Jay Thomas interviews Republican State Sen. Steve Green of Fosston on the Upper Red Lake bill
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – A bill introduced by DFL State Sen. Mary Kunesh of New Brighton would fund $20 million in 2026 to return all land on Upper Red Lake one mile from lakeshore to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa.
Kunesh is of Standing Rock descent.
The money is available until June 30, 2025.
The bill says the Commissioner of Natural Resources must identify legal barriers to returning land and “real property”. It also tells the commissioner to submit a report to the Legislature by January 15, 2026 specifying barriers and giving recommendations to addressing them.
Republican State Senator Steve Green of Fosston, who is a member of the White Earth Nation and whose district includes Upper Red Lake, says Kunesh didn’t tell him about the bill before introducing it. He’s concerned if the bill passes, people who live in the area that would be returned to Red Lake Nation, which he estimates to be 85,000 acres, wouldn’t be able to get into their property if the tribe decided to close the area to non-tribal members. He also is concerned non-members wouldn’t be able to access the lake or the Red Lake State Forest.
“This is going to cause conflict within families. It already has caused conflict with neighbors and that was my biggest issue with it. The other thing is why not come up here and talk to people if you’re going to do this? Don’t go dropping this out of midair,” Green said.
In the 2024 legislative session, Kunesh and DFL State Representative Aisha Gomez of Minneapolis sponsored a bill that would transfer state owned land from the White Earth State Forest to the White Earth Nation. The bill was never voted on in a committee.
