Editor's Note: This content was updated on May 24, 2024 to reflect the latest information around this work.
May 2024 Update
The University of Minnesota is actively working to return 3,400 acres of land to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Currently, this land is home to the U of M’s Cloquet Forestry Center. The land on which CFC resides is wholly located within the Fond du Lac Reservation, making it unlike any other property owned or operated by the University.
Plans developed to facilitate the land transfer included legislative action to transfer title to approximately 400 acres from the State of Minnesota to the University, and to settle related debt. House File 4193/Senate File 3986 passed through multiple committees but was ultimately unsuccessful during the 2024 legislative session due to the legislature not passing a capital investment omnibus bill.
Returning the land is the right thing to do and consistent with University policies. The University will continue working with Fond du Lac Band leaders toward our mutual goals of returning this land to their care while also collaborating on important education, research and community outreach programs into the future.
Additional Background
At the request of Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa leaders and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the University has been engaged in regular and ongoing dialogue about the Cloquet Forestry Center, which is wholly located within the Fond du Lac Reservation. While these conversations have included returning the land, they have also focused on information about the University of Minnesota research and education programs being conducted on the land, how these research and teaching efforts may align with the research and education needs of the Band, program development and community engagement, history of the property and cultural uses, and more.
These conversations led to a plan to move forward collaboratively—with the Fond du Lac, the University and the State of Minnesota—to return to the Band the approximately 3,400 acres that house the Cloquet Forestry Center.
The transfer of ownership for some of this land requires facilitation through the State, including Legislative action to transfer title of approximately 400 of these acres from the State of Minnesota to the University and to settle outstanding debts associated with facility maintenance on the property. The necessary language had passed through multiple committees during the 2024 legislative session but, unfortunately, the larger capital investment omnibus bill in which it was included never passed.
Like many others, the University is disappointed that there was not a bonding bill passed during the legislative session. Many student-focused U of M needs would have been addressed with the bill’s funding, but getting legislative approval of the language related to this land was envisioned as a critical step in our plan to return all 3,400 acres of this land to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in a single transaction and without conditions.
Additional information about the University’s intentions can be found in the public docket materials from the February 2023 University of Minnesota Board of Regents meeting, specifically under Informational Items for the Board of Regents Finance & Operations Committee.
This FAQ provides additional details about the history and context surrounding this decision and potential next steps.
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