II 

Calendar No. 33 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 199 

[Report No. 116–3] 

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 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Reported by Mr. HOEVEN, without amendment 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE RESERVATION RES2 TORATION. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

4 (1) the Federal land described in subsection 

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

6 Band of Ojibwe during a period— 

7 (A) beginning in 1948; 

8 (B) during which the Bureau of Indian Af9 fairs incorrectly interpreted an order of the Sec10 retary of the Interior to mean that the Depart11 ment of the Interior had the authority to sell 

12 tribal allotments without the consent of a ma13 jority of the rightful landowners; and 

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

15 the Interior was— 

16 (i) advised that sales described in sub17 paragraph (B) were illegal; and 

18 (ii) ordered to cease conducting those 

19 sales; 

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

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

22 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Leech Lake Band 

23 of Ojibwe hold the smallest percentage of its original 

24 reservation lands of any Ojibwe bands in Minnesota; 

25 (3)(A) the applicable statute of limitations pro26 hibits individuals from pursuing through litigation 


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1 the return of the land taken as described in para2 graph (1); but 

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

4 be restored to the affected individuals through the 

5 legislative process; 

6 (4) a comprehensive review of the Federal land 

7 demonstrated that— 

8 (A) a portion of the Federal land is en9 cumbered by— 

10 (i) utility easements; 

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

12 (iii) flowage and reservoir rights; and 

13 (B) there are no known cabins, camp14 grounds, lodges, or resorts located on any por15 tion of the Federal land; and 

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

17 land, the Tribe— 

18 (A) has pledged to respect the easements, 

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

20 paragraph (4)(A); and 

21 (B)(i) does not intend immediately to mod22 ify the use of the Federal land; but 

23 (ii) will keep the Federal land in tax-ex24 empt fee status as part of the Chippewa Na25 tional Forest until the Tribe develops a plan 


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1 that allows for a gradual subdivision of some 

2 tracts for economic and residential development 

3 by the Tribe. 

4 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) FEDERAL LAND.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

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

8 Federal land located in the Chippewa National 

9 Forest in Cass County, Minnesota, the bound10 aries of which shall be depicted on the map, 

11 and described in the legal description, sub12 mitted under subsection (d)(1)(B). 

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

14 land’’ includes— 

15 (i) any improvement located on the 

16 Federal land described in subparagraph 

17 (A); and 

18 (ii) any appurtenance to the Federal 

19 land. 

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

21 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

23 Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. 

24 (c) TRANSFER TO RESERVATION.— 


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

2 rights and paragraph (2), the Secretary shall trans3 fer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary 

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

5 United States in and to the Federal land. 

6 (2) TREATMENT.—Effective immediately on the 

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

8 be— 

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

10 the benefit of the Tribe; and 

11 (B) considered to be a part of the reserva12 tion of the Tribe. 

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

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

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

16 of enactment of this Act, complete a plan of 

17 survey to establish the boundaries of the Fed18 eral land; and 

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

20 enactment of this Act, submit a map and legal 

21 description of the Federal land to— 

22 (i) the Committee on Natural Re23 sources of the House of Representatives; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) the Committee on Indian Affairs 

2 of the Senate. 

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

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

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

6 Act, except that the Secretary may correct any cler7 ical or typographical error in the map or legal de8 scription. 

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

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

11 be on file and available for public inspection in the 

12 office of the Secretary. 

13 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise ex15 pressly provided in this section, nothing in this sec16 tion affects any right or claim of the Tribe, as in ex17 istence on the date of enactment of this Act, to any 

18 land or interest in land. 

19 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 

20 (A) EXPORTS OF UNPROCESSED LOGS.— 

21 Federal law (including regulations) relating to 

22 the export of unprocessed logs harvested from 

23 Federal land shall apply to any unprocessed 

24 logs that are harvested from the Federal land. 


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1 (B) NON-PERMISSIBLE USE OF LAND.— 

2 The Federal land shall not be eligible or used 

3 for any gaming activity carried out under the 

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

5 2701 et seq.). 

6 (3) FOREST MANAGEMENT.—Any commercial 

7 forestry activity carried out on the Federal land 

8 shall be managed in accordance with applicable Fed9 eral law. 


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Calendar No. 33 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 199 

[Report No. 116–3] 

A BILL 

To provide for the transfer of certain Federal land 

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. in the State of Minnesota for the benefit of the 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Reported without amendment 


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