Legislation by Congressman Tom Cole addressing a historic land claim involving the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma was considered this week by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs.
House Resolution 2827 would allow the Miami Tribe to bring a land claim before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims related to land originally covered under the 1805 Treaty of Grouseland.
“As a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and the longest serving Native American in the House, I am resolute in my commitment to ensure tribal issues are heard in this chamber,” Cole said. “That commitment is what brought me to advocate for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma in the Subcommittee hearing today.”
Cole said the legislation is intended to address the land claim.
“H.R. 2827 is a straight forward, bipartisan piece of legislation,” Cole said. “It simply resolves the claim to certain land exclusively for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma without setting any new precedent.”
The dispute stems from the Treaty of Grouseland signed in 1805 by the Miami Tribe, the Eel River Band, and the Wea. Under the treaty, the United States recognized tribal ownership of lands in the Wabash River watershed and agreed not to purchase the land without the consent of the tribes.
However, between 1805 and 1840, the federal government transferred roughly 2.6 million acres of that land to non Native settlers without obtaining tribal consent. The unresolved title issues have complicated land ownership and agricultural operations in parts of Illinois.
Under current law, Congress must authorize the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to hear cases involving unresolved tribal land claims. Cole’s bill would grant that authority for the Miami Tribe’s claim and allow the issue to be decided in court.
The legislation does not include any monetary settlement and instead allows the tribe to formally present its claim while relinquishing any further claims to the land.
