I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 650 
To provide compensation to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for the 
taking without just compensation of land by the United States inside 
the exterior boundaries of the L’Anse Indian Reservation that were 
guaranteed to the Community under a treaty signed in 1854. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 31, 2023 
Mr. BERGMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide compensation to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Com-
munity for the taking without just compensation of land 
by the United States inside the exterior boundaries of 
the L’Anse Indian Reservation that were guaranteed to 
the Community under a treaty signed in 1854. 
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 ‘‘Keweenaw Bay Indian 
Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is a 
federally recognized Indian Tribe residing on the 
L’Anse Indian Reservation in Baraga County in the 
Upper Peninsula of the State of Michigan; 
(2) the Community is a successor in interest to 
the Treaty with the Chippewa Indians of the Mis-
sissippi and Lake Superior, made and concluded at 
La Pointe of Lake Superior October 4, 1842 (7 
Stat. 591) (referred to in this section as the ‘‘1842 
Treaty’’), which, among other things, guaranteed the 
usufructuary rights of the Community over a large 
area of land that was ceded to the United States, 
until such time that those usufructuary rights were 
properly and legally extinguished; 
(3) the Community is also a successor in inter-
est to the Treaty with the Chippewa Indians of Lake 
Superior and the Mississippi, made and concluded at 
La Pointe September 30, 1854 (10 Stat. 1109) (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘1854 Treaty’’); 
(4) article 2, paragraph 1 of the 1854 Treaty 
created the L’Anse Indian Reservation as a perma-
nent reservation; 
(5) pursuant to article 13 of the 1854 Treaty, 
the 1854 Treaty became ‘‘obligatory on the con-
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tracting parties’’ when ratified by the President and 
the Senate on January 10, 1855; 
(6) in 1850, Congress enacted the Act of Sep-
tember 28, 1850 (commonly known and referred to 
in this section as the ‘‘Swamp Land Act’’) (9 Stat. 
519, chapter 84), which authorized the State of Ar-
kansas and other States, including the State of 
Michigan, to ‘‘construct the necessary levees and 
drains to reclaim’’ certain unsold ‘‘swamp and over-
flowed lands, made unfit thereby for cultivation’’ 
and stating that those lands ‘‘shall remain unsold at 
the passage of this act . . . .’’; 
(7) following enactment of the Swamp Land 
Act, the State claimed thousands of acres of swamp 
land in the State pursuant to that Act; 
(8) between 1893 and 1937, the General Land 
Office patented 2,743 acres of land to the State that 
were located within the exterior boundaries of the 
Reservation (referred to in this section as ‘‘Reserva-
tion Swamp Lands’’); 
(9) the right of the Community to use and oc-
cupy the unsold land within the Reservation had not 
been extinguished when the United States patented 
the Reservation Swamp Lands to the State; 
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(10) in 1852, Congress enacted the Act of Au-
gust 26, 1852 (10 Stat. 35, chapter 92) (referred to 
in this section as the ‘‘Canal Land Act’’), to facili-
tate the building of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal at 
the Falls of the St. Mary’s River, to connect Lake 
Superior to Lake Huron; 
(11) pursuant to the Canal Land Act, the 
United States granted the State the right to select 
750,000 acres of unsold public land within the State 
to defray the cost of construction of the Sault Ste. 
Marie Canal; 
(12) the State identified and selected, among 
other land, a minimum of 1,333.25 and up to 2,720 
acres within the exterior boundaries of the Reserva-
tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Reservation 
Canal Lands’’); 
(13) the Department of the Interior approved 
the land selections of the State, including the Res-
ervation Canal Lands, after ratification of the 1854 
Treaty; 
(14) the Secretary noted that the approval de-
scribed in paragraph (13) was ‘‘subject to any valid 
interfering rights’’; 
(15) the 1854 Treaty set apart from the public 
domain all unsold land within the Reservation to the 
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Community as of September 30, 1854, which pre-
ceded the date on which the State established legally 
effective title to the Reservation Canal Lands; 
(16) the Community made claims to the De-
partment of the Interior with respect to the Reserva-
tion Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal 
Lands, providing legal analysis and ethnohistorical 
support for those claims; 
(17) in December 2021, the Department of the 
Interior stated that ‘‘We have carefully reviewed per-
tinent documents, including the Tribe’s expert re-
ports, and have determined that the Tribe’s claims 
to the Swamp Lands and Canal Lands have merit’’; 
(18) the United States, through the actions of 
the General Land Office, deprived the Community of 
the exclusive use and occupancy of the Reservation 
Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands 
within the Reservation, without just compensation as 
required under the Takings Clause of the Fifth 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States; 
(19) the loss of the Reservation Swamp Lands 
and the Reservation Canal Lands without just com-
pensation has— 
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(A) impacted the exercise by the Commu-
nity of cultural, religious, and subsistence 
rights on the land; 
(B) caused a harmful disconnect between 
the Community and its land; 
(C) impacted the ability of the Community 
to fully exercise its economy within the Reserva-
tion; and 
(D) had a negative economic impact on the 
development of the economy of the Community; 
(20) certain non-Indian individuals, entities, 
and local governments occupy land within the 
boundaries of the Reservation— 
(A) acquired ownership interests in the 
Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reservation 
Canal Lands in good faith; and 
(B) have an interest in possessing clear 
title to that land; 
(21) this Act allows the United States— 
(A) to secure a fair and equitable settle-
ment of past inequities suffered by the Commu-
nity as a result of the actions of the United 
States that caused the taking of the Reserva-
tion Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal 
Lands without just compensation; and 
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(B) to ensure protection of the ownership 
of the Reservation Swamp Lands and the Res-
ervation Canal Lands by non-Indian occupants 
of the Reservation, through the settlement of 
the claims of the Community to that land, and 
through that action, the relief of any clouds on 
title; 
(22) a settlement will allow the Community to 
receive just compensation and the local landowners 
to obtain clear title to land, without long and pro-
tracted litigation that would be both costly and det-
rimental to all involved; and 
(23) this Act achieves both justice for the Com-
munity and security for current landowners through 
a restorative and non-confrontational process. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to acknowledge the uncompensated taking 
by the Federal Government of the Reservation 
Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands; 
(2) to provide compensation to the Community 
for the uncompensated taking of the Reservation 
Swamp Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands by 
the Federal Government; 
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(3) to extinguish all claims by the Community 
to the Reservation Swamp Lands and the Reserva-
tion Canal Lands and to confirm the ownership by 
the current landowners of the Reservation Swamp 
Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands, who ob-
tained that land in good faith; 
(4) to extinguish all potential claims by the 
Community against the United States, the State, 
and current landowners concerning title to, use of, 
or occupancy of the Reservation Swamp Lands and 
the Reservation Canal Lands; and 
(5) to authorize the Secretary— 
(A) to compensate the Community; and 
(B) to take any other action necessary to 
carry out this Act. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘Community’’ 
means the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. 
(2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 
Baraga County, Michigan. 
(3) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 
means the L’Anse Indian Reservation, located in— 
(A) T. 51 N., R. 33 W.; 
(B) T. 51 N., R. 32 W.; 
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(C) T. 50 N., R. 33 W., E1⁄2; 
(D) T. 50 N., R. 32 W., W1⁄2; and 
(E) that portion of T. 51 N., R. 31 W. 
lying west of Huron Bay. 
(4) RESERVATION
CANAL
LANDS.—The term 
‘‘Reservation Canal Lands’’ means the 1,333.25 to 
2,720 acres of Community land located within the 
exterior boundaries of the Reservation that the Fed-
eral Government conveyed to the State pursuant to 
the Act of August 26, 1852 (10 Stat. 35, chapter 
92). 
(5) RESERVATION
SWAMP
LANDS.—The term 
‘‘Reservation Swamp Lands’’ means the 2,743 acres 
of land located within the exterior boundaries of the 
Reservation that the Federal Government conveyed 
to the State between 1893 and 1937 pursuant to the 
Act of September 28, 1850 (commonly known as the 
‘‘Swamp Land Act’’) (sections 2479 through 2481 of 
the Revised Statutes (43 U.S.C. 982 through 984)). 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 
of Michigan. 
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SEC. 5. PAYMENTS. 
(a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—As soon as practicable 
after the date on which the amount authorized to be ap-
propriated under subsection (c) is made available to the 
Secretary, the Secretary shall transfer $33,900,000 to the 
Community. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Community may use the amount received under 
subsection (a) for any lawful purpose, including— 
(A) governmental services; 
(B) economic development; 
(C) natural resources protection; and 
(D) land acquisition. 
(2) RESTRICTION
ON
USE
OF
FUNDS.—The 
community may not use the amount received under 
subsection (a) to acquire land for gaming purposes. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out subsection (a), $33,900,000 for fiscal year 2024, to 
remain available until expended. 
SEC. 6. EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date on which the 
Community receives the payment under section 5(a), all 
claims of the Community to the Reservation Swamp 
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Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands owned by persons 
or entities other than the Community are extinguished. 
(b) CLEAR TITLE.—Effective on the date on which 
the Community receives the payment under section 5(a), 
the title of all current owners to the Reservation Swamp 
Lands and the Reservation Canal Lands is cleared of all 
preexisting rights held by the Community and any of the 
members of the Community. 
SEC. 7. EFFECT. 
Nothing in this Act authorizes— 
(1) the Secretary to take land into trust for the 
benefit of the Community for gaming purposes; or 
(2) the Community to use land acquired using 
amounts received under this Act for gaming pur-
poses. 
Æ 
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