- 3 ing on the effective date described in subsection (b). 4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The relinquishment of 5 claims under subsection (a) shall take effect on the later 6 of— 7 (1) the date on which the Tribe receives pay- 8 ment of all of the settlement funds under section 7; 9 and 10 (2) the date on which the Secretary publishes in 11 the Federal Register a notice that the documents de- 12 scribed in subsection (a) have been executed by the 13 Secretary and the Tribe. 14 SEC. 7. SETTLEMENT FUNDS. 15 Subject to the appropriation of funds, the Secretary 16 shall pay to the Tribe $50,000,000 over 5 years in full 17 settlement of the claims of the Tribe, to be managed, in- 18 vested, and used by the Tribe to promote economic devel- 19 opment and land acquisition, as determined by the Tribe 20 in accordance with the constitution and laws of the Tribe. 21 SEC. 8. LAND ACQUISITION; TRIBAL AUTHORITY TO ENTER 22 INTO AGREEMENTS; NO USE OF CONDEMNA- 23 TION OR EMINENT DOMAIN. 24 (a) LAND ACQUISITION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3144 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—After the date of the enact- 1 ment of this Act, the Tribe may acquire from one 2 or more willing sellers not more than a total of 3 1,151 acres of land within the exterior boundaries of 4 or abutting the Reservation, or within the exterior 5 boundaries of the Replacement Area using the settle- 6 ment funds received by the Tribe under section 7 or 7 other funds of the Tribe. 8 (2) TRANSFER OF ADDITIONAL LANDS INTO 9 TRUST.—At the request of the Tribe, the Secretary 10 shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe any 11 lands acquired under paragraph (1) not later than 12 180 days after the Tribe transfers title to such lands 13 to the United States. 14 (b) RECOGNITION OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT AU- 15 THORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH STATE 16 AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Tribe may enter into 17 agreements with the State and any local government re- 18 garding the Reaffirmed Reservation and activities occur- 19 ring on the Reaffirmed Reservation, including agreements 20 relating to jurisdiction, land use, and services. 21 (c) NO USE OF CONDEMNATION OR EMINENT DO- 22 MAIN.—Land or interests in land within the exterior 23 boundaries of the Reservation or the Replacement Area— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 May 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3144.IH H3144 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3144 IH (1) may not be acquired by condemnation or 1 eminent domain under this Act; and 2 (2) shall be acquired only by purchase with pay- 3 ment of fair market value. 4 (d) CULTURAL AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION OF 5 RESERVATION.—Land owned by the State and the local 6 governments located within the boundaries of the Reserva- 7 tion shall be managed to protect any human or cultural 8 remains, consistent with applicable Federal and State law 9 and subject to the consent of the Tribe. 10 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 11 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 12 retary to carry out this Act $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 13 years 2024 through 2028. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 0 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]