Rep. Angie Craig Introduces Bipartisan Bill Allowing Prairie Island to Place Land in Trust

U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (MN-2), Jim Hagedorn (MN-1) and Betty McCollum (MN-4) introduced bipartisan legislation that would allow the Prairie Island Indian Community to put additional land into trust.

"I'm pleased to introduce bipartisan legislation that would allow the Prairie Island Indian Community to put additional land into trust as a settlement for land previously taken from them by the United States government," said Rep. Angie Craig. "This community was forced onto their current land in 1889, and in the years since have had portions of that land taken away by the government without their consent to build a nuclear power plant and a lock and dam system along the Mississippi River. The combination of these projects has created unique risks for the community. Tribal members live approximately 600 yards from a nuclear power plant and much of the tribal lands have been deemed unusable due to flooding from the lock and dam system. Entry points onto and off the island are extremely limited. It's time that the U.S. government settles these claims and makes this right to ensure that the Prairie Island Indian Community can grow for generations to come."