Last progress February 18, 2025 (9 months ago)
Introduced on February 18, 2025 by Tina Smith
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
This bill would transfer certain federal land in the Chippewa National Forest (Cass County, Minnesota) to the Interior Department for the benefit of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The land to be transferred is land that Bureau of Indian Affairs records show was sold without the unanimous consent of the rightful landowners. Transfers can happen over time as parcels are identified and surveyed, with acre‑for‑acre swaps inside the county to avoid creating isolated patches and to prioritize land near existing Leech Lake trust lands and places important to the tribe . The Forest Service must involve the public, and the bill says it does not plan to immediately change how the land is used . Hunting, fishing, and recreation rights for non‑tribal members remain unchanged.
Key points