Congress finds the following:
(1) The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians are descendants of, and political successors to, signatories of the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit.
(2) The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and the Bay Mills Band of Chippewa Indians, whose members are also descendants of the signatories to the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit, have been recognized by the Federal Government as distinct Indian tribes.
(3) The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians consists of at least 1,000 eligible members who continue to reside close to their ancestral homeland as recognized in the Little Traverse Reservation in the 1836 Treaty of Washington and 1855 Treaty of Detroit, which area is now known as Emmet and Charlevoix Counties, Michigan.
(4) The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians consists of at least 500 eligible members who continue to reside close to their ancestral homeland as recognized in the Manistee Reservation in the 1836 Treaty of Washington and reservation in the 1855 Treaty of Detroit, which area is now known as Manistee and Mason Counties, Michigan.
(5) The Bands filed for reorganization of their existing tribal governments in 1935 under the Act of June 18, 1934 (
25 U.S.C.
461 et seq.; commonly referred to as the Indian Reorganization Act). Federal agents who visited the Bands, including Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier, attested to the continued social and political existence of the Bands and concluded that the Bands were eligible for reorganization. Due to a lack of Federal appropriations to implement the provisions of such Act, the Bands were denied the opportunity to reorganize.
(6) In spite of such denial, the Bands continued their political and social existence with viable tribal governments. The Bands, along with other Michigan Odawa/Ottawa groups, including the tribes described in paragraph (2), formed the Northern Michigan Ottawa Association in 1948. The Association subsequently pursued a successful land claim with the Indian Claims Commission.
(7) Between 1948 and 1975, the Bands carried out many of their governmental functions through the Northern Michigan Ottawa Association, while retaining individual Band control over local decisions.
(8) In 1975, the Northern Michigan Ottawa Association petitioned under the Act of June 18, 1934 (
25 U.S.C.
461 et seq.; commonly referred to as the Indian Reorganization Act), to form a government on behalf of the Bands. Again in spite of the Bands eligibility, the Bureau of Indian Affairs failed to act on their request.
(9) The United States Government, the government of the State of Michigan, and local governments have had continuous dealings with the recognized political leaders of the Bands from 1836 to the present.