1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human rights; recognizing the Sandy Lake 
  1.3             Band of Mississippi Chippewa as a state-recognized 
  1.4             Indian tribe. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [PURPOSE.] 
  1.7      The legislature recognizes that one of the basic 
  1.8   foundations for human rights is the freedom of association and 
  1.9   the protection of the status of an individual's lineal 
  1.10  ancestors.  The legislature further recognizes that Indian 
  1.11  status was defined in the past by the numerous treaties with the 
  1.12  federal government.  As a result of these treaties, the historic 
  1.13  Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa tribe lost their federal 
  1.14  tribal status which was formally recognized through the treaty 
  1.15  of 1855 establishing the Sandy Lake Reservation. 
  1.16     The legislature recognizes that the Sandy Lake Band of 
  1.17  Mississippi Chippewa Indians has been identified as a separate 
  1.18  American Indian tribal entity since 1855.  It is necessary to 
  1.19  recognize the historic Sandy Lake Band in order for the tribal 
  1.20  people to preserve their sense of identity and rebuild their 
  1.21  community.  The legislature recognizes a duty to assist in 
  1.22  preserving the tribe's identity, culture, and continuation 
  1.23  through state recognition. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  [POPULAR NAME.] 
  1.25     This act may be cited as the "Sandy Lake Band of 
  2.1   Mississippi Chippewa Indians Act." 
  2.2      Sec. 3.  [DEFINITIONS.] 
  2.3      For purposes of this act, the term "band" means the Sandy 
  2.4   Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa Indians. 
  2.5      Sec. 4.  [FINDINGS.] 
  2.6      The state of Minnesota finds that: 
  2.7      (1) the Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa Indians are 
  2.8   descendants of and political successors to the signatories of 
  2.9   the treaties of 1825, 1826, 1837, 1842, 1847, 1854, 1855, 1863, 
  2.10  1864, and 1867 with the United States of America, those treaties 
  2.11  having been negotiated to achieve peace and friendship between 
  2.12  the Indian people of the constituent bands and the United States 
  2.13  of America; 
  2.14     (2) the Sandy Lake Band consists of approximately 250 
  2.15  members who continue to reside close to their ancestral 
  2.16  homeland, as recognized in the 1855 Treaty with the Chippewa at 
  2.17  7 Statutes at Large 591 and 10 Statutes at Large 1165, near the 
  2.18  town of McGregor in Aitkin county, Minnesota and throughout 
  2.19  Minnesota; 
  2.20     (3) the Sandy Lake Band historically existed, and continues 
  2.21  to exist and carry out political and social activities with a 
  2.22  viable tribal government as a separate and distinct Indian 
  2.23  tribe; 
  2.24     (4) the Sandy Lake Band has a historical precedence that 
  2.25  exists to support state recognition which dates back to at least 
  2.26  1794; 
  2.27     (5) the Sandy Lake Band is also a beneficiary of Executive 
  2.28  Order No. 2144 signed by President Woodrow Wilson on March 4, 
  2.29  1915, that established a reservation at Sandy Lake and also 
  2.30  reaffirmed the Sandy Lake Ojibwe's right of occupancy on the 
  2.31  Sandy Lake Reservation located on Lots 2 and 3 of Section 32, 
  2.32  Township 50 North, Range 23 West, Fourth Principal Meridian in 
  2.33  Aitkin county, Minnesota; 
  2.34     (6) the Sandy Lake Band finds and determines that the 
  2.35  treaties that are applicable to any constituent signatory bands 
  2.36  whose members are also descendants of the signatories of the 
  3.1   treaties referred to in clause (1) of peace and friendship with 
  3.2   the United States of America have been recognized by the federal 
  3.3   government as distinct Indian tribes; 
  3.4      (7) the Sandy Lake Band never relinquished separate 
  3.5   inherent rights to be self-governing and therefore possesses the 
  3.6   sovereign right to autonomy; 
  3.7      (8) the United States government and the local government 
  3.8   have had continuous dealings with the recognized political 
  3.9   leaders of the band from 1825 to the present; and 
  3.10     (9) the Aitkin county commissioners, all members voting 
  3.11  "yes" adopted a resolution supporting the Sandy Lake Band as a 
  3.12  governmental entity to be established as a tribe in a 
  3.13  reservation separate and apart from all other Ojibwe bands in 
  3.14  Minnesota. 
  3.15     Sec. 5.  [STATE RECOGNITION.] 
  3.16     By this act, the Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa 
  3.17  Indians is recognized by the state of Minnesota as an 
  3.18  independent tribe, separate and apart from any other state or 
  3.19  federally recognized tribe or Indian community.