The House passed H.R. 2650, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Non-Intercourse Act, by a voice vote on Tuesday.

The bill authorizes a land swap between the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Carlton County in Minnesota. The tribe will receive about 3,200 acres within reservation boundaries and the county will receive 1,451 acres outside the reservation.

“Despite the 1854 treaty that set aside 101,000 acres of land exclusively for the Fond du Lac Band Reservation, homesteaders and others were wrongly allowed to settle on this land – much of which was then later forfeited to the county for non-payment of taxes," Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minnesota) said on the House floor. "The result today is a checkerboard of ownership that significantly limits both the band’s and the county’s ability to effectively manage the lands they both control.”

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee has approved the companion bill S.920. It has yet to see action on the Senate floor.

Get the Story:
U.S. House passes Nolan land swap bill (MinnPost 12/3)
House passes bill for Fond du Lac land exchange (The Duluth News Tribune 12/4)

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