Menominee Restoration Act

What happened

Congress ended federal supervision of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin in 1954. Nineteen years later, it reversed itself. Public Law 93-197, dated December 22, 1973, is described in its title as an act to repeal the Act terminating Federal supervision over the Menominee and to reinstitute the tribe as a federally recognized sovereign Indian tribe.

Section 3 does the work in three steps. First, "Federal recognition is hereby extended to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin," and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 is made applicable to it. Second, the 1954 termination act "is hereby repealed." Third, all rights and privileges that the tribe or its members held under federal treaty, statute, or otherwise, and that had been diminished or lost under the 1954 Act, are reinstated.

The Act also restored federal services. Its title says it restores to the tribe "those Federal services furnished to American Indians because of their status as American Indians." It created a Menominee Restoration Committee of nine Menominee Indians to be elected under the Act.

The text shows Congress undoing a termination statute by name, and putting back what that statute had taken.

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