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Susanville Rancheria land-into-trust bill sent to President Obama

Friday, June 10, 2016

Dancers at the Susanville Indian Rancheria powwow in May 2015. Still image from Randy Shirley / YouTube

A land-into-trust bill for the Susanville Indian Rancheria is heading to President Barack Obama his signature.

H.R.2212 was approved by the Senate by unanimous consent on Friday afternoon. The action followed passage by the House last November.

The bill affects about 300 acres of Bureau of Land Management property. The land is considered surplus by the agency but it holds great value to the tribe.

"The land is our ancestral homeland and it has cultural and historical importance,” Secretary/Treasurer Aaron Dixon told the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs at a hearing in June 2015. “We seek to reacquire this land to preserve and protect it.”

The tribe plans to use the land for its powwow grounds, a cultural center, a museum and a recreational area. The property is contiguous to the reservation.

"The Rancheria has long ties to this land, which holds a number of cultural, historical, and archeological sites, including grinding stones, petroglyphs, and other important artifacts," Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-California) said on the House floor on November 30, 2015. "Rancheria members also gather traditional herbs, medicines, and vegetables on the land and continue to hunt game in the area as their ancestors did."

The Obama administration supports the bill.