A map of the 1854 Treaty Area. Image from 1854 Treaty Authority
President Barack Obama signed H.R.3608, the Grand Portage Band Per Capita Adjustment Act, into law on Friday. In 1988, the Grand Portage Band and the Bois Forte Band reached a settlement with the state of Minnesota to forgo the exercise of certain rights under the Treaty of 1854. The tribes each receive $1.6 million a year under the deal. Both tribes share per capita payments from the settlement with their members. But while the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000 ensures that Bois Forte citizens don't have to pay state or federal taxes on their shares, the Grand Portage Band was somehow left out. H.R.3608 corrects the oversight. After passing the House last month, it cleared the Senate by unanimous consent last Tuesday, just days before the end of the 113th Congress.
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