Bois Forte Band of Chippewa to Get 28,000 Acres Back

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota tribe is set to get back 28,000 acres that the federal government sold off in the 19th century.

Minnesota Public Radio reports that the land is within the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa’s reservation but the tribe lost title to it after the federal government split it into parcels and sold it under the 1887 General Allotment Act. The nonprofit Conservation Fund bought the land as part of a larger purchase from the PotlatchDeltic lumber company in 2020 with the intent of returning it to the tribe.

Tribal Chair Cathy Chavers says the land will be used for hunting, fishing and gathering berries.