IC 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 199 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2019 

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

AN ACT 

To provide for the transfer of certain Federal land in the 

State of Minnesota for the benefit of the Leech Lake 

Band of Ojibwe. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leech Lake Band of 

3 Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE RESERVATION RES5 TORATION. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

7 (1) the Federal land described in subsection 

8 (b)(1) was taken from members of the Leech Lake 

9 Band of Ojibwe during a period— 

10 (A) beginning in 1948; 

11 (B) during which the Bureau of Indian Af12 fairs incorrectly interpreted an order of the Sec13 retary of the Interior to mean that the Depart14 ment of the Interior had the authority to sell 

15 tribal allotments without the consent of a ma16 jority of the rightful landowners; and 

17 (C) ending in 1959, when the Secretary of 

18 the Interior was— 

19 (i) advised that sales described in sub20 paragraph (B) were illegal; and 

21 (ii) ordered to cease conducting those 

22 sales; 

23 (2) as a result of the Federal land described in 

24 subsection (b)(1) being taken from members of the 

25 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Leech Lake Band 


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1 of Ojibwe hold the smallest percentage of its original 

2 reservation lands of any Ojibwe bands in Minnesota; 

3 (3)(A) the applicable statute of limitations pro4 hibits individuals from pursuing through litigation 

5 the return of the land taken as described in para6 graph (1); but 

7 (B) a Federal judge ruled that the land could 

8 be restored to the affected individuals through the 

9 legislative process; 

10 (4) a comprehensive review of the Federal land 

11 demonstrated that— 

12 (A) a portion of the Federal land is en13 cumbered by— 

14 (i) utility easements; 

15 (ii) rights-of-way for roads; and 

16 (iii) flowage and reservoir rights; and 

17 (B) there are no known cabins, camp18 grounds, lodges, or resorts located on any por19 tion of the Federal land; and 

20 (5) on reacquisition by the Tribe of the Federal 

21 land, the Tribe— 

22 (A) has pledged to respect the easements, 

23 rights-of-way, and other rights described in 

24 paragraph (4)(A); and 


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1 (B)(i) does not intend immediately to mod2 ify the use of the Federal land; but 

3 (ii) will keep the Federal land in tax-ex4 empt fee status as part of the Chippewa Na5 tional Forest until the Tribe develops a plan 

6 that allows for a gradual subdivision of some 

7 tracts for economic and residential development 

8 by the Tribe. 

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) FEDERAL LAND.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

12 land’’ means the approximately 11,760 acres of 

13 Federal land located in the Chippewa National 

14 Forest in Cass County, Minnesota, the bound15 aries of which shall be depicted on the map, 

16 and described in the legal description, sub17 mitted under subsection (d)(1)(B). 

18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

19 land’’ includes— 

20 (i) any improvement located on the 

21 Federal land described in subparagraph 

22 (A); and 

23 (ii) any appurtenance to the Federal 

24 land. 


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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

3 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

4 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. 

5 (c) TRANSFER TO RESERVATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 

7 rights and paragraph (2), the Secretary shall trans8 fer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary 

9 of the Interior all right, title, and interest of the 

10 United States in and to the Federal land. 

11 (2) TREATMENT.—Effective immediately on the 

12 transfer under paragraph (1), the Federal land shall 

13 be— 

14 (A) held in trust by the United States for 

15 the benefit of the Tribe; and 

16 (B) considered to be a part of the reserva17 tion of the Tribe. 

18 (d) SURVEY, MAP, AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

20 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, complete a plan of 

22 survey to establish the boundaries of the Fed23 eral land; and 


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1 (B) as soon as practicable after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, submit a map and legal 

3 description of the Federal land to— 

4 (i) the Committee on Natural Re5 sources of the House of Representatives; 

6 and 

7 (ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs 

8 of the Senate. 

9 (2) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The map and legal 

10 description submitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

11 have the same force and effect as if included in this 

12 Act, except that the Secretary may correct any cler13 ical or typographical error in the map or legal de14 scription. 

15 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal 

16 description submitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

17 be on file and available for public inspection in the 

18 office of the Secretary. 

19 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex21 pressly provided in this section, nothing in this sec22 tion affects any right or claim of the Tribe, as in ex23 istence on the date of enactment of this Act, to any 

24 land or interest in land. 

25 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 


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1 (A) EXPORTS OF UNPROCESSED LOGS.— 

2 Federal law (including regulations) relating to 

3 the export of unprocessed logs harvested from 

4 Federal land shall apply to any unprocessed 

5 logs that are harvested from the Federal land. 

6 (B) NON-PERMISSIBLE USE OF LAND.— 

7 The Federal land shall not be eligible or used 

8 for any gaming activity carried out under the 

9 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 

10 2701 et seq.). 

11 (3) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—Any commercial 

12 forestry activity carried out on the Federal land 

13 shall be managed in accordance with applicable Fed14 eral law. 

Passed the Senate June 27, 2019. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


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