S. 3475: A bill to authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes.

119th Congress · introduced 2025-12-15 · Native Americans · Latest: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.

federal

Official title

A bill to authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

This bill recognizes and settles the Akwesasne land claim in northern New York. (Akwesasne is a Mohawk territory that extends into the United States and Canada, specifically New York, Ontario, and Quebec.) The bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified settlement agreement entered into by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT), the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, the State of New York, Franklin and Saint Lawrence Counties in New York, the towns of Fort Covington and Bombay in New York, and the New York Power Authority. (Among its provisions, the settlement agreement restores land rights and provides access to land to SRMT, provides tuition assistance for tribal members to certain postsecondary institutions, and requires the New York Power Authority to make annual payments to SRMT.) Additionally, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms any transfer of land, right-of-way, or easement that is the subject of claims in specified court cases. The bill also recognizes as Indian country any land owned or subsequently acquired by SRMT within the settlement acquisition areas. (The term Indian country , for purposes of criminal jurisdiction, generally refers to all lands within a tribal reservation, dependent Indian communities, and tribal allotments.)

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] · 1 cosponsors

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Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

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Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119s3475.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/s>

Record fed-us-cong119-s3475 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills