WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and U.S. Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), reintroduced bipartisan legislation to settle the longstanding land claims of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). Through Treaties signed in 1842 and 1854, the KBIC was granted occupancy over a large area of land established as the L’Anse Reservation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Despite those treaties, thousands of acres of reservation land were taken by the federal government without compensation and awarded to the State of Michigan. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2025 would address this issue and clear the title of current landowners in the community.
“For years, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has worked to settle these land claims and provide clear title to those who currently own the property in question,” said Senator Peters. “I was proud to work alongside Tribal partners and local community members to introduce this long overdue legislation, which would right this wrong once and for all.”
“This legislation to settle longstanding claims represents the work of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the local community and a bipartisan coalition in Congress to correct this historic mistake,” said Senator Slotkin. “KBIC has for some time sought to address a problem it did not create, and resolving this issue is the least we can do to right a longstanding wrong.”
“I’m proud to have introduced this much-needed legislation in the House of Representatives. It’s time to ensure fairness and to correct the wrongs of history on behalf of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community,” said Representative Bergman.
“This legislation represents our Community, our neighbors, and the Michigan delegation coming together to acknowledge the unlawful taking of our lands and provide a solution for a better future for the Tribe and our neighbors. This settlement has been generations in the making, and the Tribal Council and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community share our sincere gratitude to Senator Peters, Senator Slotkin, and Representative Bergman for their leadership to right this historic wrong,” said KBIC President Robert “RD” Curtis, Jr. and the KBIC Tribal Council.
The KBIC’s land claims involve the dispossession of between approximately 1,333 and 2,720 acres of land transferred by the United States government to the State of Michigan as compensation for the construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, as well as approximately 2,743 acres of swamplands. The KBIC asserts that as a result of the 1842 and 1854 Treaties, these lands were not available for transfer and therefore transferred illegally. The KBIC contends that the inappropriate transfer of these lands has created substantial economic and other harm, through the loss of valuable land in prime locations along Lake Superior that could have been used for a variety of revenue-generating activities over the past 150 years. Meanwhile, non-Indian individuals, entities, and local governments have since acquired the land at issue – in good faith – and now seek to ensure they possess clear title to the land.
The bill – which unanimously passed the Senate last Congress – would authorize funds through the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) that may be used by the KBIC for governmental services, economic development, natural resource protection, and land acquisition.
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