Commissioners in St. Louis County, Minnesota, will no longer oppose efforts by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians to reacquire ancestral lands.

Last year, the commission barred the county from selling land within the reservation back to the tribe. The commission also wrote the Bureau of Indian Affairs in opposition to the tribe's land-into-trust applications.

But commissioners changed their minds and decided it was better to work with the tribe. Public support for the tribe -- over 120 people attended a rally last year -- also helped.

The tribal land base makes up less than 1 percent of the county acreage.

Get the Story:
County endorses land sale to tribe (The Duluth News Tribune 2/10)
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Related Stories:
Editorial: County can avoid land-into-trust fight (2/16)
Protest supports Fond du Lac Band land-into-trust (2/13)
County opposes Fond du Lac Band land-into-trust (1/27)