1 retary, for the best interests of the bands under existing law. 2 Such funds shall be held and used pursuant to a plan or plans 3 developed by the respective reservation business committees 4 and approved by the Secretary. Such plans may include a 5 joint investment and use program of the funds for the bands 6 represented on a reservation.

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SEC. 6. Eighty per centum of the funds apportioned 8 under sections 3 and 4 shall be held and administered by the 9 Secretary for per capita distribution and such sums and the 10 interest and investment income accruing thereon shall be dis11 tributed and used as follows

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(a) from the funds apportioned under sections 3(a) and 4, per capita distributions shall be made on a sum as nearly equal as possible to each enrollee of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe who is designated as a member

of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewas and affiliated

with the Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Nett Lake (in

cluding Vermillion Lake and Deer Creek) or White Earth reservations, and who was born on or prior to

and living on the date of enactment of this Act; and

(b) from the funds apportioned under section 3(b), per capita distributions shall be made in a sum as nearly equal as possible to each enrollee of the Minne

sota Chippewa Tribe who is designated as a member of

the Mississippi Band of Chippewas and affiliated with

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the Mille Lacs, White Earth or Leech Lake reserva

tions, and who was born on or prior to and living on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. No person shall be entitled to more than one

5 capital share of the funds apportioned under sections 3 or 4, 6 but a person may be entitled to one capital share of each of 7 the funds apportioned under those sections.

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SEC. 8. The per capita shares of living competent adults 9 shall be paid directly to them. The per capita shares of 10 minors shall be handled pursuant to 25 CFR 60.10 (a) and 11 (b)(1) and 104.4. The per capita shares of legal incompetents 12 shall be handled under 25 CFR 104.5. The per capita shares 13 of deceased individual beneficiaries shall be determined and 14 distributed in accordance with 43 CFR, part 4, subpart D. 15 SEC. 9. None of the funds distributed per capita or held 16 in trust shall be subject to Federal or State income taxes or 17 be considered as income or resources in determining the 18 extent of eligibility for assistance under the Social Security 19 Act or other Federal assistance programs.

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SEC. 10. The Lake Superior and Mississippi Band rolls 21 of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe shall be brought current 22 under procedures enacted by the tribe and approved by the 23 Secretary.

24 SEC. 11. Nothing in this Act shall affect the use or dis25 tribution of that share of the judgment funds in docket 18–S 1 and docket 18-U to which members of the Lake Superior or 2 Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians who are not enrollees 3 of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are entitled.

Senator ANDREWS. Our first witness this morning will be our colleague from Minnesota, followed by John Fritz, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

Do you have an opening statement, Senator Melcher?
Senator MELCHER. No; I just want to participate.

STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID DURENBERGER, A U.S. SENATOR
FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

Senator DURENBERGER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I thank you and our colleague from Montana for being here, and I thank you in particular for holding this hearing. I thank you for your sensitivity to many of the issues that are of deep concern to us in your neighboring State of Minnesota.

This particular issue is one of great concern to many Minnesotans. The members of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians enrolled in the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe were awarded judgments in dockets 18-S and 18-U of the Indian Claims Commission, and funds were appropriated for them in 1978. It has now been more than 5 years since funds were appropriated, yet the tribal members have not received their per capita payment, nor has the tribal government received its share of the judgment.

Legislation introduced by Senator Boschwitz and myself would provide the mechanism necessary to define the use and distribution of these funds. The legislation is necessary because the Department of the Interior has failed to submit a distribution plan. I am hopeful that today, the Department of the Interior has prepared a distribution plan that takes into consideration the concerns of the enrollees of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

As you know so well, the economic climate on Indian reservations is particularly poor. Speedy approval and passage of this bill would enable the Secretary of the Interior to begin the process of distribution to the individuals who very badly need these funds. This, in turn, would improve the economic conditions of those individuals and the surrounding community.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your bringing together the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, the Mille Lacs Band of the Chippewa Tribe, and the Department of the Interior. I am optimistic that we can reach an agreement on the distribution of funds.

Senator ANDREWS. It is great to have you here, Senator. Let me assure you that your support for this legislation plays a great part in the committee's consideration of it. We appreciate your comments and your taking the time to appear today.

Senator MELCHER. I have nothing to add to that. I agree entirely. Senator DURENBERGER. Thank you.

Senator ANDREWS. Our next witness this morning is John Fritz, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Mr. Fritz, it is good to have you here.

Let me explain. I am going to have to disappear and leave you in the hands of my good friend, Senator Melcher, because we have a situation up in the Budget Committee where the Secretary of Agriculture is appearing. As you can imagine, Senator Melcher and I, together, have been kind of leading, in a bipartisan way, the banded attack on

the administration and all of the problems there are in "Wheatville." So we had a little joint caucus, and we agreed that I had better be up there. He shares my feeling on the need for a thorough discussion of these two bills, and he will do a great job right here.

Later on, at 2:30, the two of us will join hands again in a meeting of the Agriculture Committee on which we both serve together. So you will understand my absence is necessary, given the area from which I come.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN FRITZ, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF INDIAN AFFAIRS (OPERATIONS), U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ON S. 2177

Mr. FRITZ. I certainly understand that, Mr. Chairman. I thank you very much.

I am pleased to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 2177, a bill to provide for the distribution of judgment funds for the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians.

We have a fully-prepared statement which I would like to enter in the record, and I would like to just give a short synopsis.

The Department of the Interior recommends enactment of S. 2177, which provides for the disposition of funds awarded to the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians in docket 18-S and funds awarded to the Lake Superior Band in docket 18-U. The funds in docket 18-S will be divided two-thirds among the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and one-third among the Mississippi Chippewa Indians. Those entitled to share in dockets 18-S and 18-U include members of the seven Lake Superior Chippewa tribal organizations on reservations in Wisconsin and Michigan, and the Lake Superior and Mississippi descendants enrolled with the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and affiliated with the tribe's designated reservation. We note that S. 2177 provides for the apportionment and distribution of funds belonging only to the seven Lake Superior and Mississippi groups enrolled with the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Proposals for the disposition of the apportioned shares of the other seven groups would also require legislation.

If the committee so desires, we are prepared to work with your staff on appropriate amendments to S. 2177, which would include all 14 beneficiary groups, in order to eliminate the need for separate legislation.

This concludes the synopsis of my prepared statement, and I will be happy to respond to any questions which you might have.

Senator MELCHER [presiding]. I presume that the Department can supply the committee with the various tribal rolls of the Lake Superior Band in Wisconsin and Michigan to show that they are current. Is that so?

Mr. FRITZ. With respect to the Lake Superior Band, they are in various stages of the process of completing the enrollment figures, but we can supply a certain number of those currently.

Senator MELCHER. Then we want for the staff and for the bands themselves the effects, in your best judgment, on the various distribution plans.

Mr. FRITZ. Yes, sir.

Senator MELCHER. Well, while we have you at the table, let us get your testimony on the next bill. Will that be agreeable?

Mr. FRITZ. Certainly. I appreciate your consideration, allowing us to get both of them out of the way.

[The prepared statement follows:]

PREPARED STAtement of JoHN W. FRITZ, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF INDIAN AFFAIRS (OPERATIONS), DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ON S. 2177

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 2177, a bill to provide for the distribution of the judgment funds of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians.

We recommend enactment of S. 2177.

S. 2177 would provide for the disposition of funds awarded to the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians in docket 18-S and funds awarded to the Lake Superior band in Docket 18-U. The funds in docket 18-S would be divided two-thirds among the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and one-third among the Mississippi Chippewa Indians.

Under S. 2177, the respective shares of these Lake Superior Indians enrolled in the Minnesota Chippewa tribe would be apportioned by reservation affiliation; namely, (1) the Fond Du Lac Reservation, (2) the Grand Portage Reservation, (3) the Nett Lake Reservation (including Vermillion Lake and Deer Creek), and (4) the White Earth Reservation. The respective shares of the Mississippi Chippewa Indians enrolled in the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe would be apportioned by reservation affiliation; namely, (1) the Mille Lacs Reservation, (2) the White Earth Reservation, and (3) the Leech Lake Reservation.

Of the Lake Superior share of funds in docket 18-S and the funds in docket 18-U, twenty percent of each reservation's portion of funds would be used for tribal programming purposes and eighty percent of such funds would be distributed per capita to those eligible enrollees affiliated with each reservation. Of the Mississippi share of funds in docket 18-S, twenty percent of each reservation's portion of funds would be used for tribal programming purposes and eighty percent of such funds would be distributed per capita to those eligible enrollees affiliated with each reservation.

On November 23, 1977, the Indian Claims Commission entered a final award to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, et al., in docket 18-S, in the sum of $8,516,128.32 to be divided two-thirds among the Chippewas of Lake Superior and one-third among the Chippewas of the Mississippi. Funds to cover the award were appropriated on March 10, 1978. The award in docket 18-S represents additional compensation for some 10.5 million acres of land in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which were ceded to the United States by the Lake Superior and Mississippi Chippewas under a treaty of October 4. 1842. The Indian Claims Commission found that the promised consideration of $875,000 was grossly inadequate.

On March 30, 1978, the Indian Claims Commission entered a final award to the Chippewas of Lake Superior in docket No. 18-U, in the sum of $2,621,174.58. Funds to cover the award were appropriated on July 27, 1978. The award represents additional compensation for lands in northeastern Minnesota which were ceded to the United States by a treaty of September 30, 1854. The Indian Claims Commission found that the promised consideration of $813,353.19 for the 1854 treaty cession of lands having a fair market value of $3,250,000 was grossly inadequate.

The Chippewas were one of the larger groups of Indians of the Algonquian linguistic stock, located in the northern Great Lakes Area and were primarily divided into five distinct bodies or tribes: Lake Superior, Mississippi, Pillager, Red Lake, and Pembina. Historically, the "Chippewas of the Mississippi" consisted of at least 12 local bands, and the "Chippewas of Lake Superior" consisted of 12 or more local bands.

From the year 1785 to 1870, the United States concluded 43 separate treaties with the Chippewas. In early treaties, the Chippewas were dealt with as a single tribe and were shown as occupying a large area reaching from Lake Huron on the east to and beyond Lake Superior on the west. In later treaties, they were regarded as divided into distinct bands. Particular bands were recognized as occupying areas in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and eastern North Dakota, and entitled to hold or cede the same, independently of other bands and of the Chippewas as a whole.