Feds offer $270M for Blackfeet land in buy-back program

The federal government is offering up more than $270 million to thousands of property owners on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation as part of a program aimed at helping tribal governments consolidate their land.

Nearly 7,000 landowners have until Jan. 17 to decide whether they want to take the offer. The chairman of the tribe’s business council, Harry Barnes, says the individual offers range from a few hundred dollars to more than $1 million.

Under the land buy-back program, willing landowners sell the government their land allotments to be consolidated and turned over to the tribes. The land stays in trust for uses benefiting the tribes and their members.

Full Story: http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/montana/feds-offer-270m-for-blackfeet-land-in-buy-back-program/197045501