he U.S. government is returning nearly 12 thousand acres of land to a northern Minnesota Native American tribe. On Thursday, the U.S. Forest Service signed the paperwork to transfer land in the Chippewa National Forest to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The tribe worked with the forest service to identify land that could be given over without impacting private property ownership in the area. A ceremony to commemorate the transfer is scheduled for July 17th.