Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2025

Summary

Provides a $33.9 million settlement payment to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to resolve historic uncompensated takings of specified canal and swamp lands within the L’Anse Reservation. In exchange for the payment, the Community will release and extinguish any legal claims to those identified lands and current non‑Indian owners will receive clear title; the funds may not be used to acquire land for gaming and the Act bars taking lands into trust for gaming purposes.

• Authorizes a $33.9 million payment to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to settle claims over specified canal and swamp lands within the L’Anse Reservation.
• Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer funds when authorized funds are available and authorizes the appropriation for FY2026.
• Upon payment, the Tribe must extinguish all current and potential claims to the identified lands that are owned by non‑Tribal parties.
• Confirms and clears current non‑Tribal owners’ titles to the affected canal and swamp lands of any prior Tribal rights or interests.
• Defines precisely which lands and parties are covered to avoid ambiguity about the settlement scope.
• Prohibits using the settlement funds to buy land for gaming and forbids taking land into trust for gaming purposes.
• Allows the Tribe to spend the settlement for lawful government, economic development, natural resources, and land acquisition (subject to the gaming prohibition).
• Settles longstanding legal claims recognized in an Interior Department review as having merit while protecting good‑faith non‑Indian occupants.
• Implementation depends on the availability and appropriation of the authorized funds.