II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 199 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Ms. SMITH (for herself and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE RESERVATION RES7 TORATION. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Federal land described in subsection 

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

3 Band of Ojibwe during a period— 

4 (A) beginning in 1948; 

5 (B) during which the Bureau of Indian Af6 fairs incorrectly interpreted an order of the Sec7 retary of the Interior to mean that the Depart8 ment of the Interior had the authority to sell 

9 tribal allotments without the consent of a ma10 jority of the rightful landowners; and 

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

12 the Interior was— 

13 (i) advised that sales described in sub14 paragraph (B) were illegal; and 

15 (ii) ordered to cease conducting those 

16 sales; 

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

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

19 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Leech Lake Band 

20 of Ojibwe hold the smallest percentage of its original 

21 reservation lands of any Ojibwe bands in Minnesota; 

22 (3)(A) the applicable statute of limitations pro23 hibits individuals from pursuing through litigation 

24 the return of the land taken as described in para25 graph (1); but 


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

2 be restored to the affected individuals through the 

3 legislative process; 

4 (4) a comprehensive review of the Federal land 

5 demonstrated that— 

6 (A) a portion of the Federal land is en7 cumbered by— 

8 (i) utility easements; 

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

10 (iii) flowage and reservoir rights; and 

11 (B) there are no known cabins, camp12 grounds, lodges, or resorts located on any por13 tion of the Federal land; and 

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

15 land, the Tribe— 

16 (A) has pledged to respect the easements, 

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

18 paragraph (4)(A); and 

19 (B)(i) does not intend immediately to mod20 ify the use of the Federal land; but 

21 (ii) will keep the Federal land in tax-ex22 empt fee status as part of the Chippewa Na23 tional Forest until the Tribe develops a plan 

24 that allows for a gradual subdivision of some 


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1 tracts for economic and residential development 

2 by the Tribe. 

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) FEDERAL LAND.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

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

7 Federal land located in the Chippewa National 

8 Forest in Cass County, Minnesota, the bound9 aries of which shall be depicted on the map, 

10 and described in the legal description, sub11 mitted under subsection (d)(1)(B). 

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

13 land’’ includes— 

14 (i) any improvement located on the 

15 Federal land described in subparagraph 

16 (A); and 

17 (ii) any appurtenance to the Federal 

18 land. 

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

20 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

22 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. 

23 (c) TRANSFER TO RESERVATION.— 

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

25 rights and paragraph (2), the Secretary shall transVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S199.IS S199

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1 fer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary 

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

3 United States in and to the Federal land. 

4 (2) TREATMENT.—Effective immediately on the 

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

6 be— 

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

8 the benefit of the Tribe; and 

9 (B) considered to be a part of the reserva10 tion of the Tribe. 

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

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

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

14 of enactment of this Act, complete a plan of 

15 survey to establish the boundaries of the Fed16 eral land; and 

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

18 enactment of this Act, submit a map and legal 

19 description of the Federal land to— 

20 (i) the Committee on Natural Re21 sources of the House of Representatives; 

22 and 

23 (ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs 

24 of the Senate. 


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

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

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

4 Act, except that the Secretary may correct any cler5 ical or typographical error in the map or legal de6 scription. 

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

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

9 be on file and available for public inspection in the 

10 office of the Secretary. 

11 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex13 pressly provided in this section, nothing in this sec14 tion affects any right or claim of the Tribe, as in ex15 istence on the date of enactment of this Act, to any 

16 land or interest in land. 

17 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 

18 (A) EXPORTS OF UNPROCESSED LOGS.— 

19 Federal law (including regulations) relating to 

20 the export of unprocessed logs harvested from 

21 Federal land shall apply to any unprocessed 

22 logs that are harvested from the Federal land. 

23 (B) NON-PERMISSIBLE USE OF LAND.— 

24 The Federal land shall not be eligible or used 

25 for any gaming activity carried out under the 


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

2 2701 et seq.). 

3 (3) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—Any commercial 

4 forestry activity carried out on the Federal land 

5 shall be managed in accordance with applicable Fed6 eral law. 

Æ 


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