Washington, D.C.– U.S. Representative Chip Cravaack (MN-8) is pleased to report that the House Committee on Natural Resources has approved a subcommittee hearing to assess the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2011.  The hearing will be conducted following the February 20^th recess and before the end of March in the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs.  In order for legislation to move forward in the Natural Resources Committee mark-up process, a subcommittee hearing is first required.

Overview:  The legislation would finally release reimbursement funds from the Interior Department that are owed to the Boise Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth bands of Chippewa in Minnesota – five of which reside within the Eighth Congressional District – for federal misfeasance in implementing the Nelson Act of 1889.  H.R. 1272 was introduced by Representatives Colin Peterson (MN-7) and Chip Cravaack (MN-8) and currently awaits action in the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. 

“Chairman Leecy of Bois Forte was the first person I met with after I was entrusted to serve this office.  I am eager to finally get these funds out of the Interior Department trust, where they have been sitting since 1999, and back to Minnesota’s Chippewa,” said Rep. Cravaack.   

History:  The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act, H.R. 1272, provides for a long-overdue distribution of $20 million appropriated in 1999 after the judgment in favor of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.  The funds were placed into a trust fund managed for the exclusive benefit of the Tribe by the United States to compensate for federal misfeasance in implementing the Nelson Act of 1889.  The Nelson Act of 1889 apportioned a small piece of the Chippewa Indian’s land to the tribes, while the rest of the lands and timber were sold by the U.S. government.  The Minnesota Chippewa based this agreement on the understanding that all money accrued from the sale of those lands and timber would be placed in the Treasury of the United States to the benefit of all the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota.  Unfortunately, the U.S. government mismanaged the process, resulting in the Chippewa receiving far less in revenues than the sale of their lands and timber were worth. 

What the bill does:  H.R. 1272 legislatively enacts a 2009 Minnesota Chippewa Tribal resolution to reimburse to the Minnesota Chippewa for what they are owed, plus interest (now about $28 million).  This bill reflects the wishes of the 2009 Minnesota Chippewa Tribal resolution and distributes the funds in a per-capita apportionment of $300 per member enrolled in each band, followed by an equal six-way split of the remaining settlement funds to the six recipient bands.

Representative Cravaack serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – where he is Vice Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee – the Homeland Security Committee, and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. The 8th Congressional District covers 18 counties in Northeast Minnesota.

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