According to the joint release, the three properties include:

• Paradise Beach (5.19 acres): A stretch of Lake Superior shoreline that has served as a significant cultural gathering place. It was lost following the Treaty of September 30, 1854, which placed the area outside the Reservation’s borders.

 Drone photo of Paradise Beach. Provided by the B. Van Johnson Revocable Trust. Used with permission

• Francis Island (1.8 acres): Located within the Susie Islands, this island is part of historic canoe routes to Minong (Isle Royale) used for fishing, hunting, and ceremony. Ownership was lost when the United States transferred the land to the State of Minnesota as State School Trust Lands. This acquisition builds upon previous restoration efforts of the islands, specifically following the 2017 return of Susie Island from The Nature Conservancy.

 Francis Island (foreground), a 2-acre island part of the Susie Islands. Photo ©Travis Novitsky, used with permission.

• Mineral Center Road Forest Parcel (80 acres): Located within the Reservation's boundaries, this forested land supports traditional stewardship and hunting practices. It was lost to the Band through federal allotment policies.

Loss of land

The loss of these lands is rooted in 19th-century federal policies that shifted away from the "permanent and undisturbed homeland" promised in the Treaty of 1854. Under the General Allotment and Nelson Acts, reservation land was divided and sold to timber interests and white settlers. Through a law titled "An Act for the Relief and Civilization of the Chippewa Indians," communal land holdings were broken up. The press release labels these policies as a "failure" that resulted in the "impoverishment of tribal people through the greatest land dispossession in American history."

Additionally, local real estate interests played a significant role in this history. According to the joint press release, August Van Johnson, while serving as the Cook County Registrar of Deeds, used his access to tax records to acquire substantial portions of Grand Portage and Chippewa City lands. His nephew, Lloyd K. Johnson, later partnered with his uncle and grew the family's land holdings, later serving as Cook County Attorney. 

In his letter, Chairman Deschampe explains that the Johnson family name serves as a "painful reminder" of the systematic land dispossession the Band experienced, noting that the legacy of these business dealings continues to cause "deep and lasting harm" to the Grand Portage community.

Land return

A policy shift toward tribal sovereignty began with the Wheeler-Howard Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA), following the "Merriam Report," which exposed the failures of the allotment policy. While the IRA restored some land, many parcels remained under non-Indian control.

According to the press release, the Grand Portage Band has spent decades working to reacquire these properties. This "slow and hard work" requires the Band to purchase land in fee from private owners before navigating the "expensive and time-consuming" federal process to have the land held in trust. Chairman Deschampe acknowledged the legacy of past leaders, such as Chairman Alton Bramer and Chairman Norman Deschampe, who began these buy-back efforts as early as the 1930s.

LKJ Foundation Executive Director Erik Torch stated the organization has worked to "understand the history and impacts of Mr. Johnson and his family’s business dealings." Since 2024, the LKJ has worked with the land owner, the Grand Portage Band, the B. Van Johnson Trust, and the Minnesota Land Trust to arrange the land return.  

Torch said, "This land return is an important chapter in what we hope will be a long and positive partnership. The Foundation is grateful to the Johnson Family for their willingness to return this land, and to the Minnesota Land Trust for their critical help in this effort.”

Chairman Deschampe noted that while land acknowledgement statements are common, this action represents "what reconciliation actually looks like," adding, "nothing can undo what happened... returning these lands to the Band is very meaningful for our ancestors, for our people today, and for the generations who will care for and keep these lands pristine after us." 

Representative David Berner, speaking for the B. Van Johnson Trust, added that the family "felt strongly that the land should return to the people with the deepest historical and cultural connection to it."

A Signing Ceremony and Community Lunch Celebration will take place on March 16, 2026, at the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino to mark the occasion. This event is open to the public. 

 Map of Paradise Beach location, courtesy of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. 

 Map of the Francis Island property, courtesy of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. 

 Map of Mineral Center property, courtesy of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. 

Editor's note: This post has been updated to clarify the entities the land was purchased from through a grant from the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation: The B. Van Johnson Trust and other family members.