I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2822
To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Swan Creek Black
River Confederated Ojibwa Tribes as a distinct federally recognized In-
dian tribe, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 5, 1997
Mr. KNOLLENBERG (for himself and Mr. BARCIA) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Swan
Creek Black River Confederated Ojibwa Tribes as a dis-
tinct federally recognized Indian tribe, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Swan Creek Black
River Confederated Ojibwa Tribes of Michigan Act’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Swan Creek
and Black River Confederated Ojibwa Tribes of
Michigan;
(2) the term ‘‘member’’ means an individual
who is eligible for enrollment in the Tribe pursuant
to section 4; and
(3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Tribe is the descendant of, and political
successor to, the signatories of the 1785 Treaty of
McIntosh (7 Stat. 16); the 1789 Treaty of Fort
Harmar (7 Stat. 28); the 1795 Treaty of Greenville
(7 Stat. 49); the 1805 Treaty with the Wyandot (7
Stat. 87); the 1807 Treaty of Detroit (7 Stat. 105);
the 1808 Treaty of Detroit (7 Stat. 112); the Treaty
of 1815 (7 Stat. 131); the Treaty of 1816 (7 Stat.
146); the Treaty of 1817 (7 Stat. 160); the Treaty
of 1833 (7 Stat. 431); the 1836 Treaty of Washing-
ton (7 Stat. 503); the 1855 Treaty of Detroit (11
Stat. 633); and the Treaty of 1864 (14 Stat. 657).
(2) The aboriginal lands of the Tribe comprise
the 
area 
which 
is 
now 
known 
as 
Monroe,
Shiawassee, Lenawee, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St.
mained in the counties of Macomb, Wayne,
Washtenaw, and St. Clair.
(5) Pursuant to the 1855 Treaty of Detroit,
members of the Tribe were requested to relocate
from their homes in Lapeer, Macomb, Wayne,
Washtenaw, and St. Clair counties in Michigan to
non-aboriginal lands further north in Isabella Coun-
ty, Michigan, where tribal members were entitled to
individual land allotments. Many members remained
in Lapeer, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, and St.
Clair counties. For the administrative convenience of
the Federal Government, the 1855 Treaty of Detroit
also relocated the Saginaw Band of Chippewa Indi-
ans, including some Potowatomis and Ottawas to the
newly-established reservation lands in Isabella Coun-
ty. Article 6 of that treaty also provided that the or-
ganization of the Tribe and of the Saginaw Band of
Chippewa Indians was dissolved, ‘‘except so far as
may be necessary for the purpose of carrying into ef-
fect’’ the provisions of the treaty.
(6) Another 1855 Treaty of Detroit (11 Stat.
624) similarly grouped different bands of Ottawa
and Chippewa Indians for administrative conven-
ience. Article 5 of that treaty provided for dissolu-
tion of the organization of these bands except so far
as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying into
effect the provisions of that treaty. Subsequent judi-
cial interpretation of that article determined that its
intent was to dissolve the Federal Government’s fic-
tional coupling of these tribes, not to destroy their
independent sovereign existence. Public Law 103–
324 confirmed this interpretation by reaffirming the
Federal recognition of the Little River Band of Ot-
tawa Indians as a tribe separate and distinct from
the Chippewa Indians.
(7) The Treaty of 1864 confirmed continued
Federal acknowledgement of the Tribe by specifically
naming the Swan Creek and Black River Chippewas
in that treaty’s preamble.
(8) Over time and without justification, the
Federal Government unilaterally withdrew from the
Federal relationship established with the Tribe
through the aforementioned treaties. The Tribe
brought suit against the Federal Government for
amounts past due under the treaties. In 1910 and
1924, the Congress enacted jurisdictional acts (36
Stat. 829 and 43 Stat. 137, respectively) to enable
the Tribe and the Saginaw Band of Chippewa to file
their respective claims against the United States.
These claims, filed in 1927, were later incorporated
into Indian Claims Commission Dockets 57, 59, and
13–E, and United Claims Court Docket 13–F.
(9) Beginning in 1935, the Tribe petitioned for
reorganization and assistance pursuant to the Act of
June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq., commonly re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’). Due
to misinterpretation of Article 6 of the 1855 Treaty
of Detroit, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs con-
cluded that the Tribe could not organize separately
from the Saginaw Band of Chippewa Indians. Due
to the lack of funding available for tribal land acqui-
sition, the Swan Creek Black River Ojibwa Bands
were unable to purchase their own reservation lands.
(10) In 1939, agents of the Federal Govern-
ment made an administrative decision not to provide
services or extend the benefits of the Indian Reorga-
nization Act to any additional Indian tribes located
in Michigan’s lower peninsula, as recognized by the
1807 Treaty of Detroit (7 Stat. 105), the 1819
Treaty of Saginaw (7 Stat. 203), the March 28,
1836 Treaty of Washington (7 Stat. 491), and the
May 9, 1836 Treaty of Washington (7 Stat. 503).
(11) In 1986, Congress enacted Public Law
99–346 (100 Stat. 674) to distribute judgment
funds awarded in settlement of the claims brought
by the Tribe and the Saginaw Band in Dockets 57,
59, 13–E, and 13–F in a nondiscriminatory manner
to the claimants and their descendants. This Act,
like the jurisdictional Acts of 1910 and 1924, con-
tained no clear and unambiguous intent to terminate
the Federal relationship with the Tribe. To the con-
trary, these Acts acknowledged that the Tribe pos-
sessed collective sovereign rights in tribal lands and
funds, a primary criterion for Federal recognition.
(12) Despite administrative denials of requests
by the Tribe to organize its own federally recognized
tribal government, the Tribe continued to carry out
its governmental functions through various formal
and informal political and social structures, includ-
ing a Tribal Council. Between 1937 and 1991, the
Tribe conducted many of its government functions
through associations organized by Swan Creek mem-
bers, including the Saginaw Rural and Urban Indian
Association. In 1991, the Tribe chartered a State-
sanctioned, non-profit tribal government and agreed
to seek Federal recognition of its confederation of
Swan Creek and Black River Ojibwa Bands as a dis-
tinct tribe.
(13) Other tribes in Michigan, whose members
are descendants of the signatories to one or more of
the treaties listed in paragraph (1) have been recog-
nized by the Federal Government as distinct Indian
tribes, including the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi
Indians, the Huron Potawatomi Band of Indians,
the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians, the Sault St. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indi-
ans, the Bay Mills Band of Chippewa Indians, the
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, and the Little
Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
(14) The Tribe has at least 300 eligible mem-
bers who continue to reside close to what was recog-
nized in the 1807 Treaty of Detroit as their ances-
tral homelands in southeastern lower Michigan.
(15) The United States Government, the gov-
ernment of the State of Michigan, and local govern-
ments have had continuous dealings with the recog-
nized political leaders of the Tribe since 1785.
(16) In light of the treaty relations between the
Tribe and the United States, the Tribe’s recognition
as a tribe in Acts of Congress, and Federal recogni-
tion of the Tribe’s rights in tribal lands and funds,
it is appropriate for Congress to reaffirm and clarify
the Federal relationship of the Tribe in the same
manner as Congress has reaffirmed Federal recogni-
tion of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi
Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa
Indians, and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indi-
ans.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—Federal recognition of
the Swan Creek Black River Confederated Ojibwa Tribes
of Michigan Indians is hereby affirmed. All laws and regu-
lations of the United States of general application to Indi-
ans or nations, tribes, or bands of Indians, including the
Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (commonly
referred to as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), which are
not inconsistent with any specific provision of this Act
shall be applicable to the Tribe and its members.
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Tribe and its members
shall be eligible, on and after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, for all future services and benefits
furnished to federally recognized Indian tribes with-
out regard to the existence of a reservation for the
Tribe or the location of the residence of any member
on or near any Indian reservation.
(2) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the deliv-
ery of Federal services to enrolled members of the
Tribe, the Tribe’s service area shall be deemed to be
the area comprised of Monroe, Shiawassee, Lenawee,
Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Lapeer,
Sanilac, Washtenaw, Genesee, and Tuscola Counties
in southeastern lower Michigan. Such services shall
be provided notwithstanding the establishment of a
reservation for the Tribe after the date of enactment
of this Act. Services may be provided to members
outside the named service area unless prohibited by
law or regulation.
SEC. 5. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All rights and privileges of the
Tribe, and the members thereof, which may have been ab-
rogated or diminished before the date of enactment of this
Act are hereby reaffirmed.
(b) EXISTING RIGHTS OF TRIBE.—Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to diminish any right or privilege
of the Tribe, or the members thereof, that existed prior
to the date of enactment of this Act. Except as otherwise
specifically provided in any other provision of this Act,
nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering or affect-
ing any legal or equitable claim the Tribe might have to
enforce any right or privilege reserved by or granted to
the Tribe which was wrongfully denied to or taken from
the Tribe prior to the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. TRIBAL LANDS.
The Tribe’s tribal lands shall consist of all real prop-
erty, now or hereafter held by, or in trust for, the Tribe.
The Secretary shall acquire real property for the benefit
of the Tribe. Any such property shall be taken by the Sec-
retary in the name of the United States in trust for the
benefit of the Tribe and shall become part of the Tribe’s
reservation. All lands restored to the Tribe pursuant to
this section, whether now or hereafter held, shall be within
those lands previously ceded by the Tribe in the 1807
Treaty of Detroit (7 Stat. 105).
SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary
membership rolls consisting of all individuals eligible for
membership in the Tribe. The qualifications for inclusion
on the membership rolls of the Tribe shall be determined
by the membership clause in the governing documents of
the Tribe in consultation with the Secretary. Upon com-
pletion of the rolls, the Secretary shall immediately publish
notice of such in the Federal Register. The Tribe shall
ensure that such rolls are maintained and kept current.
SEC. 8. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.
(a) CONSTITUTION.—
(1) ADOPTION.—Not later than 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall conduct, by secret ballot and in accord-
ance with the provisions of section 16 of the Act of
June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 476), an election to adopt
a constitution and bylaws for the Tribe.
(2) INTERIM
GOVERNING
DOCUMENTS.—Until
such time as a new constitution is adopted under
paragraph (1), the governing documents in effect on
the date of enactment of this Act shall be the in-
terim governing documents for the Tribe.
(b) OFFICIALS.—
(1) ELECTION.—Not later than 6 months after
the Tribe adopts a constitution and bylaws pursuant
to subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct elec-
tions by secret ballot for the purpose of electing offi-
cials for the Tribe as provided in the constitution.
The election shall be conducted according to the pro-
cedures described in subsection (a) except to the ex-
tent that such procedures conflict with the constitu-
tion of the Tribe.
(2) INTERIM GOVERNMENT.—Until such time
as the Tribe elects new officials pursuant to para-
graph (1), the governing body of the Tribe shall be
the governing body in place on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, or any new governing body selected
under the election procedures specified in the in-
terim governing documents of the Tribe.
SEC. 9. JURISDICTION.
The Tribe shall have jurisdiction to the full extent
allowed by law over all lands taken into trust for the bene-
fit of the Tribe by the Secretary. The Tribe shall exercise
jurisdiction over all its members who reside within its serv-
ice area, as specified in section 4(b)(2) in matters pursu-
ant to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C.
1901 et seq.) as if the members were residing upon a res-
ervation as defined in that Act.
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