Staff at the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate have been reaching out to tribal members to inform them about the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Image from SWO

The Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations keeps on rolling -- this time with $63.5 million in offers to landowners on the Lake Traverse Reservation.

The reservation -- home to the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate -- straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. Nearly 2,800 landowners there have received offers to sell their fractionated interests.

The Buy-Back Program is a unique opportunity and I am encouraged by the growing interest we are seeing in the program across Indian Country as well as the partnerships we are developing with tribal governments as implementation moves to each location,” Michael Connor, the deputy secretary at the Interior Department, said in a press release. “Payments through program sales are already making a significant difference for individuals, families and their communities. We will continue to work closely with tribal representatives to ensure that individuals are aware of this historic opportunity.”

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate will hold an outreach meeting next Wednesday, October 15, to discuss the program. The deadline to respond to offers is November 24.

The $3.4 billion Cobell settlement provided $1.9 billion for Indian landowners who want to sell their fractionated interests. DOI will pay "fair market value" as required by the Indian Land Consolidation Act.

Since the program started last winter, DOI has successfully concluded more than $146.4 million in transactions, according to the press release. More than 280,000 acres have been transferred to tribes.

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