The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted 400-15 to approve the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Act. The action will transfer 17 acres of Tacoma waterfront land to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, allowing the tribe to expand its reservation.
In addition, federal trust status will allow access to relevant federal benefits, such as tax-exempt financing, discounted leasing rates and new market tax credits designed to encourage private investments in economically distressed communities.
The U.S. Senate passed the bill unanimously in December; it now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.
The tribe already owns the acreage but tribal officials said it had not been taken into federal trust due to “an absurd consequence of the decades of pollution brought to ancestral Puyallup lands” from years of industrial development. The tribe was forced to clean the polluted property to “virtually pristine condition,” otherwise the BIA would not accept it into trust.
Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman Bill Sterud said, “This Act will restore the tribe’s place along Commencement Bay and will expand the tribe’s presence along the Blair Waterway. It is truly historic for the tribe.”
U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington stated, “Bringing this land into trust will help the Puyallup Tribe pursue economic development on the Tacoma waterfront, expand critical infrastructure and open up tax benefits for the entire community. Ensuring that tribal communities have what they need to grow and thrive is an important responsibility of the federal government and something I will always take seriously.”
Originally introduced in 2022, the act was referred to the Senate’s Committee on Indian Affairs where it stalled. However, Murray and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington successfully reintroduced it in February.
