Bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House to compensate an Upper Peninsula native American tribe for land the federal government took long ago without paying for it.
The federal government took several thousand acres from land belonging to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community between 1855 and 1932 and transferred it to the state of Michigan in part to support construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
Tribal officials say they suffered substantial economic and other harm from losing access to prime locations along Lake Superior over the past 150 years.
A bill introduced by Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Peters has passed a committee and is headed to the full Senate.
Republican U.S. Representative Jack Bergman has introduced a similar bill in the U.S. House.
The bills would authorize the Department of Interior to pay the tribe $33,900,000 as compensation, to use for governmental services, economic development, natural resource protection, and land acquisition.
In addition, individuals, businesses, and local governments that have since acquired the lands at issue would be granted clear title.
