Six Minnesota Chippewa tribes will soon know when they will receive a $28 million settlement from the U.S. government first awarded 13 years ago.
Last March U.S. Congressman Chip Cravaack and U.S. Representative Colin Peterson testified before the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaskan Native Affairs and asked that the money be released to the tribes.
After two weeks of discussion the subcommittee decided to bring the bill to Congress where it sat in limbo (again) until recently. The majority leader brought it up for a vote under suspension of the rules and it needed an up or down vote with two-thirds of a majority to pass—which it received—rather than a simple majority to pass. The Senate passed the bill this week and it is now awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature.
The United States Court of Federal Claims awarded and appropriated $20 million to the Minnesota Chippewa tribes in 1999 after the government was found to have improperly de-valued native timber and took tribal lands under the Nelson Act of 1889. The settlement was meant to compensate descendants of the Chippewa, but the tribes disagreed about who should get what, and the money has been sitting, gathering interest.
Representatives Chip Cravaack and Colin Peterson testified March 1 before the Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Indian and Alaskan Native Affairs, on H.R. 1272, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act.
“I represent five of the six bands that constitute the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Their representatives have all made it very clear to me that it is more than past time to bring resolution to this long-standing issue. I agree,” said Cravaack.
“Furthermore, Representative Peterson and I agree that H.R. 1272 is the solution that must be enacted in order to fulfill the U.S. government’s legal obligation, conclude its litigation with the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, and release the over $28 million in the settlement funds in a expeditious manner,” Cravaack said at the time.
Both of Minnesota’s U.S. senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken were also strong supporters of this legislation and helped to push it through the Senate.
Under terms of the H.R. 1272 resolution each band member would receive $300 and the six tribes, which includes Grand Portage, would split the rest of the money evenly. The other tribes are Boise Forte, Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth.
Grand Portage Tribal Chairman Norman Deschampe said, “This has been a long process. We finally got it done and we’re glad we can move on. We’re happy it’s over and they finally accomplished what the tribes wanted.”
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