House sends Miami Tribe land-claim bill to president

The U.S. House passed legislation concerning the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s historic land claim in Illinois on Sept. 15, 2026, sending the measure to the president for final signature.

S. 550 is the Senate companion to H.R. 2827, a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican representing Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District. The Senate passed S. 550 at the end of 2025 after Markwayne Mullin introduced it while serving in that chamber.

No House vote tally was included in Cole’s announcement of the bill’s passage.

What the legislation would do

S. 550 would allow the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to present its land claim in court. Cole’s office says the measure also is designed to extinguish claims to the affected Illinois land, resolving the dispute for the tribe and people who now own or farm property there.

Cole described the legislation as a way for Congress to meet federal trust and treaty responsibilities while giving both the tribe and Illinois landowners a path toward certainty. He also characterized the measure as bipartisan and thanked House Natural Resources Committee leaders for bringing it to the House floor.

Cole credited Congresswoman McCollum for working with him on the legislation and Mullin for his work on the issue during his Senate service. Cole, who is a tribal member, said the bill followed years of advocacy by the Miami Tribe.

The history behind the claim

The dispute traces back to the 1805 Treaty of Grouseland. Under Article Four, the Miami Tribe, Eel River Band and Wea reserved land within the Wabash River watershed and west of the Wabash River, including territory in present-day Illinois.

From 1805 through 1840, the United States transferred 2.6 million acres in that area to non-Native settlers without first acquiring title from the tribes, according to the historical account released by Cole’s office. The Miami Tribe did not consent to a federal purchase of that land, leaving the tribe with what Cole’s office describes as the superior claim to its title.

The legislation is intended to address that nearly two-century-old dispute through the courts rather than displace current landowners. Its stated goals are to give the Miami Tribe a chance to make its case and to bring finality to land claims affecting property in Illinois.

Tribal response and congressional support

Miami Tribe Chief Lankford thanked Cole and Mullin for advancing the bill. He also recognized McCollum, Senator Durbin and Representative Bost for supporting the tribe’s effort.

Lankford connected the legislation to the tribal leaders and citizens who negotiated protections for the land during a period of major pressure and change. He presented the House action as recognition of those earlier treaty protections and of the tribe’s long-running effort to pursue its claim.

The bill does not resolve the tribe’s underlying case by itself. It creates the route described by Cole and tribal leaders for the Miami Tribe to bring the matter before a court while ending claims to the Illinois land through that process.

What happens next

With both chambers having passed S. 550, the measure goes to the president for final signature. Presidential action is the remaining step identified before the legislation can take effect.

If signed, attention will turn to how the Miami Tribe proceeds in court and how the measure’s provisions resolve the historic claim while providing certainty for current Illinois landowners and farmers.