Land

Of the $81.5 million provided under the settlement, $54.5 million was established as a Land Acquisition Fund:  $26.8 million each for the Penobscot Indian Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe and $900,000 for the Houlton Band of Maliseets.

The first 150,000 acres of land acquired by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the first 150,000 acres acquired by the Penobscot Indian Nation is eligible for inclusion as part of their respective territories and is held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribes.  Land purchased outside these designated areas is owned by the tribes in the same manner as non-Indians.  Land purchased by the Houlton Band of Maliseets must be approved by the Maine Legislature. 

The settlement specified the circumstances under which trust land can be taken by the State or the federal government for public uses, and states that land taken in this way must be replaced with other land within two years.  The terms for land management and administration established by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Indian Nation must be agreed to by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.