For the first time, Catholic sisters return land to a Tribal nation

Jessica Kutz

Gender, climate and sustainability reporter

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On a sunny afternoon on the shores of Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin, a Catholic sister and a Tribal president sat together at a table and made history.

Two years ago, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a Catholic congregation, had approached the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, a part of the Ojibwe Nation, and the original caretakers of the land, with an unheard of proposition: Would they like a piece of their land back?

The question took the tribe by surprise, said Araia Breedlove, their public relations director. They had never had a private property owner offer up a piece of land, much less Catholic sisters. But after ironing out the details,