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“SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS LAND PROCLAMATION” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H8826-H8827 on July 30, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS LAND PROCLAMATION
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 2120) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to proclaim as reservation for the benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians a parcel of land now held in trust by the United States for that Indian tribe.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the bill, as follows:
H.R. 2120
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LAND TO BE PROCLAIMED RESERVATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior shall proclaim as reservation for the benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians the parcel of land now held in trust by the United States and having the legal description as follows: That portion of Section 19, Township 41 North, Range 3 West, Michigan Meridian, described as: All of the NW1/4SW1/4 and all of the S1/2SW1/4 Northerly of a line described as beginning 650 feet Northerly along the centerline of Highway ``Mackinac Trail'' from the intersection of said centerline with the South Section line of Section 19, Township 41 North, Range 3 West, thence Northeasterly to the Southeast corner of the NW1/4SW1/4 of said Section, containing 65 acres, more or less (except the highway right-of-way and easements of record).
(b) Applicable Law; Effective Date.--The Secretary's proclamation shall be pursuant to section 7 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 467) and shall be deemed effective as of April 19, 1988.
Committee Amendment
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the committee amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Committee amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
H.R. 2120
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LAND TO BE PROCLAIMED RESERVATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior shall proclaim as reservation for the benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians the parcel of land now held in trust by the United States and having the legal description as follows: That portion of Section 19, Township 41 North, Range 3 West, Michigan Meridian, described as: All of the NW1/4SW1/4 and all of the S1/2SW1/4 Northerly of a line described as beginning 650 feet Northerly along the centerline of Highway
``Mackinac Trail'' from the intersection of said centerline with the South Section line of Section 19, Township 41 North, Range 3 West, thence Northeasterly to the Southeast corner of the NW1/4SW1/4 of said Section, containing 65 acres, more or less (except the highway right-of-way and easements of record).
(b) Applicable Law; Effective Date.--The Secretary's proclamation shall be pursuant to section 7 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 467) and the property shall be deemed a reservation as of April 19, 1988, for purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment be considered as read and printed in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
The committee amendment was agreed to.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, this measure addresses an inequity caused by the failure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to act in a timely manner on a request first made in 1983. Introduced by our colleague, Representative Bart Stupak, this measure would declare land held in trust for a Tribe located in Michigan as part of the Tribe's reservation.
Shortly after the land was placed into trust in 1983, the Tribe made the first of several requests to have the land declared a part of its reservation. Eventually, the Bureau of Indian Affairs took various actions leading the Tribe to believe that the land was a part of the Tribe's reservation.
However, in February, 2006, the Interior Department reversed course and informed the Tribe that the land placed into trust in 1983 was not part of the Tribe's Reservation. The pending measure clarifies and rectifies the situation.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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