North Dakota Land Exchange: Restoring Trust Lands to Indian Tribes
This Act authorizes North Dakota to exchange State-owned land parcels, originally granted for school funding, that are located within Indian reservation boundaries for Federal land of equal value. The goal is to consolidate State assets and restore land to Tribal ownership. Land relinquished by the State within a reservation will be taken into trust by the Federal government for the benefit of the applicable Indian Tribe.
Key points
North Dakota can relinquish land parcels located inside reservations in exchange for equivalent unappropriated Federal land.
Relinquished land within reservation boundaries will be transferred into trust for the benefit of the respective Indian Tribe, expanding the reservation land base.
The exchange must be of substantially equal value, determined by independent appraisals, with provisions for cash payments or ledger accounts to balance differences.
Existing rights, such as grazing permits and leases, remain valid and are transferred to the new landowner (State or Tribe/Federal government).
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