White Horse Hill returned to Spirit Lake Nation

What happened

The Department of the Interior announced on March 17, 2025 that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had completed the transfer of 680 acres of land to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be held in trust for the Spirit Lake Nation in Benson County, North Dakota. Interior's release says the land will remain titled in the name of the United States, held in trust for the Nation.

The release says the land was first transferred from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1959 to grow hay for feeding bison in the winter at the nearby White Horse Hill National Game Preserve. The Grand Forks Herald, citing the Nation's press release, says the land is part of the Nation's original territory, that President Theodore Roosevelt reserved it in 1904 for Bureau of Indian Affairs agency purposes, and that the Fish and Wildlife Service had not used it in the past 10 years, making it excess. The Nation had sought it for 65 years.

Spirit Lake Tribe Chairperson Lonna Jackson-Street called the return a historic victory and an important milestone in healing and reconciliation. She said the land may potentially be used to expand a new health center and that the Nation is working to move it into trust status. She also told the Herald there are some ideas, such as expanding the medical facility and building housing, but no definite plans. She said other acreage beyond the 680 acres was returned, but the amount has not been disclosed.

High Country News describes the land as lying within the reservation's original boundaries.

Good to know. The 680 acres lie near the White Horse Hill National Game Preserve and were used to grow hay for it; one outlet describes them as inside the preserve. Title stays with the United States, held in trust for the Nation.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error