The Department of the Interior announced Tuesday that more than 5,500 landowners with partial ownership at the Crow Creek Reservation were offered $5 million to purchase their properties through the Department’s Land-Buy-Back program for Tribal nations.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) stated the deadline to respond to those offers is July 11, according to a DOI press release.
The Land Buy-Back program enacts the land consolidation portion of the Cobell Settlement “which provided $1.9 billion to consolidate fractional interests in trust or restricted land” over a 10-year period that ends in November, the release stated.
The Department will continue purchasing fractional properties as the program winds down, said Brian Newland, assistant director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
“The offers announced today are an opportunity to benefit landowners and the Tribal community for years to come,” Newland said in the release. “Landowners receiving an offer package are encouraged to contact the Trust Beneficiary Call Center to learn more about their options in order to make informed decisions regarding this unique, but time-limited, opportunity.”
The land consolidated through the program is returned to Tribal trust ownership, the release stated. This land can then be used to support economic development, housing, infrastructure, cultural preservation and more, according to the BIA.
Landowners with questions about their land, purchase offers, or the appraisal of their property, can call the Trust Beneficiary Call Center at 888-678-6836. The center can also be contacted via email at TBCCmail@btfa.gov. Landowners can also contact their local Bureau of Trust Funds Administration office with questions.
