{"id":127916,"date":"2025-03-20T12:16:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T17:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=127916"},"modified":"2025-04-10T10:02:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:02:59","slug":"a-historic-victory-spirit-lake-nation-reclaims-land-taken-by-federal-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/03\/20\/a-historic-victory-spirit-lake-nation-reclaims-land-taken-by-federal-government\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A historic victory’: Spirit Lake Nation reclaims land taken by federal government"},"content":{"rendered":"\"White<\/a>
A sign at the White Horse Hill National Game Preserve in North Dakota, whose name comes from the Dakota language phrase Sunka Wakan Ska Paha. The Spirit Lake Nation has reclaimed a 680-acre portion of the game preserve that was taken from the tribe in 1959. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
‘A historic victory’: Spirit Lake Nation reclaims land taken by federal government<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, March 20, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nRegulatory activity has ground to a halt at the Bureau of Indian Affairs<\/a> (BIA) but one pro-tribal action has made it over the finish line in the new Donald Trump era.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nOn Monday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum<\/a> announced the return of 680 acres to the Spirit Lake Nation<\/a>. The land, located in North Dakota, was taken from the tribe by the federal government more than six decades ago.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThis land transfer is a significant step toward strengthening tribal sovereignty and empowering the Spirit Lake Nation to use its trust lands for economic growth and community well-being,\u201d Burgum, a former two-term governor of North Dakota, said in a news release<\/a>.\r\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPress Release: Spirit Lake Nation reclaims 680 acres in North Dakota\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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\u201cThis land transfer is a significant step toward strengthening tribal sovereignty and empowering the Spirit Lake Nation to use its trust lands for economic growth and community well-being,\u201d said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAccording to the release, the BIA took the land from the tribe in 1959. The property was then transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a> (FWS), another agency within the Department of the Interior<\/a>, which Burgum now leads.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut while the land had once been used by the FWS to grow hay for bison at the White Horse Hill National Game Preserve<\/a>, it was no longer needed by the agency. So the tribe began efforts to have the property returned to its control.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe return of 680 acres to the Spirit Lake Tribe marks a historic victory and an important milestone in our healing and reconciliation journey,\u201d Spirit Lake Chairperson Lonna Jackson-Street said on Monday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe tribe’s journey to reclaim the property, in fact, goes back more than 120 years. The game preserve was initially established in 1904<\/a> as one of the first national parks in the United States<\/a>.\r\n

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