Leech Lake Chairman Hunt to state concerns at meeting today in St. Paul
I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
May 27, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
CASS LAKE -- Land-in-trust regulations need to be relaxed for American Indian tribes to become economically diversified and to ultimately survive, says Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Chairman Eli Hunt.
And that is what Hunt will tell U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel today at a meeting concerning proposed land-in-trust regulations in St. Paul.
The regulations control the process in which Indian tribes ask the federal government to hold certain pieces of tribally owned land in trust for the benefit of the tribe's people.
When held in trust, the tribe through its sovereign authority can determine how to use and legislate the land. And land owned by one government cannot be taxed by another government. So, for instance, tribal land held in trust cannot be taxed by a county or city.
According to the new Acquisition of Title to Land in Trust regulations -- which were published in the Federal Register April 12 -- the Interior Department is attempting to ease the process of putting on-reservation land into trust, while making it tougher to put off-reservation land into trust.
However, in prepared testimony, Hunt contests those statements, saying that the land-in-trust regulations have had little positive impact on the Leech Lake Band and the proposed regulations, in contrast to what is believed, would make it tougher on tribes to put land into trust.
"The Leech Lake Reservation encompasses nearly 667,000 acres of land. ... Less than 4 percent of our original land base is held in trust for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe," Hunt's statement reads in part. "And now, the new regulations make it even more difficult for tribes to buy land and put it into trust. Today, when Leech Lake attempts to buy back this same land, we face severe opposition from state and local landowners over inflated land prices."
Hunt argues later that the attempt to simplify on-reservation land-in-trust acquisitions is not streamlined by the new regulations. In fact, he states in his testimony, they make it more difficult.
Under the new regulations, those opposed to tribal land-in-trust actions would have 30 days to comment, and if they are not pleased with the result, they can sue in federal court.
However, according to Hunt, this is already happening to Leech Lake. Cass County, in which part of Leech Lake lies, has appealed a BIA determination to place seven parcels of on-reservation land totaling 126.41 acres into trust because "putting land into trust would remove them from any development controls consistent with Cass County's long range plans," according to Hunt's testimony.
But Cass County Administrator Robert Yochum said Wednesday in a telephone interview that the county is concerned about trust land being taken out of the county's tax base. That is why they have opposed the reservation's most recent trust requests.
"The county has opposed trust land status because putting land into trust diminishes the property tax base in Cass County and creates a burden on the remaining tax payers," he said.
Hunt adds in his testimony that the new regulations restrict land-in-trust actions because the tribe has to spend time refuting unfounded arguments such as Cass County's in its most recent trust actions.
As for the regulations concerning off-reservation land-in-trust actions, Hunt says toughening them will only serve to make it virtually impossible for tribes to do so.
"The regulations not only extend the public comment period," his testimony states, "but also require the (Interior) Secretary to have a presumption against the Tribe."
Hunt closes his testimony by offering several suggestions:
He asks that the comment period on the proposed regulations be extended to 90 days.
He asks that the Interior Department "provide tribes with a vehicle for more meaningful involvement in the development of the new regulations."
He asks that local governments not be given so much deference when it comes to land-in-trust issues.
"After all, it is a responsibility of the BIA to help protect Indian interests from State and local government intrusion," he writes.
White Earth Tribal Executive Director Sam Rock, who is also the tribe's former land manager, plans to attend today's meeting, but said there are no major land-in-trust issues he plans to speak about.
"I understand this is nothing more than a discussion on the proposed regulations," he said. "I will listen and make comments that need to be made."
Pioneer efforts to contact Red Lake Tribal Chairman Bobby Whitefeather were unsuccessful Wednesday.
Today's meeting on the new land-in-trust regulations is only one of two in the nation that have been scheduled, with the possibility of a third to be held.
The first meeting was held in Albuquerque, N.M., may 7. The third may be held in June or July in California.
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