I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2793

To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the 

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2003

Mr. DINGELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land 

claims of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. ACCEPTANCE OF ALTERNATIVE LANDS AND EX4 TINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act, the 

6 following definitions apply: 

7 (1) ALTERNATIVE LANDS.—The term ‘‘alter8 native lands’’ means those lands located in Otsego 

9 County, Michigan, and the city of Romulus, Michi-
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1 gan, and identified as alternative lands in the Settle2 ment of Land Claim. 

3 (2) CHARLOTTE BEACH LANDS.—The term 

4 ‘‘Charlotte Beach lands’’ means those lands in the 

5 Charlotte Beach area of Michigan and described as 

6 follows: Government Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Section 

7 7, T45N, R2E, and Lot 1 of Section 18, T45N, 

8 R2E, Chippewa County, State of Michigan 

9 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 (4) SETTLEMENT OF LAND CLAIM.—The term 

12 ‘‘Settlement of Land Claim’’ means the agreement 

13 between the Tribe and the Governor of the State of 

14 Michigan executed on December 30, 2002, and filed 

15 with the Office of Secretary of State of the State of 

16 Michigan. 

17 (5) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Sault 

18 Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a federally 

19 recognized Indian tribe. 

20 (b) LAND INTO TRUST; PART OF RESERVATION.—

21 (1) LAND INTO TRUST.—The Secretary shall 

22 take the alternative lands into trust for the benefit 

23 of the Tribe within 30 days of receiving a title insur24 ance policy for the alternative lands which shows 

25 that the alternative lands are not subject to mort-
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1 gages, liens, deeds of trust, options to purchase, or 

2 other security interests. 

3 (2) PART OF RESERVATION.—The alternative 

4 lands shall become part of the Tribe’s reservation 

5 immediately upon attaining trust status. 

6 (c) GAMING.—The alternative lands shall be taken 

7 into trust as provided in this section as part of the settle8 ment and extinguishment of the Tribe’s Charlotte Beach 

9 land claims, and so shall be deemed lands obtained in set10 tlement of a land claim within the meaning of section 

11 20(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

12 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)(i)). 

13 (d) EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS.—Upon the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, any and all claims by the Tribe 

15 to the Charlotte Beach lands or against the United States, 

16 the State of Michigan or any subdivision thereof, the Gov17 ernor of the State of Michigan, or any other person or 

18 entity by the Tribe based on or relating to claims to the 

19 Charlotte Beach lands (including without limitation, 

20 claims for trespass damages, use, or occupancy), whether 

21 based on aboriginal or recognized title, are hereby extin22 guished. The extinguishment of these claims is in consid23 eration for the benefits to the Tribe under this Act. 

24 (e) EFFECTUATION AND RATIFICATION OF AGREE25 MENT.—
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1 (1) RATIFICATION.—The United States ap2 proves and ratifies the Settlement of Land Claim. 

3 (2) NOT PRECEDENT.—The provisions con4 tained in the Settlement of Land Claim are unique 

5 and shall not be considered precedent for any future 

6 agreement between any Indian tribe and State. 

7 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Settlement of Land 

8 Claim shall be enforceable by either the Tribe or the 

9 Governor according to its terms. Exclusive jurisdic10 tion over any enforcement action is vested in the 

11 United States District Court for the Eastern Dis12 trict of Michigan.

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