I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1575 

To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Burt Lake Band 

as a distinct federally recognized Indian Tribe, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2007 

Mr. STUPAK (for himself and Mr. KILDEE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Burt 

Lake Band as a distinct federally recognized Indian 

Tribe, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Burt Lake Band of 

5 Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Reaffirmation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The members of the Burt Lake Band of Ot9 tawa and Chippewa Indians, whose historic name is 

10 the Cheboigan (or Cheboygan) Band, are descendVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:29 Mar 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1575.IH H1575

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1 ants and political successors to signatories of the 

2 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of 

3 Detroit. The Band was twice recognized by the 

4 United States, on a government-to-government rela5 tionship basis, through the execution and ratification 

6 of those treaties. 

7 (2) The 1836 Treaty of Washington provided 

8 that the Cheboigan Band would receive a reservation 

9 of 1,000 acres on the Cheboigan, within its aborigi10 nal territory, but the United States failed to provide 

11 that reservation. The 1855 Treaty of Detroit pro12 vided for the withdrawal of unsold lands in 2 Michi13 gan townships 35 North and 36 North Range 3 

14 West for the use of the Cheboygan Band, but due 

15 to the Federal Government’s failure to act, those 

16 members who selected allotments within that area 

17 were not awarded those individual land holdings 

18 until 3 years after a special Act of Congress was 

19 passed in 1872. 

20 (3) Between 1845 and 1850 the Band’s mem21 bers used treaty annuity payments to purchase land 

22 for the Band in Burt Township, Cheboygan County, 

23 Michigan. That land, called Colonial Point, was 

24 placed in trust with the Governor of Michigan on the 

25 advice of Federal Indian agents. 


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1 (4) During the next 50 years, questions arose 

2 regarding the taxability of the property, and the 

3 acreage was ultimately sold for back taxes in 1900. 

4 (5) After the Band was forcibly evicted from 

5 Colonial Point and its village was burned to the 

6 ground by its new owner, John McGinn, the major7 ity of the Band’s families took up residency on near8 by Indian Road on lands which other Band members 

9 had purchased or received as treaty allotments or 

10 homesteads. 

11 (6) In 1911, the United States filed suit in the 

12 United States Federal District Court for Eastern 

13 Michigan seeking to regain possession of the Colo14 nial Point Lands (United States v. McGinn, Equity 

15 No. 94, filed June 11, 1911). In its complaint, the 

16 United States advised the Court that it was suing on 

17 behalf of the ‘‘Cheboygan band of Indians [which] is 

18 now and was at all the times mentioned in this bill 

19 of complaint a tribe of indians [sic] under the care, 

20 control, and guardianship of the plaintiff and said 

21 band is now and was at all times mentioned in this 

22 bill of complaint recognized by the plaintiff through 

23 its chiefs or head men which it annually elects.’’. 

24 (7) In 1917, the Federal District Court decided 

25 the McGinn case against the United States finding 


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1 that the language in the Colonial Point deeds did 

2 not prevent the Colonial Point land from being 

3 taxed. 

4 (8) Over the next 20 years, members of the 

5 Band asked the United States to appeal or otherwise 

6 rectify the District Court’s decision, but no Federal 

7 action was taken. Throughout this period, the 

8 United States continued to provide the Band and its 

9 members with many of the same Federal services 

10 that were being provided to other Indian tribes in 

11 Michigan. 

12 (9) The Act of June 18, 1934 (hereafter in this 

13 Act referred to as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), 

14 authorized and directed the Bureau of Indian Af15 fairs to provide technical assistance and Federal 

16 funds to petitioning tribes to assist them in reorga17 nizing their governments and improving their econo18 mies. Members of the Cheboigan Band, as well as 

19 members of other landless treaty Tribes in Michigan, 

20 submitted petitions to receive that assistance. Simi21 lar petitions were also submitted by 4 Michigan 

22 bands that still held communal lands. Possession of 

23 a tribal land base was a prerequisite to the receipt 

24 of most of the Federal funds and services provided 

25 for in the Indian Reorganization Act. 


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1 (10) While the Indian Reorganization Act di2 rected the Secretary to assist landless bands, like 

3 Burt Lake, and authorized Federal funds to acquire 

4 land for landless tribes, no Federal funds were ap5 propriated to acquire new tribal lands for any of the 

6 landless bands in Michigan. After struggling with 

7 this dilemma, the Bureau of Indian Affairs extended 

8 the benefits of the Indian Reorganization Act to only 

9 those 4 Michigan tribes that had an existing land 

10 base on the date of the enactment of the Indian Re11 organization Act. Of the Ottawa and Chippewa 

12 Tribes who signed the 1836 and 1855 Treaties, only 

13 1 group, the Bay Mills Indian Community, was re14 affirmed. 

15 (11) The failure of the Bureau of Indian Af16 fairs to grant Indian Reorganization Act benefits to 

17 the Cheboigan Band did not terminate the band’s 

18 government-to-government relationship with the 

19 United States, and Congress has never taken any 

20 action to terminate Federal acknowledgment of the 

21 Burt Lake Band. 

22 (12) The Bureau of Indian Affairs lacked and 

23 lacks the legal authority to terminate a tribe that 

24 has been acknowledged by an Act of Congress. 


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1 (13) In recent years, the Federal recognition of 

2 the following Michigan tribes, who were also denied 

3 the benefits of the Indian Reorganization Act, has 

4 been reaffirmed: 

5 (A) The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chip6 pewa was reaffirmed by a Memorandum of the 

7 Commissioner of Indian Affairs on September 

8 7, 1972. 

9 (B) The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa 

10 and Chippewa Indians was reaffirmed by the 

11 Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Acknowl12 edgment on May 27, 1980. 

13 (C) The Little Traverse Bay Bands of 

14 Odawa Indian and the Little River Band of Ot15 tawa Indians each had its Federal status re16 affirmed by an Act of Congress on September 

17 21, 1994. 

18 (D) The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake 

19 Superior Chippewa Indians had its Federal sta20 tus reaffirmed by an Act of Congress at the re21 quest of the Administration on September 8, 

22 1988. 

23 (E) The Pokagon Indian Nation had its 

24 Federal status reaffirmed by an Act of Con25 gress on September 21, 1994. 


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1 (F) The Huron Potawatomi Nation had its 

2 Federal status reaffirmed by the Bureau of In3 dian Affairs’ Branch of Acknowledgment and 

4 Research on March 17, 1996. 

5 (G) The Gun Lake Tribe (Match-She-Be6 Nash-She-Wish) had its Federal status re7 affirmed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Of8 fice of Federal Acknowledgment on August 23, 

9 1999. 

10 (14) The Band has been consistently recognized 

11 by third parties as a distinct Indian community 

12 since well before 1900. 

13 (15) All of the Band’s adult members are the 

14 children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren of 

15 Indian persons who resided on or near Colonial 

16 Point or Indian Road prior to 1910. Most of the 

17 Band’s adult members grew up on or near Indian 

18 Road or had an immediate family member who did. 

19 As the result, the Band’s members have maintained 

20 very close social and political ties. The Band has its 

21 own, well-defined membership criteria, which re22 quires the maintenance of tribal relations. 

23 (16) The Band’s families have and continue to 

24 provide mutual aid to each other, visit each other 

25 regularly, mobilize to assist each other in times of 


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1 need, practice traditional arts and crafts, gather for 

2 Ghost Suppers, decorate the graves of their ances3 tors, and participate in other traditional tribal cere4 monies and events. 

5 (17) Since 1829 the Band’s members have at6 tended and consistently mobilized to maintain the 

7 Indian Mission Church of St. Mary’s, first on Colo8 nial Point and later on Indian Road. The Band’s 

9 members have also worked together to maintain the 

10 Tribe’s 2 Indian cemeteries. They have also dug the 

11 graves and buried their relatives in those 2 Indian 

12 cemeteries for almost 200 years. 

13 (18) The Band’s members have throughout 

14 time made formal and informal decisions for the 

15 community. The Band has also organized its own 

16 modern tribal government without the assistance of 

17 the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

18 (19) The majority of the Band’s elders have a 

19 high degree of Indian blood and continue to speak 

20 the Ottawa language when they gather with each 

21 other. Before World War II, more than 50 percent 

22 of the Burt Lake families were still speaking the tra23 ditional language in their homes, and more than 50 

24 percent of those tribal members who were married 


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1 were married to other Ottawa and Chippewa individ2 uals. 

3 (20) There is no evidence that the Band has 

4 willfully abandoned tribal relations, nor is there any 

5 evidence that the Congress has taken any legal ac6 tion to terminate its government-to-government rela7 tions with the Band. 

8 (21) Because the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

9 failed to review the Band’s petition for over 20 

10 years, a percentage of the Band’s members enrolled 

11 in other Tribes in order to obtain the Federal serv12 ices, most notably health care and prescription drug 

13 assistance, that they were legally entitled to, but de14 nied as members of Burt Lake. This step was often 

15 taken on the advice of one or more employees of the 

16 Bureau of Indian Affairs. This duel enrollment situ17 ation has now created a new problem for the Band’s 

18 reaffirmation, because the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 

19 current regulations prohibit it from recognizing a 

20 tribe when a part of the tribe’s community is or was 

21 enrolled in another federally recognized tribe. 

22 (22) In September 2006, the Bureau of Indian 

23 Affairs denied the Band’s petition for reaffirmation 

24 even though it found that the Band has been recog25 nized as a distinct tribe by scholars, local and State 


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1 officials, and other tribes from treaty to the present, 

2 and even though it found that the Burt Lake’s mem3 bers still maintain a strong and unique Indian com4 munity. In its letter denying the Band’s request for 

5 reaffirmation, under the section informing the Band 

6 of its current options, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

7 stated that ‘‘Congress may consider taking legisla8 tive action to recognize petitioners that do not meet 

9 the specific requirements of the acknowledgment 

10 regulations but may have merit.’’. 

11 (23) Because the Tribe has exhausted its ad12 ministrative remedies, and because the Bureau of 

13 Indian Affairs has found that its regulations pro14 hibit it from reaffirming the Band’s government to 

15 government relationship through its Office of Fed16 eral Acknowledgment, this legislation is both nec17 essary and appropriate. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 For purposes of this Act— 

20 (1) the term ‘‘Band’’ or ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

21 Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians 

22 which was previously called the Cheboigan or Che23 boygan Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘Burn Out’’ means the destruction 

2 of the Colonial Point Indian Village of the Burt 

3 Lake Band in 1900; 

4 (3) the term ‘‘OFA’’ means the Office of Fed5 eral Acknowledgment, a Branch of the United States 

6 Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian of Indian 

7 Affairs; and 

8 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

9 of the Interior. 

10 SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

11 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—Federal recognition of 

12 the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is 

13 hereby reaffirmed. All laws and regulations of the United 

14 States of general application to Indians or nations, tribes, 

15 or bands of Indians including the Act of June 18, 1934 

16 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq., commonly referred to as the ‘‘In17 dian Reorganization Act’’), which are inconsistent with 

18 any specific provision of this Act shall not be applicable 

19 to the Band and its members. 

20 (b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, after the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act, the Band and its members shall be eligible 

24 for all services and benefits provided by the Federal 

25 Government to Indians because of their status as 


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1 federally recognized Indians without regard to the 

2 existence of a reservation or the location of the resi3 dence of any member on or near any Indian reserva4 tion. 

5 (2) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the deliv6 ery of Federal services to the enrolled members of 

7 the Band and to other Indians, all of Cheboygan 

8 County Michigan, and any area in the State of 

9 Michigan that is outside of Cheboygan County, but 

10 located within 25 miles of the Tribe’s Cemetery at 

11 the St. Mary’s Indian Mission Church, shall be 

12 deemed to be within the Service Area of the Burt 

13 Lake Band. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit 

14 the Federal Government from providing services to 

15 members of the Band who reside or are domiciled 

16 outside this Service Area, or from otherwise expand17 ing the Band’s Service Area in compliance with ap18 plicable Federal law and policy. If any part of the 

19 Band’s service area overlaps with the service area of 

20 another federally recognized Indian tribe, that over21 lap shall be addressed in compliance with existing 

22 Federal policies and regulations. 

23 SEC. 5. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—All rights and privileges of the 

25 Band and its members, which may have been abrogated 


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1 or diminished before the date of the enactment of this Act 

2 are hereby reaffirmed. 

3 (b) EXISTING RIGHTS OF TRIBE.—Nothing in this 

4 Act shall be construed to diminish any right or privilege 

5 of the Band or of its members that existed before the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act. Except as otherwise specifi7 cally provided in any other provision of this Act, nothing 

8 in this Act shall be construed as altering or affecting any 

9 legal or equitable claim the Band may have to enforce any 

10 right or privilege reserved by or granted to the Band which 

11 was wrongfully denied to or taken from the Band before 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 6. TRIBAL LANDS. 

14 The Secretary shall acquire real property in Che15 boygan County in trust for the benefit of the Burt Lake 

16 Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, if at the time of 

17 such acceptance by the Secretary, there are no adverse 

18 legal claims on such property including outstanding liens, 

19 mortgages or taxes owed. Such lands shall become part 

20 of the initial reservation of the Band at the request of 

21 the Band. The Secretary is also authorized to acquire and 

22 accept real property in other geographic areas into trust 

23 for the benefit of the Band and to declare those lands to 

24 be a part of the Band’s Reservation or Initial Reservation 

25 to the full extent otherwise authorized by applicable law. 


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1 SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The initial membership of the 

3 Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians shall 

4 consist of persons who can present evidence, acceptable 

5 to the Tribe, showing that they meet the requirements of 

6 subsection (b), and persons who meet such other require7 ments as are specified by the Tribe in its Tribe’s Constitu8 tion and Enrollment Ordinance as the same may be from 

9 time-to-time amended. 

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA.— 

11 (1) To qualify for membership in the Burt Lake 

12 Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, a person 

13 must be able to demonstrate through evidence ac14 ceptable to the Tribe that the person meets at least 

15 1 of the following requirements: 

16 (A) The person descends from one or more 

17 tribal members who were domiciled at Colonial 

18 Point, Burt Township, Cheboygan County, 

19 Michigan before or at the time that the Tribe’s 

20 village was burned in October 1900, as said 

21 tribal members are identified in the United 

22 States v. McGinn litigation and related docu23 ments, the 1950 Albert Shananaquet list of Co24 lonial Point Residents, or both. 

25 (B) The person descends from one or more 

26 tribal members who are listed on the 1900 and/ 


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1 or the 1910 Burt Lake Township Federal Cen2 sus, Indian Enumeration Schedule. 

3 (C) The person has an Indian ancestor 

4 who was, prior to 1910, living in tribal relations 

5 with the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chip6 pewa Indians as the Burt Lake Band is defined 

7 in this Act. 

8 (D) The person descends from Rose 

9 Midwagon Moses. 

10 (2) In addition to the requirements under para11 graph (1), to qualify for membership in the Burt 

12 Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, a per13 son must be able to demonstrate through evidence 

14 acceptable to the Tribe that the person meets all of 

15 the following criteria: 

16 (A) That the person is in tribal relations 

17 with other Burt Lake Band members. 

18 (B) That the person’s ancestors have lived 

19 in tribal relations with other Burt Lake Band 

20 members on a substantially continuous basis 

21 from 1910 to the present. 

22 (C) That the person has a completed tribal 

23 membership enrollment file as prescribed by the 

24 Tribal Enrollment Ordinance. 


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1 (D) That the person’s membership applica2 tion has been processed and that the person has 

3 been approved for membership in the Burt 

4 Lake Band in the manner prescribed by the 

5 Tribal Enrollment Ordinance. 

6 (c) BASE ROLL.—The Tribe shall provide a copy of 

7 the base roll of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chip8 pewa Indians to the Assistant Secretary for Indians Af9 fairs not later than 12 months after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act. The base roll shall consist of the 320 

11 persons whose names were listed on the official roll of the 

12 Burt Lake Band which were members submitted by the 

13 Band to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Federal 

14 Acknowledgment on May 2, 2005, and shall also include 

15 the biological sons and daughters who were born to those 

16 members between the submission of that list and the en17 actment of this Act. The Base Roll shall also include those 

18 descendants of Burt Lake members who resided at Colo19 nial Point prior to the Burn Out, who— 

20 (1) meet the enrollment criteria established by 

21 this section; 

22 (2) seek enrollment in the Burt Lake Band not 

23 later than 12 months after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act; and 


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1 (3) are accepted for enrollment in the Band in 

2 the manner prescribed by the Band’s Constitution. 

3 SEC. 8. CONSTITUTION. 

4 The initial constitution of the Burt Lake Band of Ot5 tawa and Chippewa Indians shall be the constitution which 

6 the Band submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Of7 fice of Federal Acknowledgment on May 2, 2005. 

Æ 


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