The federal government has officially returned thousands of acres of land to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, following the signing of an act of Congress by the president. The tribe can now reclaim this valuable land and utilize it for their community’s benefit.
Sprawling out from the Missouri River, prime conversation land lies just beyond the bluffs at the edge of the Winnebago Tribe’s reservation. With the recent passing of the Winnebago Land Transfer Act, the land has been rightfully returned to the tribe.
According to the tribal chairwoman, Victoria Kitcheyan, the commitment to the Treaty of 1865 and the leaders and warriors who signed it is being honored. She emphasized that this tradition goes far back and is still being upheld today.
During the 1970s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers utilized eminent domain to acquire the land for their project. However, the said project never came into fruition. Despite this, the Corps chose to lease the land to the state of Iowa rather than return it to its original owners.
Kitcheyan expressed, “We have always had supporters from both political parties, and it brings us immense pride to have a bill passed with bipartisan support during such uncertain times in our nation.”
The land is currently utilized for public hunting, and the tribal officials have confirmed that this will remain the case. Individuals from the general public will still be able to hunt in this region. The only alteration that will occur is the location where fees are paid. Rather than paying the state, hunters will be required to pay the tribe.
The chairwoman expressed that they plan to make the land their own once again, but this time by ensuring that it is accessible to both tribal members and anyone who wishes to appreciate its natural beauty.
According to a tribal spokesperson, the new law comes with some limitations. One of the restrictions is that the tribe is not allowed to set up a casino on the land. However, as the chairwoman previously stated, the tribe is dedicated to preserving this land as a conservation area.
The Corps will be transferring the land to the U.S. Department of the Interior, who will then hold it in trust for the tribe. According to Kitcheyan, tribal officials have scheduled a meeting with government representatives for next week. Upon the official transfer of the land, the tribe plans to hold a celebratory event to mark the occasion.
According to a tribal spokesperson, the reason why the two tracts of land returned by the law are located in Iowa instead of Nebraska, where the Winnebago Indian Reservation is mainly situated, is due to the re-routing of the Missouri River caused by flooding.
U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer disclosed that the Corps had put forth a recreation project, which led to the initiation of eminent domain proceedings. While the tribe was successful in legal battles to retain some parts of the land in Nebraska against the recreation project, they lost possession of the tracts situated in Iowa.
The tribe claims that their lawyer made a legal agreement about the tracts in Iowa without their consent back in 1970. Despite an appeals court acknowledging that the condemnation of the land was illegal, the ruling couldn’t be overturned.
The law received widespread backing as both chambers of Congress passed it by voice vote, obviating the need for a recorded vote.