US: Native American tribes steadily gaining reservation lands

BOSTON — Native American tribes have been steadily gaining lands under President Barack Obama's administration.

Nearly 400,000 acres have been placed into trust for tribes since Obama took office in 2009, according to data from the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

And more lands set aside for tribes are likely on the way.

The president has pledged to place a total of 500,000 acres into trust for tribes before his tenure ends. That's more than double the roughly 233,000 acres placed into trust during the prior tenure of President George W. Bush.

John Dossett, general counsel to the D.C.-based National Congress of American Indians, said the administration has been more proactive than prior ones in speeding up an application process that can sometimes take decades.

But it remains to be seen whether the next administration will have the same commitment, he said. Roughly 525,000 acres of land that tribes are seeking to place into trust are still pending decisions, according to the interior department.

"This administration has really heard from tribes that the process is much too slow," Dossett said. "It can certainly be better, though. It should happen much, much faster."

Native American lands collectively represent about 56 million acres — a territory roughly the size of Minnesota, Dossett said. (Full Story)