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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1300h. Congressional findings
Congress finds that -
(1) the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians, although currently recognized by the Federal Government
as part of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, has historically
existed, and continues to exist, as a separate and distinct
Indian tribe that is located over 75 miles from the Keweenaw Bay
Indian Community;
(2) the Lac Vieux Desert Band consists of approximately 250
members who continue to reside close to their ancestral homeland
near the town of Watersmeet, Michigan;
(3) the Lac Vieux Desert Band entered into two treaties with
the United States as a distinct tribal entity (7 Stat. 591, 10
Stat. 1109);
(4) members of the Lac Vieux Desert Band currently reside on or
otherwise occupy lands within the Township of Watersmeet,
Michigan, which are held by the United States in trust for the
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, and currently receive limited
Federal benefits through the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; and
(5) because of its distance from Keweenaw Bay and the failure
of the United States to recognize the independent status of the
tribe, the Lac Vieux Desert Band and its members receive only
limited benefits to which the tribe and its members are entitled.
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