Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians Restoration Act of 2025
Introduced May 7, 2025 by Rep. Hillary J. Scholten
It's waiting on a committee vote to reach the full chamber. Most bills never leave this stage.
This bill affirms federal recognition of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan.
Specifically, the bill makes the tribe and its members eligible for services and benefits provided to federally recognized tribes, without regard to the existence of a reservation for the tribe or the location of the residence of any member on or near a reservation. The service area of the tribe shall be Newaygo, Oceana, Kent, Muskegon and Ottawa Counties in Michigan.
Further, the tribe must submit a membership roll to the Department of the Interior as a condition of receiving recognition, services, and benefits. The tribe must maintain the membership roll.
The bill directs Interior to (1) acquire, for the benefit of the tribe, trust title to land within Muskegon, Newaygo, or Oceana Counties; and (2) accept into trust any real property located in those counties for the benefit of the tribe if the property is conveyed to Interior and, at the time of such acceptance, there are no adverse legal claims on such property (e.g., outstanding liens, mortgages, or taxes owed).
Read the full summary on Congress.govSummary by the Congressional Research Service.
No floor votes yet — it hasn't reached the floor of either chamber.