Lake Superior | Susan J. Demas
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) reintroduced bills in the U.S. House and Senate in hopes of resolving longstanding land claims with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
Under treaties signed in 1842 and 1854, the Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior ceded land to the U.S. government, with the agreement that tribes would retain the right to hunt, fish and gather within the ceded territory. The 1854 treaty established the L’Anse Reservation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is based.
Despite the treaties, thousands of acres of reservation land were taken by the federal government without compensation and awarded to the state of Michigan. This land has since been acquired by non-Indigenous individuals, entities and local governments, who want to ensure they possess a clear title to the land.
According to a statement from Peters’ office, the proposed Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2025 aims to address these historic wrongs and clear the title of current landowners in the community.
“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 Sen. Peters, Sen. Slotkin, and Rep. Bergman for their leadership to right this historic wrong,” Keweenaw Bay Indian Community President Robert “RD” Curtis Jr. and the tribal council said in a statement.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s claims focus on the dispossession of 2,743 acres of swamplands along with approximately 1,333 to 2,720 acres of land transferred to the state as compensation for the construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. Due to the 1842 and 1854 treaties, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community said these lands were transferred illegally, with the transfer creating substantial economic harm alongside other harms through the loss of valuable land along Lake Superior.
The bills — Senate bill 642 and House bill 411 — would authorize funds through the U.S. Department of Interior that the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community can use for governmental services, economic development, natural resource protection and land acquisition.
A previous version of the legislation passed the Senate unanimously during the previous Congress, but was not advanced by the House.