25 U.S.C. § 2203 : US Code - Section 2203: Adoption of land consolidation plan with approval of Secretary

Search 25 U.S.C. § 2203 : US Code - Section 2203: Adoption of land consolidation plan with approval of Secretary

(a) Statement of purpose; sales or exchanges: terms and conditions
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any tribe, acting
through its governing body, is authorized, with the approval of the
Secretary to adopt a land consolidation plan providing for the sale
or exchange of any tribal lands or interest in lands for the
purpose of eliminating undivided fractional interests in Indian
trust or restricted lands or consolidating its tribal landholdings:
Provided, That -
(1) except as provided by subsection (c) of this section, the
sale price or exchange value received by the tribe for land or
interests in land covered by this section shall be no less than
within 10 per centum of the fair market value as determined by
the Secretary;
(2) if the tribal land involved in an exchange is of greater or
lesser value than the land for which it is being exchanged, the
tribe may accept or give cash in such exchange in order to
equalize the values of the property exchanged;
(3) any proceeds from the sale of land or interests in land or
proceeds received by the tribe to equalize an exchange made
pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for the
purchase of other land or interests in land;
(4) the Secretary shall maintain a separate trust account for
each tribe selling or exchanging land pursuant to this section
consisting of the proceeds of the land sales and exchanges and
shall release such funds only for the purpose of buying lands
under this section; and
(5) any tribe may retain the mineral rights to such sold or
exchanged lands and the Secretary shall assist such tribe in
determining the value of such mineral rights and shall take such
value into consideration in determining the fair market value of
such lands.
(b) Conveyancing requirement; specific findings for nonexecution
The Secretary must execute such instrument of conveyance needed
to effectuate a sale or exchange of tribal lands made pursuant to
an approved tribal land consolidation plan unless he makes a
specific finding that such sale or exchange is not in the best
interest of the tribe or is not in compliance with the tribal land
consolidation plan.
(c) Below market value conveyance of Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
homesites
The Secretary may execute instruments of conveyance for less than
fair market value to effectuate the transfer of lands used as
homesites held, on December 17, 1991, by the United States in trust
for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Only the lands used as
homesites, and described in the land consolidation plan of the
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma approved by the Secretary on February
6, 1987, shall be subject to this subsection.