Fischer Legislation Returning Land to Nebraska’s Winnebago Tribe Signed into Law

Background:

The Treaty of 1865 established the Winnebago Reservation in northeastern Nebraska along the Missouri River. Due to westward shifts in the river, portions of the reservation are now in Iowa.

In 1970, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) condemned land on both the Nebraska and Iowa sides of the river for a proposed recreation project. The Corps filed eminent domain proceedings to acquire the land, triggering years of legal challenges.

Ultimately, the Nebraska tract of land was returned to the Tribe. However, the condemned land in Iowa remained under the Corps' jurisdiction and were maintained by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Neither the Iowa DNR nor the Corps objected to the Tribe regaining control of the land. The latest renewal agreement of the license between the Iowa DNR and the Corps included a provision that anticipated the return of the land to the Tribe.

Senator Fischer's Winnebago Land Transfer Act transfers administrative jurisdiction of the approximately 1,600 acres from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to hold in trust for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

The legislation was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) led the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, where it passed by voice vote on February 5, 2024. The legislation was cosponsored in the House by Representatives Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Zachary Nunn (R-Iowa), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa).
Click here to read the text of the bill.