L'ANSE, MI— U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin and Congressman Jack Bergman have reintroduced legislation to settle the longstanding land claims of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
Through Treaties signed in 1842 and 1854, the KBIC was granted occupancy over a large area of land established as the L’Anse Reservation in the Upper Peninsula. The Tribe claims between 1,333 and 2,720 acres of land was illegally transferred to the state of Michigan by the federal government as compensation for construction of the Sault Ste. Marie canal, as well as approximately 2,743 acres of swamplands.
The KBIC says the loss of valuable land along Lake Superior created substantial economic and other harm over the past 150 years. Meanwhile, non-Indian entities have acquired the land in good faith and now want to ensure they have clear title.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act of 2025 would address the issue and clear the title of current landowners in the community. The bill—which unanimously passed the Senate last Congress—would authorize funds through the U.S. Department of Interior that may be used by the KBIC for governmental services, economic development, natural resource protection, and land acquisition.
