Native, Faith, and Environmental Groups submit letter of support for Minnesota Land Return bills

LEECH LAKE, Minn. (KVRR) — Several Native, Faith, and Environmental groups have submitted a letter of support for five “Land Return” bills in the Minnesota Legislature.

The bills would return state-owned land that was taken from the tribes in violation of their treaty agreements.

These bills would see land around White Earth, Red Lake, Cloquet, and Mille Lacs County returned to the local tribes for stewardship.

Leanna Goose of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe who helped write the letter said that bills like these help to rectify past wrongs, and preserve the land for future generations.

“The right thing to do is to return that land to the White Earth Nation, so they can protect it for the next generations. Today the White Earth Nation has very little of their land base left, approximately 12%.”

The letter of support also noted that public access to the land will not be affected by these land return bills.