ASSOCIATED PRESS
CASPER, Wyo.
– Land owners on a Wyoming Native American reservation will be able
to sell their property to the federal government through a program meant to
return ownership to the reservation’s two tribes.
The “Casper
Star-Tribune” reported Feb. 23 that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Land
Buy-Back Program for tribal nations will enable the purchases on the Wind River
Reservation. Participation in the program is voluntary and only tribal members
with allotments will be eligible to sell their land.
Much of the
property was allotted to tribal members by the government but is often
underutilized due to a tangle of ownership. The original allotments have been
passed down through generations for the reservation’s tribes to control, but
tangled ownership webs can result in hundreds or thousands of owners of a
single allotment.
After the
property is returned to tribal jurisdiction, the land could be used for
purposes including economic development, right-of-ways, cultural preservation
and housing.
“I’ve seen
allotments that have 1,000 owners,” said Lynnette Grey Bull, who is leading the
federal program’s efforts on the reservation. While property is tied up among
multiple owners, the land fails to serve any beneficial purpose, Grey Bull
said. ‘This way, the land goes back to the tribes.”
