Senate unanimously passes bill to pay Michigan tribe $34M for stolen land

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Michigan indigenous community is one step closer to retribution for land that was stolen from them nearly 200 years ago.

The U.S. Senate recently passed a bipartisan piece of legislation led by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D- Mich., to settle the longstanding land claims between the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the current landowners, rewarding them with approximately $34 million.

“The Tribal Council and the whole Keweenaw Bay Indian Community are beyond overjoyed by the Senate’s unanimous passage. … We have sought relief and compensation for generations for the unlawful taking of our lands,” KBIC President Doreen Blaker said in a statement.

According to the tribe, treaties signed in 1842 and 1854 established a large reservation in today’s Baraga County known as the L’Anse reservation. However, thousands of acres of that reservation were eventually taken back by the federal government without any compensation and given back to the state.

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More than 2,700 acres of land were taken to compensate for the construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal along with another 2,700 acres of swamp land. The tribe claims that lost land, including territory along the coast of Lake Superior, has hurt the tribe financially and could have been used for “a variety of revenue-generating activities over the past 150 years.”

The agreement, dubbed the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2023, still has hurdles, however. The legislation must pass through the House of Representatives and be signed into law by President Joe Biden. Congressman Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, introduced a companion bill into the House earlier this year.

Both Peters and Stabenow believe the agreement will make its way through, not only because it passed the Senate unanimously, but because they believe it brings a form of justice to a community that was unjustly served.

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“This bipartisan bill rightly settles the claims brought by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and provides legal clearance for local residents who currently own the property at issue,” Sen. Peters said in a statement. “It’s time to right this wrong.”

Said Stabenow: “Passage of this legislation resolving longstanding land claims is an important step forward. This bill is a long overdue solution.”

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