Clinton memo cited 'credible' land claim

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002

In the waning days of the Clinton administration, a top Department of Interior official concluded that a Kansas tribe's land claim was "credible" enough to warrant a friendly resolution.

Asked to evaluate the existence of a 1,280-acre reservation in Illinois, former Solicitor John Leshy said the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is the legal successor to lands set aside by an 1829 treaty. "Our research has not revealed any subsequent treaty or act of Congress which authorized the conveyance of these lands," he wrote.

"As a result, we believe the U.S. continues to bear a trust responsibility to the Prairie Band for these lands," he wrote on January 18, 2001.

Despite the memo -- or perhaps because of it -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill) and three colleagues less than three months later signed onto a bill that was far from the type of "amicable" solution Leshy hoped for when he drafted his letter. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Ill.), would extinguish all rights to a reservation whose sale to non-Indians in 1849 probably violated federal law.

So it was no surprise the measure came under attack by tribal leaders and representatives at a Congressional hearing last week. Prairie Band vice-chairman Gary Mitchell was quick to point out the Leshy memo, which, along with other documents drafted by the Clinton administration, he said bolstered his tribe's case.

Larry Angelo, second chief of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, also was convinced of the reservation's continued existence. Although not named in the memo, he said his tribe would submit evidence to the Bush administration to show its line of succession to the land in question.

Established by the Treaty of Prairie du Chien for Chief Shab-eh-nay and his band, the reservation is held by a number of different owners today. A majority of the parcels have been turned into a state park and a wildlife preserve while others are in private hands.

But returning the area to Indian ownership is a primary goal of the Potawatomi Band. Mitchell made clear that his tribe wants to purchase the land and re-establish what would be the only reservation in Illinois.

"He didn't abandon the land," Mitchell said in reference to Shab-eh-nay, who was driven off his home in the 1830s and returned two decades later only to see it sold.

Standing in the way is a bill which hasn't garnered much support beyond its chief proponents. Almost every Democrat who attended the hearing spoke against the legislation.

"It sets a bad precedent for other claims that are out there," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

Another opponent is Illinois' political leadership, which has resisted efforts to settle all tribal claims. According to Angelo, at least one official representative of Gov. George Ryan (R), who also received Leshy's memo, was openly hostile and spoke derisively of the notion of an Indian Country in the state's backyard.

"There has been an historic theme of racism toward American Indians," he said.

Read Excepts of Leshy Letter:
Leshy to Hastert (January 18, 2001)

Get the Bill:
To provide for the equitable settlement of certain Indian land disputes regarding land in Illinois (H.R.791)

Relevant Links:
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation - http://www.pbpindiantribe.com
The Miami Nation - http://www.miamination.com