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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. ACCEPTANCE OF ALTERNATIVE LANDS AND EX-
TINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act, the 
following definitions apply: 
(1) ALTERNATIVE
LANDS.—The term ‘‘alter-
native lands’’ means those lands located in Otsego 
County, Michigan, and the city of Romulus, Michi-
gan, and identified as alternative lands in the Settle-
ment of Land Claim. 
(2) CHARLOTTE
BEACH
LANDS.—The term 
‘‘Charlotte Beach lands’’ means those lands in the 
Charlotte Beach area of Michigan and described as 
follows: Government Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Section 
7, T45N, R2E, and Lot 1 of Section 18, T45N, 
R2E, Chippewa County, State of Michigan 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(4) SETTLEMENT OF LAND CLAIM.—The term 
‘‘Settlement of Land Claim’’ means the agreement 
between the Tribe and the Governor of the State of 
Michigan executed on December 30, 2002, and filed 
with the Office of Secretary of State of the State of 
Michigan. 
(5) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Sault 
Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a federally 
recognized Indian tribe. 
(b) LAND INTO TRUST; PART OF RESERVATION.—
(1) LAND INTO TRUST.—The Secretary shall 
take the alternative lands into trust for the benefit 
of the Tribe within 30 days of receiving a title insur-
ance policy for the alternative lands which shows 
that the alternative lands are not subject to mort-
gages, liens, deeds of trust, options to purchase, or 
other security interests. 
(2) PART
OF
RESERVATION.—The alternative 
lands shall become part of the Tribe’s reservation 
immediately upon attaining trust status. 
(c) GAMING.—The alternative lands shall be taken 
into trust as provided in this section as part of the settle-
ment and extinguishment of the Tribe’s Charlotte Beach 
land claims, and so shall be deemed lands obtained in set-
tlement of a land claim within the meaning of section 
20(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 
U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)(i)). 
(d) EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS.—Upon the date 
of enactment of this Act, any and all claims by the Tribe 
to the Charlotte Beach lands or against the United States, 
the State of Michigan or any subdivision thereof, the Gov-
ernor of the State of Michigan, or any other person or 
entity by the Tribe based on or relating to claims to the 
Charlotte Beach lands (including without limitation, 
claims for trespass damages, use, or occupancy), whether 
based on aboriginal or recognized title, are hereby extin-
guished. The extinguishment of these claims is in consid-
eration for the benefits to the Tribe under this Act. 
(e) EFFECTUATION AND RATIFICATION OF AGREE-
MENT.—
(1) RATIFICATION.—The United States ap-
proves and ratifies the Settlement of Land Claim. 
(2) NOT
PRECEDENT.—The provisions con-
tained in the Settlement of Land Claim are unique 
and shall not be considered precedent for any future 
agreement between any Indian tribe and State. 
(3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Settlement of Land 
Claim shall be enforceable by either the Tribe or the 
Governor according to its terms. Exclusive jurisdic-
tion over any enforcement action is vested in the 
United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Michigan.
Æ