Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2025
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Would direct the Department of the Interior to pay $33.9 million to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan to settle longstanding land claims arising from the federal government's uncompensated transfer of tribal reservation lands to the state in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The settlement would simultaneously extinguish the tribe's claims to those lands and clear title for the non-Indian landowners currently occupying them, resolving a legal dispute without litigation.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transfer $33,900,000 to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) of Baraga County, Michigan, as compensation for the federal government's uncompensated taking of two categories of land within the L'Anse Indian Reservation: roughly 2,743 acres conveyed to Michigan under the Swamp Land Act between 1893 and 1937, and between 1,333 and 2,720 acres conveyed to Michigan under the Canal Land Act of 1852 to fund the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. Congress finds those conveyances violated the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment because the tribe's treaty-guaranteed rights had never been extinguished. The KBIC could use the funds for any lawful purpose except acquiring land for gaming.
Upon the Community receiving payment, the bill would extinguish all of the KBIC's claims to those reservation lands now held by non-Indian owners, and would clear title for current landowners by dissolving any preexisting tribal rights. The bill explicitly prohibits the Secretary from taking any of those lands into trust for gaming.
Key provisions
- 1Would require the Secretary of the Interior to transfer $33,900,000 to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community as compensation for the uncompensated federal taking of reservation lands.
- 2Would allow the Community to use the payment for any lawful purpose, including governmental services, economic development, natural resources protection, and land acquisition, except gaming land.
- 3Would authorize appropriation of $33,900,000 to the Secretary of the Interior for fiscal year 2026, to remain available until expended.
- 4Would extinguish all KBIC claims to the Reservation Swamp Lands and Reservation Canal Lands held by non-Indian owners upon receipt of payment.
- 5Would clear title for all current non-Indian owners of the affected reservation lands, eliminating preexisting tribal rights, effective upon the Community receiving payment.
- 6Would prohibit the Secretary from taking land into trust for the KBIC for gaming, and bar the Community from using settlement funds for gaming land.
Who would be affected
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, a federally recognized tribe in Baraga County, Michigan, which would receive the compensation payment. Non-Indian individuals, private entities, and local governments currently holding title to the affected reservation lands in the Upper Peninsula would have their ownership confirmed and title cleared. The Department of the Interior would administer the transfer.
Why it matters
For the KBIC, the settlement would provide just compensation for land the federal government took without payment, ending a long-standing grievance and providing funds for tribal governance, economic development, and natural resources. For non-Indian landowners now occupying affected parcels, it would resolve any cloud on title created by the tribe's unextinguished treaty rights, giving them clear and secure ownership without protracted litigation.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Extinguishment of KBIC land claims and clearing of non-Indian title
Funding and costs
- $33,900,000
Compensation payment to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for uncompensated taking of reservation lands
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates S. 642 would require $34 million in discretionary appropriations over the 2025–2035 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
S. 642 would authorize $34 million to be appropriated in fiscal year 2026 as compensation to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for land lost under the Swamp Land Act of 1850 and the Canal Land Act of 1852. CBO estimates no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2025–2035 scoring window; the $34 million cost is subject to future congressional appropriations. The bill contains intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act — including extinguishing the tribe's existing legal claims against certain landowners and prohibiting gaming on land purchased with settlement funds — but CBO estimates the cost of those mandates would be small and would not exceed the annual threshold ($103 million in 2025). The bill contains no private-sector mandates.
How implementation would work
Once Congress appropriates the $33.9 million (authorized for FY2026), the Secretary of the Interior must transfer the full amount to the KBIC as soon as practicable. No rulemaking or grant cycle is required — the transfer is a direct one-time payment. Extinguishment of tribal claims and clearing of non-Indian title take effect automatically on the date the Community receives payment, with no further agency action needed. The bill includes no ongoing reporting or oversight requirements.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Held at the desk.
Official CRS summary
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This bill directs the Department of the Interior to transfer funds to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) in Baraga County, Michigan, in order to settle the KBIC's land claims and clear title to those lands.
The KBIC may use these funds for any lawful purpose except to acquire land for gaming.
Legislative subjects
Federal-Indian relations; Indian claims; Indian lands and resources rights; Land transfers; Michigan; Native Americans
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-70