BIA won't accept former Army property for Ho-Chunk Nation

Tuesday, October 11, 2011  

The Bureau of Indian Affairs won't acquire a portion of an old U.S. Army site for the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.

The BIA said it would cost too much money to conduct an environmental assessment at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant. Then the site would need to be cleaned up due to contamination.

“We are extremely disappointed in the BIA’s decision to deny the return of this important ancestral land to the Ho-Chunk Nation,” President Jon Greendeer said in a press release. “As a land claimant for excess federal land, we did everything right. For 13 years, we fully participated in the federal land disposition process, coordinated future land use planning with the local community and provided thorough environmental and legal expertise to realize our claim.”

The BIA said it would cost anywhere between $300,000 and $1 million and an additional $500,000 for cleanup. "My authority to acquire such properties is limited to situations where the remedial costs will not exceed $250,000," BIA Director Michael Black told the tribe in a letter.

Get the Story:
Ho-Chunk Nation won't get Badger Ammo land (The Baraboo News Republic 10/11)