Notes on 25 U.S.C. § 331 : US Code - Notes

Search Notes on 25 U.S.C. § 331 : US Code - Notes

CODIFICATION
Section was based on section 1 of act Feb. 8, 1887, as amended
generally by section 1 of act Feb. 28, 1891, which was amended
generally, by act June 25, 1910. The amendment by act June 25,
1910, to section 1 of act Feb. 28, 1891, was treated as an
amendment to section 1 of act Feb. 8, 1887, to reflect the probable
intent of Congress, and this section was based on the text of
section 1 of act Feb. 28, 1891, as so amended. The repeal by Pub.
L. 106-462 of section 1 of act Feb. 8, 1887, was executed by
repealing this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
SHORT TITLE OF 1987 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 100-153, Sec. 1, Nov. 5, 1987, 101 Stat. 886, provided
that: "This Act [amending sections 373, 1401, and 2301 of this
title and section 4421 of Title 20, Education, and amending
provisions set out as a note under this section] may be cited as
the 'Indian Law Technical Amendments of 1987'."
SHORT TITLE
Act Feb. 8, 1887, ch. 119, 24 Stat. 388, as amended, enacting
this section and sections 332 to 334, 339, 341, 342, 348, 349, 354,
and 381 of this title, is popularly known as the "Indian General
Allotment Act".
BLACKFEET RESERVATION, MONTANA
Act June 30, 1919, ch. 4, Sec. 10, 41 Stat. 16, which provided
for the allotment of lands within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
in Montana, was amended by act June 4, 1953, ch. 99, Sec. 1, 67
Stat. 42, in order to remove the restrictions on alienation of the
homestead allotments by making 80 acres of each allotment subject
to sale, partition, issuance of patent in fee, or other disposition
in accordance with the laws relating to the other allotments on the
Reservation.
Act June 30, 1919, had provided that the 80-acre homestead
allotment should remain inalienable. This restriction was removed
on the alienation of homestead allotments after the death of the
original allottee by act June 2, 1924, ch. 231, 43 Stat. 252,
formerly set out as a note under this section. The restriction was
completely removed by section 1 of act June 4, 1953. Section 2 of
act June 4, 1953, repealed act June 2, 1924.
CREEK NATION
Act Mar. 2, 1917, ch. 146, Sec. 18, 39 Stat. 986, provided in
part as follows: "Hereafter no allotments of land shall be made to
members of the Creek Nation".
CROW INDIAN RESERVATION
Act June 4, 1920, ch. 224, Sec. 6, 41 Stat. 753, as amended by
acts May 25, 1926, ch. 403, 44 Stat. 658; Sept. 16, 1959, Pub. L.
96-283, 73 Stat. 565; May 17, 1968, Pub. L. 90-308, 82 Stat. 123,
provided for a reservation in perpetuity, for the benefit of the
Crow Indian Tribe, of the minerals on or underlying the allotted
lands on the Crow Indian Reservation.
Act Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 502, Sec. 4, 67 Stat. 587, repealed act
June 4, 1920, ch. 224, Sec. 9, 41 Stat. 754, formerly set out as a
note under this section. The act June 4, 1920, provided for
allotment of lands of the Crow Tribe and section 9 of the act had
provided that lands of the Crow Reservation should "be subject to
all laws of the United States prohibiting the introduction of
intoxicating liquors into the Indian country until otherwise
provided by Congress".
Act June 4, 1953, ch. 100, 67 Stat. 42, permitted the Indian
owners of homestead, irrigable, or agricultural land on the Crow
Indian Reservation in Montana to sell such land, upon application
in writing and subject to the approval of the Secretary of the
Interior or his authorized representative. Restrictions against
such sales were contained in act June 4, 1920, ch. 224, 41 Stat.
751. The act of June 4, 1920, set out as a note below, provided for
the allotment of lands on the Crow Reservation.
Provisions for the allotment of lands of the Crow Tribe of
Indians within the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and for the
distribution of tribal funds, were made by act June 4, 1920, ch.
224, 41 Stat. 751. The time for making allotments on the Crow
Reservation, Montana, as provided by this act was extended for a
period of two years from Dec. 4, 1921, by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch.
367, 42 Stat. 994.
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS OF NORTH CAROLINA
Act June 4, 1924, ch. 253, 43 Stat. 376, provided: "That the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina is hereby
authorized, pursuant to the resolution of its council adopted the
6th day of November 1919, to convey to the United States of
America, in trust, all land, money, and other property of said band
for final disposition thereof as hereinafter provided; and the
United States will accept such conveyance when approved by the
Secretary of the Interior.
"Sec. 2. That upon approval of such conveyance the Secretary of
the Interior shall cause to be prepared a roll of the members of
said band, to contain the names of all living on the date of this
Act, and no person born after that date shall be entitled to
enrollment.
"The roll shall show the name, age, sex, and degree of Cherokee
Indian blood, and separately of that derived from any other Indian
ancestor, of each member. The day of the month indicating the
birthday of each member shall also be shown upon said roll:
Provided, That if such date is unknown and cannot be ascertained,
the date of the entry of the name on the schedule shall be taken
for the purposes of this Act to be the birth date of the member to
whom the entry applies.
"Said roll when approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall
be final and conclusive as to the membership of said band, and as
to the ages and degree of Indian blood of the members, but clerical
changes relating to the names of such members or to sex
designations may be made at any time thereafter.
"Sec. 3. That in the preparation of said roll due consideration
shall be given to all rolls and lists heretofore made of the
membership of said band, together with any evidence elicited in the
course of any investigations, and to all documents and records on
file in the Interior Department or any of its bureaus or offices.
"The fact that the name of any person appears on any such roll or
list shall not be accepted to establish, conclusively, his right or
that of his descendants to enrollment. Nor shall the absence of his
name from such former rolls conclusively bar any person or his
descendants from enrollment.
"That in the preparation of said roll the act of the State of
North Carolina of March 8, 1895, chapter 166, entitled 'An Act to
amend chapter 211, laws of 1889, relating to the charter of the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' shall be disregarded.
"Applications for enrollment may be presented in such manner and
within such time as may be prescribed by regulations made by the
Secretary of the Interior, but lack of application shall not
prevent consideration of the right to enrollment of any person
whose name appears on any former roll and his descendants or of any
name brought in any manner to the attention of those in charge of
the enrollment work, including the names of those persons of
Cherokee Indian blood living July 27, 1868, in any of the counties
of North Carolina, in which the common lands of said band are
located, or in any of the contiguous counties of that State or of
the States of Georgia and Tennessee, and of their descendants.
"Sec. 4. That the lands so conveyed shall be surveyed, where
found necessary, and divided into appropriate tracts or parcels and
appraised at their true value as of the date of such appraisement,
without consideration being given to the location thereof or to any
mineral deposits therein or to improvements thereon, but such
appraisement shall include all merchantable timber on all
allottable lands.
"Sec. 5. That reservations from allotment may be made, in the
discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, of lands for
cemeteries, schools, water-power sites, rights of way, and for
other public purposes, with proper safeguards, however, for
compensation to individuals who may suffer losses by reason of such
reservations.
"There may also be reserved any tract chiefly valuable because of
the timber or of stone, marble, or other quarries thereon, or which
by reason of location or topographical features may be unsuitable
for allotment purposes.
"Any land or other property reserved from allotment as above
provided and lands not needed for allotments may be sold at such
time, in such manner, and upon such terms as the Secretary may
direct, and the proceeds of such sale shall be added to the funds
of the band: Provided, That in the sale of timberlands the timber
and the land may be sold separately.
"Conveyances under such sales shall be made as provided in the
case of conveyances to allottees.
"Sec. 6. That all oil, gas, coal, and other mineral deposits on
said lands are hereby reserved to said band for a period of twenty-
five years from the date of this Act, and during such period said
deposits may be leased for prospecting and mining purposes by the
Secretary of the Interior, for such periods (not exceeding the
period for which such minerals are reserved) and upon such terms
and conditions as he may prescribe: Provided, That at the end of
such twenty-five year period all such deposits shall become the
property of the individual owner of the surface of such land,
unless Congress shall otherwise provide.
"Sec. 7. That all improvements on the lands of said band of a
permanent and substantial character shall be appraised separately
from the lands upon which the same may be, and shall be listed in
the names of the members of the band prima facie entitled thereto,
but the designation of ownership shall be tentative only until the
true ownership thereof is ascertained and declared, after due
notice and hearing. The right to have such improvements appraised,
and to make disposition thereof, shall extend to all members,
except tenants, owning such improvements at the date of this Act
[June 4, 1924].
"Any person held to be the owner of improvements may remove the
same, where found to be practicable, within ninety days from the
date they are declared to belong to him, or may, within that
period, dispose of the same at not more than the appraised value to
any member of the band entitled to receive an allotment, under
regulations to be prescribed: Provided, That the vendor shall have
a lien upon the rents and profits accruing from the tract on which
such improvements may be located until the purchase price thereof
is fully paid.
"Sec. 8. That the lands and money of said band shall be allotted
and divided among the members thereof so as to give each an equal
share of the whole in value, as nearly as may be, and to accomplish
that the value of the standard allotment share shall be determined
by dividing the total appraised value of all allotted and
allottable lands by the total number of enrolled members.
"If any member shall fail to receive his full share of the tribal
lands, he shall be entitled to the payment of money so as to adjust
the difference as nearly as possible. If any member shall receive
an allotment exceeding in value his full share of the tribal lands,
the difference shall be adjusted by deduction from his distributive
share of the tribal funds.
"Sec. 9. That when the tracts available for allotments are
ascertained, each member of the said band may apply for a tract or
tracts of land to the extent of thirty acres, as nearly as
practicable, to include his home and improvements, if he so
desires, and the selection so made shall be final as to the right
to occupy and use the land so applied for as against all other
members if no contest is filed against such selection within ninety
days from and after formal application is made therefor: Provided,
That any person claiming the right to select any given tract of
land by reason of the purchase of improvements thereon shall have
ninety days to make application therefor from and after the date of
approval of any sale conveying to him said improvements, and such
application shall become final as in other cases, subject to the
right of any other member to contest such selection, ninety days
from and after the same is duly made. All contests shall be
instituted and heard pursuant to the rules and regulations of the
Interior Department applicable thereto. Any allotment selection may
be modified or limited, in the discretion of those in charge of the
work, so as to give the selector of adjacent or contiguous lands
access to firewood and drinking water.
"Sec. 10. That adults may select their own allotments, where
mentally capable of so doing, but allotments for minors may be
selected by their father or mother, in the order named, or by the
officers in charge of the allotment work. The said officers may
also select allotments for prisoners, convicts, aged, infirm, and
insane or otherwise mentally incompetent members and for the
estates of deceased members and, if necessary to complete any
allotments or to bring the allotment work to a close, may make
arbitrary selections for and on behalf of any member of said band.
"Sec. 11. That allotments may be selected for the members of any
family, wherever practicable, from contiguous lands or other lands
held by the head of the family, including both adult and minor
children and such other relatives as are members of the household:
Provided, That if any adult child shall claim the benefit of this
section, he shall not be entitled as a matter of right to have his
selection made from the lands desired by his father or mother or
from lands needed by any minor member of the family for allotment
purposes, but this shall not prevent selection of lands outside the
family holdings if desired.
"Sec. 12. That where annuity or other payments to individuals
have heretofore been suspended because their enrollment status has
been questioned, the amounts involved in such suspended payments
shall be paid to individuals found entitled to enrollment or to
their heirs, and all funds of said band, after making such payments
and after payments needed for equalizing allotments as hereinbefore
provided and all other payments herein directed to be made, shall
be distributed per capita among the enrolled members of said band
and the heirs of those who shall die before distribution is
completed, and shall be paid to the distributees or conserved and
used for their benefit, according to whether they belong to the
restricted or unrestricted class, at such time and in such manner
as shall be deemed advisable.
"Sec. 13. That any member of said band whose degree of Indian
blood is less than one-sixteenth may, in the discretion of the
Secretary of the Interior, be paid a cash equivalent in lieu of an
allotment of land. Any person desiring to avail himself of this
provision may make application to the officers in charge of the
allotment work at any time within ninety days after the date of the
approval of the final roll, and preference shall be given in the
order of application. The said officers shall have the power to add
to the register of such names the names of any other members of the
same class, including minors for whom no application is made for
such time as may be allowed for the purpose by the regulations.
Applications should be made in person by adults and for minors by
their fathers or mothers, in the order named.
"Sec. 14. That if any member shall claim that he is the owner of
a so-called private land claim, for the reason that money was
advanced by him or his ancestor to pay in whole or in part for any
land the title to which is now in the band, such claim may be
submitted to and equitably adjusted by the Secretary of the
Interior, whose decision thereon shall be final and not subject to
review by the courts. In such adjustment due consideration shall be
given to matters presented by the band in the way of offsets or
counterclaims.
"Sec. 15. That a certificate of allotment shall be issued to each
allottee upon the expiration of the contest period, if no contest
is then pending, or, if a contest is then pending, upon final
disposition thereof, but shall be dated as of the date of
selection. Each certificate shall contain the name and roll number
of the allottee, and the legal effect thereof shall be to give the
allottee the right to occupy and use the surface of the land
described therein, as against each and every other member of the
band, but not as against the band itself, or against the United
States: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior may cancel any
certificate of allotment at any time before title to the land
described therein is conveyed to the allottee, if in his judgment
said land should be reserved for allotment for any purpose herein
authorized or for any other good and sufficient reason, but before
such action is taken the allottee shall have due notice and
opportunity to be heard. If any such certificate shall be revoked,
the allottee may select other lands as if no certificate had been
issued to him.
"Sec. 16. That as soon as practicable after a certificate of
allotment is issued there shall be issued to the allottee a deed
conveying all right, title, and interest of the United States, as
trustee, and of the band, and of every other member thereof, in and
to the land described in said certificate. Each deed shall recite
the roll number and degree of Indian blood of the grantee and shall
be executed by or in the name of the Secretary of the Interior, who
is hereby authorized to designate any clerk or employee of the
department to sign his name for him to all such deeds.
"Each deed, when so issued, shall be recorded in the office of
the recorder of deeds for the county in which the land conveyed
thereby is located. When so recorded title to the land shall vest
in the allottee subject to the conditions, limitations, and
restrictions herein imposed. Upon the recording of any deed it
shall be the duty of the officers representing the Government of
the United States to deliver it to the allottee named therein.
"Sec. 17. That if any member enrolled as provided in this Act
shall die before receiving his distributive share of the band or
tribal property, the land and moneys to which he would be entitled,
if living, shall descend to his heirs according to the laws of the
State of North Carolina and be distributed to them accordingly, but
in all such cases the allotment and deed therefor shall be made in
the name of the deceased ancestor and shall be given the same force
and effect as if made during his lifetime: Provided, That the
provisions of the Act of Congress approved June 25, 1910 (Thirty-
sixth Statutes, page 855), as amended by the Act of Congress of
February 14, 1913 (Thirty-seventh Statutes, page 678), relating to
the determination of heirs and approval of wills by the Secretary
of the Interior, and to other matters, are hereby made applicable
to the persons and estates of the members of the said band, and in
the construction of said Acts no distinction shall be made between
restricted lands and moneys and those conveyed or held in trust.
"Sec. 18. That leases of lands allotted under this Act may be
made during the restricted period for any purpose and for any term
of years, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the
Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That such leases shall be
executed on behalf of minors and other incompetents, including any
Indian deemed to be incapable, mentally or physically, of managing
his business affairs properly and with benefit to himself and in
their names, by a duly authorized representative of the Indian
Service designated by said Secretary for the purpose: Provided
further, That all leases of unpartioned estates shall be so made
and approved unless all of the Indian heirs or owners are of the
unrestricted class, and shall be subject to supervision during the
restricted period the same as leases made on other restricted
lands, but all rents and royalties accruing therefrom to
unrestricted owners shall be paid, by the proper officers of the
Indian Service, to such owners at the earliest date practicable
after the collection thereof.
"Parents may use the lands allotted to their children and receive
the rents and profits arising herefrom during the minority of such
children: Provided, That this privilege may be revoked by the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs at any time while said lands are
restricted for such cause as may by him be deemed good and
sufficient.
"Sec. 19. That lands allotted under this Act shall not be
alienable, either by voluntary or enforced sale by the allottee or
his heirs or otherwise, for a period of twenty-five years from and
after the date when the deed conveying such land to the allottee is
recorded as directed herein: Provided, That upon the completion of
the allotments and the recording of the deeds as herein directed
each allottee shall become a citizen of the United States and a
citizen of the particular State wherein he (or she) may reside,
with all the rights, privileges, and immunities of such citizens:
Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior may, in his
discretion, at any time after a deed is recorded remove the
restrictions on the lands described therein, either with or without
application by the owner or owners, under such rules and
regulations or special orders governing the terms of sale and the
disposition of the proceeds as he shall prescribe.
"Sec. 20. That lands allotted under this Act shall not be
subjected or held liable to any form of personal claim, or demand,
against the allottee, arising or existing prior to the removal of
restrictions; and any attempted alienation or incumbrance of
restricted land by deed, mortgage, contract to sell, power of
attorney, or other method of incumbering real estate, except leases
specifically authorized by law, made before or after the approval
of this Act and prior to removal of restrictions therefrom, shall
be absolutely null and void.
"Sec. 21. That all lands, and other property, of the band, or the
members thereof, except funds held in trust by the United States,
may be taxed by the State of North Carolina, to and including the
tax year following the date of this Act. Such taxes shall be paid
from the common funds of said band for such period, except upon
such tracts as shall have been lawfully sold prior to the date when
tax assessments can be made thereon under the State law. All tax
assessments made pursuant to this Act on restricted allotments or
undivided tribal property held in trust by the United States shall
be subject to revision by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for a
period of one year following the date when such assessments are
spread on the local tax rolls, but if he shall take no action
thereon during said year, such assessments shall be final, but this
shall not be construed to deprive any allottee of any remedy to
which he would be entitled under the State law: Provided, That such
restricted and undivided property shall be exempt from sale for
unpaid taxes for two years from the date when such taxes become due
and payable, and no penalty for delinquency in the payment of such
taxes shall be charged or collected for or during said period, so
that Congress may have an opportunity to make provision for the
payment of such taxes if the band, or tribal, funds are found
insufficient for the purpose.
"After the expiration of the tax year following that in which
this Act is approved all lands allotted to members of said band,
from which restrictions shall have been removed, shall be subject
to taxation the same as other lands. But from and after the
expiration of said tax year all restricted allotments and undivided
property shall be exempt from taxation until the restrictions on
the alienation of such allotments are removed or the title of the
band to such undivided property is extinguished.
"Sec. 22. That the removal of restrictions upon allotted lands
shall not deprive the United States of the duty or authority to
institute and prosecute such action in its own name, in the courts
of the United States, as may be necessary to protect the rights of
the allottees, or of their heirs, until the said band shall be
dissolved by congressional action, unless the order removing such
restrictions is based upon an express finding that the Indian to
whom it relates if fully competent and capable of managing his own
affairs.
"Sec. 23. That the authority of the Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians of North Carolina to execute conveyances of lands owned by
said band, or any interest therein, is recognized, and any such
conveyance heretofore made, whether to the United States or to
others, shall not be questioned in any case where the title
conveyed or the instrument of conveyance has been or shall be
accepted or approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
"Sec. 24. That the reinvestment of the proceeds arising from the
sale of surplus and unallotted lands of said band in other lands in
the vicinity of the Indian school at Cherokee, North Carolina, is
hereby authorized, in the discretion of the Secretary of the
Interior, and lands so purchased may be allotted as provided for
herein respecting the allotment of lands now owned by said band.
"Sec. 25. That all things provided for herein shall be done under
the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, who is authorized
to prescribe needed rules and regulations.
"All questions as to enrollment and as to all other matters
involving the disposition of the lands or moneys of said band, or
of the members thereof, shall be decided by the Secretary of the
Interior, and such decision as to any matter of fact or law shall
be final.
"Sec. 26. That in addition to any sum or sums heretofore or
hereafter regularly appropriated for salaries and expenses, there
is hereby authorized to be appropriated, from the funds of the
United States in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum
of $10,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the payment
of such expenses as shall be necessarily incurred, including the
salaries of additional employees in the administration of this
Act."
FLATHEAD RESERVATION, MONTANA
Act Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 87, 41 Stat. 452, provided for allotments
on the Flathead Reservation, Montana, to all unallotted, living
children, enrolled with the tribe, enrolled or entitled to
enrollment.
FORT BELKNAP RESERVATION, MONTANA
Act Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 135, 41 Stat. 1355, provided for the
enrollment of the Indians of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes
in the Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana, and for the allotment
among such enrolled Indians of the unreserved and undisposed of
lands on the reservation; declared the Indians to whom trust
patents for such allotted lands shall be issued to be citizens of
the United States; provided for reservation from allotment of lands
chiefly valuable for the development of water power, and for Indian
agency, school, religious, cemetery and administrative purposes;
provided for the reservation of certain of the lands for park
purposes and for a site for a sanatorium for the benefit of the
Indians; provided for the issue of patents for a certain limited
number of acres of the lands to missionary, religious and
educational purposes; provided for the examination of the lands,
prior to their allotment, to determine the mineral character
thereof; provided for the reservation of coal on the lands for
certain purposes; provided that the timber lands shall remain
tribal property and for the use of the timber thereon by the
Indians; provided for the reservation and disposition of town-sites
on the lands; provided for the construction of irrigation projects
on the lands; provided for the grant of certain of the lands to the
State of Montana for school lands and made an appropriation to
carry out the purposes of the act.
KANSAS OR KAW TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
Act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 297, 42 Stat. 1561, extended period of
restriction against alienation of lands allotted to minor members
of Kansas or Kaw Tribe of Oklahoma for a period of twenty-five
years from Mar. 4, 1923.
LAC DU FLAMBEAU BAND OF WISCONSIN
Act May 19, 1924, ch. 158, 43 Stat. 132, as amended by Pub. L. 87-
25, Apr. 24, 1961, 75 Stat. 46, provided for enrollment and
allotment of members of Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior
Chippewas in Wisconsin.
OSAGE INDIAN TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
Pub. L. 98-576, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3065, provided: "That (a)
any Osage headright or restricted real estate or funds which is
part of the estate of a deceased Osage Indian with respect to whom -

"(1) a certificate of competency had never been issued before
the time of death, or
"(2) a certificate of competency had been revoked by the
Secretary of the Interior before the death of such Osage Indian,
shall be exempt from any estate or inheritance tax imposed by the
State of Oklahoma.
"(b) Subsection (a) shall apply to the estate of any Osage Indian
who dies on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct.
30, 1984].
"Sec. 2. For purposes of this Act -
"(1) the term 'headright' means any right of any person to
share in any royalties, rents, sales, or bonuses arising from the
Osage mineral estate;
"(2) the term 'Osage mineral estate' means any right, title, or
interest in any oil, gas, coal, or other mineral held by the
United States in trust for the benefit of the Osage Tribe of
Indians under section 3 of the Osage Tribe Allotment Act;
"(3) the term 'restricted real estate or funds' means any real
estate or fund held by an Osage Indian or by the Secretary of the
Interior in trust for the benefit of such Indian which is subject
to any restriction against alienation, or transfer by any other
means, under any Act of Congress applicable to the Osage Tribe of
Indians or applicable generally to Indians or any bands, tribes,
or nations of Indians; and
"(4) the term 'Osage Tribe Allotment Act' means the Act
approved June 28, 1906, and entitled 'An Act for the division of
the lands and funds of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma Territory,
and for other purposes' (34 Stat. 539)."
Pub. L. 95-496, Secs. 3-11, Oct. 21, 1978, 92 Stat. 1660-1664, as
amended by Pub. L. 98-605, Sec. 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3163,
provided that:
"Sec. 3. (a) [Repealed act Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 46, 62 Stat. 18,
formerly set out below.]
"(b) Any Osage Indian having received a certificate of competency
under paragraph 7 of section 2 of the Act of June 28, 1906 (34
Stat. 539, 542); section 3 of the Act of March 2, 1929 (45 Stat.
1478, 1480) [amending act Feb. 27, 1925, ch. 359, 43 Stat. 1008,
which is set out below]; or the Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat.
18) [Act Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 46, 62 Stat. 18], may make application
to the Secretary of the Interior to revoke such certificate and the
Secretary shall revoke such certificate: Provided, That revocation
of any certificate shall not affect the legality of any
transactions heretofore made by reason of the issuance of any such
certificate. Restrictions against alienation of lands heretofore
removed are not reimposed.
"(c) [Amended act Feb. 27, 1925, set out below, act Mar. 2, 1929,
ch. 493, Sec. 4, 45 Stat. 1480, and June 24, 1938, ch. 645, Secs.
1, 3, 52 Stat. 1034, 1035.
"Sec. 4. In order to conserve natural resources and provide for
the greatest ultimate recovery of oil and gas underlying the Osage
mineral estate, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
establish rules and regulations under which oil and gas leases
producing from a common source of supply may be unitized.
"Sec. 5. (a) [Amended act Apr. 18, 1912, ch. 83, Sec. 8, 37 Stat.
88.]
"(b) [Amended act Apr. 18, 1912, ch. 83, Sec. 3, 37 Stat. 86.]
"(c) [Amended act Feb. 27, 1925, set out below.]
"(d)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of -
"(A) section 3 or 8 of the Osage Indians Act of 1912 (as
amended by subsections (b) and (a), respectively) [not classified
to the Code], or
"(B) section 7 of the Osage Indians Act of 1925 (as amended by
subsection (c)) [act Feb. 27, 1925, set out below],
any sale or transfer or any disposition by any other means of any
headright shall be subject to section 7 of this Act [set out
below].
"(2) Notwithstanding section 6(a) of this Act [set out below] or
section 8 of the Osage Indians Act of 1912, no Osage Indian may -
"(A) provide for the transfer of any interest of such person in
any headright -
"(i) by will to any person which is not an individual, or
"(ii) by the establishment of an inter vivos trust for the
benefit of any person which is not an individual; or
"(B) provide, whether by the terms of a will, the terms of a
testamentary trust established by a will, or by the terms of an
instrument establishing an inter vivos trust, that any interest
in any headright -
"(i) which such Osage Indian had (at the time of death of
such person or at the time any such inter vivos trust was
established), and
"(ii) in which any individual was granted a life estate by
such Osage Indian,
may be transferred to or held for the benefit of any individual
who is not an Osage Indian upon the death of the individual who
held such life estate.
"Sec. 6. (a) With the approval of the Secretary of the Interior,
any person of Osage Indian blood, eighteen years of age or older,
may establish an inter vivos trust covering his headright or
mineral interest except as provided in section 8 hereof; surplus
funds; invested surplus funds; segregated trust funds; and allotted
or inherited land, naming the Secretary of the Interior as trustee.
An Osage Indian having a certificate of competency may designate a
banking or trust institution as trustee. Said trust shall be
revocable and shall make provision for the payment of funeral
expenses, expenses of last illness, debts, and an allowance to
members of the family dependent on the settlor.
"(b) Property placed in trust as provided by this section shall
be subject to the same restrictions against alienation that
presently apply to lands and property of Osage Indians, and the
execution of such instrument shall not in any way affect the tax-
exempt status of said property.
"RULES GOVERNING DEVOLUTION OF INTERESTS IN OSAGE HEADRIGHTS
"Sec. 7. (a) General Rule. - No person who is not an Osage Indian
may, on or after October 21, 1978, receive any interest in any
headright, other than a life estate in accordance with subsection
(b), whether such interest would be received by such person (but
for this subsection) under a will, a testamentary or inter vivos
trust, or the Oklahoma laws of intestate succession.
"(b) Exception for Life Estates. - Notwithstanding subsection (a)
and subject to section 5(d)(2) [set out above], an individual who
is not an Osage Indian may receive a life estate in any headright
held by a testator, settlor, or decedent who is or was an Osage
Indian under a will, or under a testamentary trust established by a
will, of such testator, an inter vivos trust established by such
settlor, or the Oklahoma laws of intestate succession relating to
the administration of the estate of such decedent.
"(c) Special Rules Governing Interests in Osage Headright Upon
Death of Individual Who Held Life Estate in Such Headright. -
"(1) Designated osage remaindermen. - Upon the death of any
individual who is not an Osage Indian and who held a life estate
in any headright of a testator or settlor described in subsection
(b), all remaining interests in such headright shall vest in any
remaindermen who -
"(A) are designated in the will of the testator or the
instrument establishing the trust of the settlor to receive
such remainder interest, and
"(B) are Osage Indians.
"(2) No designated osage remaindermen. - Upon the death of any
individual who is not an Osage Indian and who held a life estate
in any headright of a testator, settlor, or decedent described in
subsection (b) who -
"(A) did not designate any remainderman who is an Osage
Indian to receive any remaining interest in such headright in
the will of such testator or instrument of such settlor, or
"(B) died intestate,
all remaining interests in such headright shall vest in any
heirs, as determined under the Oklahoma laws of intestate
succession, of such testator, settlor, or decedent who are Osage
Indians.
"(3) No heir who is an osage indian. - Upon the death of any
individual who is not an Osage Indian and who held a life estate
in any headright of an Osage testator, settlor, or decedent
described in subsection (b) who -
"(A) designated no remainderman who is an Osage Indian for
any remaining interest in such headright, and
"(B) had no heir under the Oklahoma laws of intestate
succession who is an Osage Indian and is living at the time of
death of the individual who held such life estate,
all remaining interests in such headright shall vest in the Osage
Tribe of Indians.
"(d) Liability of Tribe in Case of Remainderman or Heir Who is
Not an Osage Indian. - In any case in which -
"(1) any remainder interest of a testator, settlor, or decedent
described in subsection (b) vests in the Osage Tribe of Indians
under subsection (c)(3), and
"(2) an individual who is not an Osage Indian and who, but for
this section, would have received any portion of such remaining
interest in the headright by virtue of -
"(A) having been designated under the will of such testator,
or the instrument of such settlor which established any such
trust, to receive such remainder interest, or
"(B) being the heir of such decedent under the Oklahoma laws
of intestate succession,
the tribe shall pay any such individual the fair market value of
the portion of the interest in such headright such individual would
have received but for this section.
"Sec. 8. (a)(1) No headright owned by any person who is not of
Indian blood may be sold, assigned, or transferred without the
approval of the Secretary. Any sale of any interest in such
headright (and any other transfer which divests such person of any
right, title, or interest in such headright) shall be subject to
the following rights of purchase:
"(1) First right of purchase by the heirs in the first degree
of the first Osage Indian to have acquired such headright under
an allotment who are living and are Osage Indians, or, if they
all be deceased, all heirs in the second through the fourth
degree of such first Osage Indian who are living and are Osage
Indians.
"(2) Second right of purchase by any other Osage Indian for the
benefit of any Osage Indian in his or her individual capacity.
"(3) Third right of purchase by the Osage Tribal Council on
behalf of the Osage Tribe of Indians.
No owner of any headright shall be required, by reason of this
subsection, to sell such headright for less than its fair market
value or to delay any such sale more than 90 days from the date by
which notice of intention to sell (or otherwise transfer) such
headright has been received by each person with respect to whom a
right of purchase has been established under this subsection.
"(b) Notwithstanding the paragraph designated 'First' of section
4 of the Osage Tribe Allotment Act or any other provision of law,
any income from the Osage mineral estate may be used for the
purchase of any headright offered for sale to the Osage Tribal
Council pursuant to subsection (a) or vested in the Osage Tribe
pursuant to section 7 if, prior to the time that any income from
the Osage mineral estate is segregated for distribution to holders
of headrights, the Osage Tribal Council requests the Secretary to
authorize such use of such funds and the Secretary approves such
request.
"Sec. 9. Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior
may prescribe, the heirs and legatees of any deceased owner of an
Osage headright or mineral interest, real estate on which
restrictions against alienation have not been removed, and funds on
deposit at the Osage Agency may be determined by the Secretary if
such aggregate interests do not exceed $10,000: Provided, That no
court of competent jurisdiction has undertaken the probate of the
deceased's estate and a request for such administrative
determination has been made to the Secretary by one or more of the
heirs or legatees."
"Sec. 10. Except where any provision of this Act explicitly
provides otherwise, wherever the term 'Osage Indian' is used in
this Act, such term shall be construed so as to include any child
who has been adopted by an Osage Indian (pursuant to the decision
of any court of competent jurisdiction) and any lineal descendant
of such child.
"Sec. 11. For purposes of this Act -
"(1) the term 'Osage mineral estate' means any right, title, or
interest in any oil, gas, coal, or other mineral held by the
United States in trust for the benefit of the Osage Indian Tribe
under section 3 of the Osage Tribe Allotment Act;
"(2) the term 'headright' means any right of any person to
share in any royalties, rents, sales, or bonuses arising from the
Osage mineral estate;
"(3) the term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior;
"(4) the term 'person' has the meaning given to such term in
section 1 of title 1, United States Code;
"(5) the term 'Osage Tribe Allotment Act' means the Act
approved June 28, 1906, and entitled 'An Act For the division of
the lands and funds of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma Territory,
and for other purposes.' (34 Stat. 539);
"(6) the term 'Osage Indians Act of 1912' means the Act
approved April 18, 1912, and entitled 'An Act Supplementary to
and amendatory of the Act entitled "An Act for the division of
the lands and funds of the Osage Nation of Indians in Oklahoma,"
approved June twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and six, and for
other purposes.' (37 Stat. 86); and
"(7) the term 'Osage Indians Act of 1925' means the Act
approved February 27, 1925, and entitled 'An Act To amend the Act
of Congress of March 3, 1921, entitled "An Act to amend section 3
of the Act of Congress of June 28, 1906, entitled 'An Act of
Congress for the division of the lands and funds of the Osage
Indians in Oklahoma, and for other purposes.' " ' (43 Stat. 1008)
[set out below]."
Pub. L. 95-496, Sec. 3(a), Oct. 21, 1978, 92 Stat. 1660, repealed
act Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 46, 62 Stat. 18, which related to issuance of
certificates of competency to members of the Osage Tribe of less
than one-half Indian blood upon attaining age twenty-one.
Act Aug. 4, 1947, ch. 474, Sec. 1, 61 Stat. 747, as amended by
Pub. L. 85-857, Sec. 13(n), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1266, provided:
"That the provisions of section 6 of the Act approved February 27,
1925 (43 Stat. 1008) [set out in note below], as amended by section
5 of the Act approved March 2, 1929, (45 Stat. 1478) [set out in
note below], which make invalid contracts of debt entered into by
certain members of the Osage Tribe of Indians, shall not apply to
any debt contracted pursuant to title III of the Servicemen's
Readjustment Act of 1944 or chapter 37 of title 38, United States
Code, by any member of such tribe who, by reason of his service in
the armed forces of the United States during World War II, is
eligible for the benefits of such title III or chapter 37; and any
other member of the Osage Tribe upon attaining the age of twenty-
one years may contract a valid debt without approval of the
Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That the Osage lands and funds
and any other property which has heretofore or which may hereafter
be held in trust or under supervision of the United States for such
Osage Indians not having a certificate of competency shall not be
subject to lien, levy, attachment, or forced sale to satisfy any
debt or obligation contracted or incurred prior to the issuance of
a certificate of competency."
Act Feb. 27, 1925, ch. 359, 43 Stat. 1008, as amended by acts
Mar. 2, 1929, ch. 493, Secs. 3, 4, 45 Stat. 1480; Sept. 1, 1950,
ch. 832, 64 Stat. 572; Oct. 21, 1978, Pub. L. 95-496, Secs. 3(c),
5(c), formerly 5(7), 92 Stat. 1661, 1662; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98-
605, Secs. 2(b), 4, 98 Stat. 3163, 3167, provided that:
"The Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be paid at the end
of each fiscal quarter to each adult member of the Osage Tribe of
Indians in Oklahoma having a certificate of competency, his or her
pro rata share, either as a member of the tribe or heir or devisee
of a deceased member, of the interest on trust funds, the bonus
received from the sale of oil or gas leases, the royalties
therefrom and any other moneys due such Indian received during each
fiscal quarter, including all moneys received prior to the passage
of this Act and remaining unpaid; and so long as the accumulated
income is sufficient the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to
be paid to the adult members of said tribe not having a certificate
of competency $1,000 quarterly, except where such adult members
have legal guardians, in which case the amounts provided for herein
may be paid to the legal guardian or direct to such Indian in the
discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, the total amounts of
such payments, however, shall not exceed $1,000 quarterly except as
hereinafter provided; and shall cause to be paid for the
maintenance and education, to either one of the parents or legal
guardians actually having personally in charge, enrolled or
unenrolled, minor member under twenty-one years of age, and above
eighteen years of age, $1,000 quarterly out of the income of each
of said minors, and out of the income of minors under eighteen
years of age, $500 quarterly, and so long as the accumulated income
of the parent or parents of a minor who has no income or whose
income is less than $500 per quarter is sufficient, shall cause to
be paid to either of said parents having the care and custody of
such minor $500 quarterly, or such proportion thereof as the income
of such minor may be less than $500, in addition to the allowances
above provided for such parents. Rentals due such adult members
from their lands and their minor children's lands and all income
from such adults' investments shall be paid to them in addition to
the allowance above provided. All payments to legal guardians of
Osage Indians shall be expended subject to the joint approval in
writing of the court and the superintendent of the Osage Agency.
All payments to adults not having certificates of competency,
including amounts paid for each minor, shall, in case the Secretary
of the Interior finds that such adults are wasting or squandering
said income, be subject to the supervision of the superintendent of
the Osage Agency: Provided, That if an adult member, not having a
certificate of competency, so desires, his entire income
accumulating in the future from the sources herein specified may be
paid to him without supervision, unless the Secretary of the
Interior shall find, after notice and hearing, that such member is
wasting or squandering his income, in which event the Secretary of
the Interior shall pay to such member only the amounts hereinbefore
specified to be paid to adult members not having certificates of
competency. The Secretary of the Interior shall invest the
remainder, after paying the taxes of such members, in United States
bonds, Oklahoma State bonds, real estate, first mortgage real
estate loans not to exceed 50 per centum of the appraised value of
such real estate, and where the member is a resident of Oklahoma
such investment shall be in loans on Oklahoma real estate, stock in
Oklahoma building and loan associations, livestock, or deposit the
same in banks in Oklahoma, or expend the same for the benefit of
such member, such expenditures, investments, and deposits to be
made under such restrictions, rules, and regulations as he may
prescribe: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall not
make any investment for an adult member without first securing the
approval of such member of such investment: Provided further, That
at the beginning of each fiscal year there shall first be reserved
and set aside, out of Osage tribal funds available for that
purpose, a sufficient amount of money for the expenditures
authorized by Congress out of Osage funds for that fiscal year. No
guardian shall be appointed except on the written application or
approval of the Secretary of the Interior for the estate of a
member of the Osage Tribe of Indians who does not have a
certificate of competency or who is of one-half or more Indian
blood. All moneys now in the possession or control of legal
guardians heretofore paid to them in excess of $4,000 per annum
each for adults and $2,000 each for minors under the Act of
Congress of March 3, 1921, relating to the Osage Tribe of Indians,
shall be returned by such guardians to the Secretary of the
Interior, and all property, bonds, securities, and stock purchased,
or investments made by such guardians out of said moneys paid them
shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Interior by them, to be
held by him or disposed of by him as he shall deem to be for the
best interest of the members to whom the same belongs. All bonds,
securities, stocks, and property purchased and other investments
made by legal guardians shall not be subject to alienation, sale,
disposal, or assignment without the approval of the Secretary of
the Interior. Any indebtedness heretofore lawfully incurred by
guardians shall be paid out of the funds of the members for whom
such indebtedness was incurred by the Secretary of the Interior.
All funds other than as above mentioned, and other property
heretofore or hereafter received by a guardian of a member of the
Osage Tribe of Indians, which was theretofore under the supervision
and control of the Secretary of the Interior or the title to which
was held in trust for such Indian by the United States, shall not
thereby become divested of the supervision and control of the
Secretary of the Interior or the United States be relieved of its
trust; and such guardian shall not sell, dispose of or otherwise
encumber such fund or property without the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior, and in accordance with orders of the
county court of Osage County, Oklahoma. In case of the death,
resignation, or removal from office of such a guardian, the funds
and property in his possession subject to supervision and control
of the Secretary of the Interior or to which the United States held
the title in trust shall be immediately delivered to the
superintendent of the Osage Agency, to be held by him and
supervised or invested as hereinbefore provided. Within thirty days
after the passage of this Act, such guardian shall render and file
with the Secretary of the Interior or the superintendent of the
Osage Agency a complete accounting, fully itemized, under oath, for
the funds so paid to him and pay to the said Secretary or
superintendent any and all moneys in his hands at the time of the
passage of this Act, which have been paid him in excess of $4,000
per annum each for adults and $2,000 each for minors. The said
guardian shall at the same time tender to said Secretary or
superintendent all property or whatsoever kind in his possession at
the time of the passage of this Act, representing the investment by
him of said funds. The Secretary or superintendent is hereby
authorized to accept such property or any part thereof at the price
paid therefore by said guardian for the benefit of the ward of such
guardian, if in his judgment he deems it advisable, and to make
such settlement with such guardian as he deems best for such ward.
Failing to make satisfactory settlement with said guardian as to
said investments or any part thereof, the Secretary is authorized
to bring such suit or suits against said guardian, his bond, and
other parties in interest as he may deem necessary for the
protection of the interests of the ward and may bring such action
in any State court of competent jurisdiction or in the United
States district court for the district in which said guardian
resides.
"The Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby, authorized, in
his discretion, under such rules and regulations as he may
prescribe, upon application of any member of the Osage Tribe of
Indians not having a certificate of competency, to pay all or any
part of the funds held in trust for such Indian: Provided, That the
Secretary of the Interior shall, within one year after this Act is
approved, pay to each enrolled Indian of less than half Osage
blood, one-fifth part of his or her proportionate share of
accumulated funds. And such Secretary shall on or before the
expiration of ten years from the date of the approval of this Act,
advance and pay over to such Osage Indians of less than one-half
Osage Indian blood, all of the balance appearing to his credit of
accumulated funds, and shall issue to such Indian a certificate of
competency: And provided further, That nothing herein contained
shall be construed to interfere in any way with the removal by the
Secretary of the Interior of restrictions from and against any
Osage Indian at any time.
"Sec. 2. Upon the death of an Osage Indian who does not have a
certificate of competency, his or her moneys and funds and other
property accrued and accruing to his or her credit and which have
heretofore been subject to supervision as provided by law may be
paid to the administrator or executor of the estate of such
deceased Indian or direct to his heirs or devisees, or may be
retained by the Secretary of the Interior in the discretion of the
Secretary of the Interior, under regulations to be promulgated by
him: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall pay to
administrators and executors of the estates of such deceased Osage
Indians a sufficient amount of money out of such estates to pay all
lawful indebtedness and costs and expenses of administration when
approved by him; and, out of the shares belonging to heirs or
devisees, above referred to, he shall pay the costs and expenses of
such heirs or devisees, including attorney fees, when approved by
him, in the determination of heirs or contest of wills. Upon the
death of any Osage Indian of less than one-half of Osage Indian
blood or upon the death of an Osage Indian who has a certificate of
competency, his moneys and funds and other property accrued and
accruing to his credit shall be paid and delivered to the
administrator or executor of his estate to be administered upon
according to the laws of the State of Oklahoma: Provided, That upon
the settlement of such estate any funds or property subject to the
control or supervision of the Secretary of the Interior on the date
of the approval of this Act, which have been inherited by or
devised to any adult or minor heir or devisee who does not have a
certificate of competency, and which have been paid or delivered by
the Secretary of the Interior to the administrator or executor
shall be paid or delivered by such administrator or executor to the
Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of such Indian and shall
be subject to the supervision of the Secretary as provided by law.
"Sec. 3. Lands devised to members of the Osage Tribe who do not
have certificates of competency, under wills approved by the
Secretary of the Interior, and lands inherited by such Indians,
shall be inalienable unless such lands be conveyed with the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Property of Osage
Indians not having certificates of competency purchased as
hereinbefore set forth shall not be subject to the lien of any
debt, claim, or judgment except taxes, or be subject to alienation,
without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
"Sec. 4. Whenever the Secretary of the Interior shall find that
any member of the Osage Tribe, to whom has been granted a
certificate of competency, is squandering or misusing his or her
funds, he may revoke such certificate of competency after notice
and hearing in accordance with such rules and regulations as he may
prescribe, and thereafter the income of such member shall be
subject to supervision and investment as herein provided for
members not having certificates of competency to the same extent as
if a certificate of competency had never been granted: Provided,
That all just indebtedness of such member existing at the time his
certificate of competency is revoked shall be paid by the Secretary
of the Interior, or his authorized representative, out of the
income of such member, in addition the quarterly income
hereinbefore provided for: And provided further, That such
revocation or cancellation of any certificate of competency shall
not affect the legality of any transactions theretofore made by
reason of the issuance of any certificate of competency.
"Sec. 5. No person convicted of having taken, or convicted of
causing or procuring another to take, the life of an Osage Indian
shall inherit from or receive any interest in the estate of the
decedent, regardless of where the crime was committed and the
conviction obtained.
"Sec. 6. No contract for debt hereafter made with a member of the
Osage Tribe of Indians not having a certificate of competency,
shall have any validity, unless approved by the Secretary of the
Interior. In addition to the payment of funds heretofore
authorized, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized in
his discretion to pay, out of the funds of a member of the Osage
Tribe not having a certificate of competency, any indebtedness
heretofore or hereafter incurred by such member by reason of his
unlawful acts of carelessness or negligence.
"Sec. 7. Except as provided in sections 5(d) and 7 of the Act
approved October 21, 1978, and entitled 'An Act to amend certain
laws relating to the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma, and for other
purposes.', on or after October 21, 1978 [Pub. L. 95-496, set out
above], none but heirs of Indian blood and children legally adopted
by a court of competent jurisdiction and parents, Indian or non-
Indian, shall inherit, in accordance with the laws of the State of
Oklahoma relating to intestate succession from Osage Indians any
right, title, or interest to any restricted land, moneys, or Osage
headright or mineral interest. No adopted child of any Osage Indian
who is not an Osage Indian shall be eligible to inherit, as the
collateral heir (within the meaning of the laws of the State of
Oklahoma relating to intestate succession) of any Osage Indian
decedent, any property or interest in property held in trust by the
Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of such decedent."
Act Mar. 2, 1929, ch. 493, Sec. 5, 45 Stat. 1481, provided that:
"The restrictions concerning lands and funds of allotted Osage
Indians, as provided in this Act and all prior Acts now in force,
shall apply to unallotted Osage Indians born since July 1, 1907, or
after the passage of this Act, and to their heirs of Osage Indian
blood, except that the provisions of section 6 of the Act of
Congress approved February 27, 1925 [set out below], with reference
to the validity of contracts for debt, shall not apply to any
allotted or unallotted Osage Indian of less than one-half degree
Indian blood: Provided, That the Osage lands and funds and any
other property which has heretofore or which may hereafter be held
in trust or under supervision of the United States for such Osage
Indians of less than one-half degree Indian blood not having a
certificate of competency shall not be subject to forced sale to
satisfy any debt or obligation contracted or incurred prior to the
issuance of a certificate of competency: Provided further, That the
Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized in his discretion to
grant a certificate of competency to any unallotted Osage Indian
when in the judgment of the said Secretary such member is fully
competent and capable of transacting his or her own affair."
Act Apr. 12, 1924, ch. 95, 43 Stat. 94, provided that any right
to an interest in lands, money, or mineral interests, as provided
in act June 28, 1906, ch. 3572, 34 Stat. 539 (Osage Indians), and
in the amendatory and supplemental acts, vested in, determined, or
adjudged to be the right or property of any person not an Indian by
blood, may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and
not otherwise, be sold, assigned, and transferred under such rules
and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.
PUEBLO INDIANS OF NEW MEXICO
Act May 31, 1933, ch. 45, Secs. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 48 Stat. 109, 110,
111, as amended by Pub. L. 91-550, Dec. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 1437, in
addition to authorizing appropriations to pay in part the liability
of the United States to the Indian pueblos, provided:
"Sec. 4. (a) That, for the purpose of safeguarding the interests
and welfare of the tribe of Indians known as the Pueblo de Taos of
New Mexico, the following described lands and improvements thereon,
upon which said Indians depend and have depended since time
immemorial for water supply, forage for their domestic livestock,
wood and timber for their personal use, and as the scene of certain
religious ceremonials, are hereby declared to be held by the United
States in trust for the Pueblo de Taos:
"Beginning at the southeast corner of the Tenorio tract on the
north boundary of the Taos Pueblo grant in section 22, township
26 north, range 13 east;
"thence northwesterly and northeasterly along the east boundary
of the Tenorio tract to the point where it intersects the
boundary of the Lucero de Godoi or Antonio Martinez Grant;
"thence following the boundary of the Lucero de Godoi Grant
northeasterly, southeasterly and northerly to station 76 on the
east boundary of the survey of the Lucero de Godoi Grant
according to the March 1894 survey by United States Deputy
Surveyor John H. Walker as approved by the United States
Surveyor's Office, Santa Fe, New Mexico, on November 23, 1894;
"thence east 0.85 mile along the south boundary of the Wheeler
Peak Wilderness, according to the description dated July 1, 1965,
and reported to Congress pursuant to section 3(a)(1) of the
Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577) [16 U.S.C. 1132(a)(1)];
"thence northeast approximately 0.25 mile to the top of an
unnamed peak (which is approximately 0.38 mile southeasterly from
Lew Wallace Peak);
"thence northwesterly 1.63 miles along the ridgetop through Lew
Wallace Peak to Old Mike Peak;
"thence easterly and northeasterly along the ridgetop of the
divide between the Red River and the Rio Pueblo de Taos to
station numbered 109 of said 1894 survey, at the juncture of the
divide with the west boundary of the Beaubien and Miranda Grant,
New Mexico (commonly known as the Maxwell Grant), according to
the official resurvey of said grant executed during July and
August 1923 by United States Surveyor Glen Haste and approved by
the General Land Office, Washington, District of Columbia, on
April 28, 1926;
"thence southeasterly, southwesterly, and southerly along the
west boundary of the Maxwell grant to the north line of
unsurveyed section 33, township 26 north, range 15 east;
"thence southerly to the north boundary of fractional township
25 north, range 15 east;
"thence southerly and southwesterly through sections 4, 9, 8,
and 7, township 25 north, range 15 east to the southwest corner
of said section 7;
"thence westerly along the divide between the Rio Pueblo de
Taos and Rio Fernando de Taos to the east boundary of the Taos
Pueblo grant;
"thence north to the northeast corner of the Taos Pueblo grant;
"thence west to the point of beginning; containing
approximately 48,000 acres, more or less.
"(b) The lands held in trust pursuant to this section shall be a
part of the Pueblo de Taos Reservation, and shall be administered
under the laws and regulations applicable to other trust Indian
lands: Provided, That the Pueblo de Taos Indians shall use the
lands for traditional purposes only, such as religious ceremonials,
hunting and fishing, a source of water, forage for their domestic
livestock, and wood, timber, and other natural resources for their
personal use, all subject to such regulations for conservation
purposes as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. Except for
such uses, the lands shall remain forever wild and shall be
maintained as a wilderness as defined in section 2(c) of the Act of
September 3, 1964 (78 Stat. 890) [16 U.S.C. 1131(c)]. With the
consent of the tribe, but not otherwise, nonmembers of the tribe
may be permitted to enter the lands for purposes compatible with
their preservation as a wilderness. The Secretary of the Interior
shall be responsible for the establishment and maintenance of
conservation measures for these lands, including, without
limitation, protection of forests from fire, disease, insects or
trespass; prevention or elimination of erosion, damaging land use,
or stream pollution; and maintenance of streamflow and sanitary
conditions; and the Secretary is authorized to contract with the
Secretary of Agriculture for any services or materials deemed
necessary to institute or carry out any of such measures.
"(c) Lessees or permittees of lands described in subsection (a)
which are not included in the lands described in the Act of May 31,
1933 [this Act], shall be given the opportunity to renew their
leases or permits under rules and regulations of the Secretary of
the Interior to the same extent and in the same manner that such
leases or permits could have been renewed if this Act had not been
enacted; but the Pueblo de Taos may obtain the relinquishment of
any or all of such leases or permits from the lessees or permittees
under such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreeable. The
Secretary of the Interior is authorized to disburse, from the
tribal funds in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of
said tribe, so much thereof as may be necessary to pay for such
relinquishments and for the purchase of any rights or improvements
on said lands owned by non-Indians. The authority to pay for the
relinquishment of a permit pursuant to this subsection shall not be
regarded as a recognition of any property right of the permittee in
the land or its resources.
"(d) The Indian Claims Commission is directed to determine in
accordance with the provisions of section 2 of the Act of August
13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1049, 1050) [former 25 U.S.C. 70a], the extent
to which the value of the interest in land conveyed by this Act
should be credited to the United States or should be set off
against any claim of the Taos Indians against the United States.
"(e) Nothing in this section shall impair any vested water right.
"Sec. 5. Except as otherwise provided herein the Secretary of the
Interior shall disburse and expend the amounts of money herein
authorized to be appropriated, in accordance with and under the
terms and conditions of the Act approved June 7, 1924: Provided,
however, That the Secretary be authorized to cause necessary
surveys and investigations to be made promptly to ascertain the
lands and water rights that can be purchased out of the foregoing
appropriations and earlier appropriations made for the same
purpose, with full authority to disburse said funds in the purchase
of said lands and water rights without being limited to the
appraised values thereof as fixed by the appraisers appointed by
the Pueblo Lands Board appointed under said Act of June 7, 1924
[set out below] and all prior Acts limiting the Secretary of the
Interior in the disbursement of said funds to the appraised value
of said lands as fixed by said appraisers of said Pueblo Lands
Board be, and the same are, expressly repealed: Provided further,
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized
to disburse a portion of said funds for the purpose of securing
options upon said lands and water rights and necessary abstracts of
title thereof for the necessary period required to investigate
titles and which may be required before disbursement can be
authorized: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior
be, and he is hereby, authorized, out of the appropriations of the
foregoing amounts and out of the funds heretofore appropriated for
the same purpose, to purchase any available lands within the
several pueblos which in his discretion it is desirable to
purchase, without waiting for the issuance of final patents
directed to be issued under the provisions of the Act of June 7,
1924, where the right of said pueblos to bring independent suits,
under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924, has expired;
Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior shall not make
any expenditures out of the pueblo funds resulting from the
appropriations set forth herein, or prior appropriations for the
same purpose, without first obtaining the approval of the governing
authorities of the pueblo affected: And provided further, That the
governing authorities of any pueblo may initiate matters pertaining
to the purchase of lands in behalf of their respective pueblos,
which matters, or contracts relative thereto, will not be binding
or concluded until approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
"Sec. 6. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent any
pueblo from prosecuting independent suits as authorized under
section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924. The Secretary of the Interior
is authorized to enter into contract with the several Pueblo Indian
tribes, affected by the terms of this Act, in consideration of the
authorization of appropriations contained in section 2 hereof,
providing for the dismissal of pending and the abandonment of
contemplated original proceedings, in law or equity, by, or in
behalf of said Pueblo Indian tribes, under the provisions of
section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924, (43 Stat. L. 636), and the
pueblo concerned may elect to accept the appropriations herein
authorized, in the sums herein set forth, in full discharge of all
claims to compensation under the terms of said Act, notifying the
Secretary of the Interior in writing of its election so to do:
Provided, That if said election by said pueblo be not made, said
pueblo shall have one year from the date of this approval of the
Act within which to file any independent suit authorized under
section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924, at the expiration of which
period the right to file such suit shall expire by limitation: And
provided further, That no ejectment suits shall be filed against
non-Indians entitled to compensation under this Act, in less than
six months after the sums herein authorized are appropriated.
"Sec. 8. The attorney or attorneys for such Indian tribe or
tribes shall be paid such fee as may be agreed upon by such
attorney or attorneys and such Indian tribe or tribes, but in no
case shall the fee be more than 10 per centum of the sum herein
authorized to be appropriated for the benefit of such tribe or
tribes, and such attorney's fees shall be disbursed by the
Secretary of the Interior in accordance herewith out of any funds
appropriated for said Indian tribe or tribes under the provisions
of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. L. 636), or this Act: Provided
however, That 25 per centum of the amount agreed upon as attorneys'
fees shall be retained by the Secretary of the Interior to be
disbursed by him under the terms of the contract, subject to
approval of the Secretary of the Interior, between said attorneys
and said Indian tribes, providing for further services and expenses
of said attorneys in furtherance of the objects set forth in
section 19 of the Act of June 7, 1924.
"Sec. 9. Nothing herein contained shall in any manner be
construed to deprive any of the Pueblo Indians of a prior right to
the use of water from streams running through or bordering on their
respective pueblos for domestic, stock-water, and irrigation
purposes for the lands remaining in Indian ownership, and such
water rights shall not be subject to loss by nonuse or abandonment
thereof as long as title to said lands shall remain in the
Indians."
Act June 7, 1924, ch. 331, 43 Stat. 636, as amended by act May
31, 1933, ch. 45, Sec. 7, 48 Stat. 111; Pub. L. 109-133, Sec. 1,
Dec. 20, 2005, 119 Stat. 2573, provided:
"That in order to quiet title to various lots, parcels, and
tracts of land in the State of New Mexico for which claim shall be
made by or on behalf of the Pueblo Indians of said State as
hereinafter provided, the United States of America, in its
sovereign capacity as guardian of said Pueblo Indians shall, by its
Attorney General, file in the District Court of the United States
for the District of New Mexico, its bill or bills of complaint with
a prayer for discovery of the nature of any claim or claims of any
kind whatsoever adverse to the claim of said Pueblo Indians, as
hereinafter determined.
"Sec. 2. That there shall be, and hereby is, established a board
to be known as 'Pueblo Lands Board' to consist of the Secretary of
the Interior, the Attorney General, each of whom may act through an
assistant in all hearings, investigations, and deliberations in New
Mexico, and a third member to be appointed by the President of the
United States. The board shall be provided with suitable quarters
in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and shall have power to
require the presence of witnesses and the production of documents
by subpoena, to employ a clerk who shall be empowered to administer
oaths and take acknowledgments, shall employ such clerical
assistance, interpreters, and stenographers with such compensation
as the Attorney General shall deem adequate, and it shall be
provided with such necessary supplies and equipment as it may
require on requisitions to the Department of Justice. The
compensation and allowance for travel and expenses of the member
appointed by the President shall be fixed by the Attorney General.
"It shall be the duty of said board to investigate, determine,
and report and set forth by metes and bounds, illustrated where
necessary by field notes and plats, the lands within the exterior
boundaries of any land granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians
of New Mexico by any authority of the United States of America, or
any prior sovereignty, or acquired by said Indians as a community
by purchase or otherwise, title to which the said board shall find
not to have been extinguished in accordance with the provisions of
this Act, and the board shall not include in their report any
claims of non-Indian claimants who, in the opinion of said board
after investigation, hold and occupy such claims of which they have
had adverse possession, in accordance with the provisions of
section 4 of this Act: Provided, however, That the board shall be
unanimous in all decisions whereby it shall be determined that the
Indian title has been extinguished.
"The board shall report upon each pueblo as a separate unit and
upon the completion of each report one copy shall be filed with the
United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, one
with the Attorney General of the United States, one with the
Secretary of the Interior, and one with the Board of Indian
Commissioners.
"Sec. 3. That upon the filing of each report by the said board,
the Attorney General shall forthwith cause to be filed in the
United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, as
provided in section 1 of this Act, a suit to quiet title to the
lands described in said report as Indian lands the Indian title to
which is determined by said report not to have been extinguished.
"Sec. 4. That all persons claiming title to, or ownership of, any
lands involved in any such suit, or suits, may in addition to any
other legal or equitable defenses which they may have or have had
under the laws of the Territory and State of New Mexico, plead
limitation of action, as follows, to wit:
"(a) That in themselves, their ancestors, grantors, privies, or
predecessors in interest or claim of interest, they have had open,
notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, adverse possession of the
premises claimed, under color of title from the 6th day of January,
1902, to the date of the passage of this Act, and have paid the
taxes lawfully assessed and levied thereon to the extent required
by the statutes of limitation, or adverse possession of the
Territory or of the State of New Mexico, since the 6th day of
January, 1902, to the date of the passage of this Act, except where
the claimant was exempted or entitled to be exempted from such tax
payment.
"(b) That in themselves, their ancestors, grantors, privies, or
predecessors in interest or claim of interest, they have had open,
notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, adverse possession of the
premises claimed with claim of ownership, but without color of
title from the 16th day of March, 1889, to the date of the passage
of this Act, and have paid the taxes lawfully assessed and levied
thereon to the extent required by the statutes of limitation or
adverse possession of the Territory or of the State of New Mexico,
from the 16th day of March, 1899, to the date of the passage of
this Act, except where the claimant was exempted or entitled to be
exempted from such tax payment.
"Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to impair or
destroy any existing right of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to
assert and maintain unaffected by the provisions of this Act their
title and right to any land by original proceedings, either in law
or equity, in any court of competent jurisdiction and any such
right may be asserted at any time prior to the filing of the field
notes and plats as provided in section 13 hereof, and jurisdiction
with respect to any such original proceedings is hereby conferred
upon the United States District Court for the District of New
Mexico with right of review as in other cases: Provided, however,
That any contract entered into with any attorney or attorneys by
the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, to carry on such litigation shall
be subject to and in accordance with existing laws of the United
States.
"Sec. 5. The plea of such limitations, successfully maintained,
shall entitle the claimants so pleading to a decree in favor of
them, their heirs, executors, successors, and assigns for the
premises so claimed by them, respectively, or so much thereof as
may be established, which shall have the effect of a deed of
quitclaim as against the United States and said Indians, and a
decree in favor of claimants upon any other ground shall have a
like effect.
"The United States may plead in favor of the pueblo, or any
individual Indian thereof, as the case might be, the said
limitations hereinbefore defined.
"Sec. 6. It shall be the further duty of the board to separately
report in respect of each such pueblo -
"(a) The area and character of any tract or tracts of land within
the exterior boundaries of any land granted or confirmed to the
Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and the extent, source, and character
of any water right appurtenant thereto in possession of non-Indian
claimants at the time of filing such report, which are not claimed
for said Indians by any report of the board.
"(b) Whether or not such tract or tracts of land or such water
rights could be or could have been at any time recovered for said
Indians by the United States by seasonable prosecution of any right
of the United States or of said Indians. Seasonable prosecution is
defined to mean prosecution by the United States within the same
period of time as that within which suits to recover real property
could have been brought under the limitation statutes of the
Territory and State of New Mexico.
"(c) The fair market value of said water rights and of said tract
or tracts of land (exclusive of any improvements made therein or
placed thereon by non-Indian claimants) whenever the board shall
determine that such tract or tracts of land or such water rights
could be or could have been at any time recovered for said Indians
by the United States by seasonable prosecution of any right of the
United States or of said Indians, and the amount of loss, if any,
suffered by said Indians through failure of the United States
seasonably to prosecute any such right.
"The United States shall be liable, and the board shall award
compensation, to the pueblo within the exterior boundaries of whose
lands such tract or tracts of land shall be situated or to which
such water rights shall have been appurtenant to the extent of any
loss suffered by said Indians through failure of the United States
seasonably to prosecute any right of the United States or of said
Indians, subject to review as herein provided. Such report and
award shall have the force and effect of a judicial finding and
final judgment upon the question and amount of compensation due to
the Pueblo Indians from the United States for such losses. Such
report shall be filed simultaneously with and in like manner as the
reports hereinbefore provided to be made and filed in section 2 of
this Act.
"At any time within sixty days after the filing of said report
with the United States District Court for the District of New
Mexico as herein provided the United States or any pueblo or
Indians concerned therein or affected thereby may, in respect of
any report upon liability or of any finding of amount or award of
compensation set forth in such report, petition said court for
judicial review of said report, specifying the portions thereof in
which review is desired. Said court shall thereupon have
jurisdiction to review, and shall review, such report, finding, or
award in like manner as in the case of proceedings in equity. In
any such proceeding the report of the board shall be prima facie
evidence of the facts, the values, and the liability therein set
forth, subject, however, to be rebutted by competent evidence. Any
party in interest may offer evidence in support or in opposition to
the findings in said report in any respect. Said court shall after
hearing render its decision so soon as practicable, confirming,
modifying, or rejecting said report or any part thereof. At any
time within thirty days after such decision is rendered said court
shall, upon petition of any party aggrieved, certify the portions
of such report, review of which has been sought, together with the
record in connection therewith, to the United States Circuit Court
of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which shall have jurisdiction to
consider, review, and decide all questions arising upon such report
and record in like manner as in the case of appeals in equity, and
its decision thereon shall be final.
"Petition for review of any specific finding or award of
compensation in any report shall not affect the finality of any
findings nor delay the payment of any award set forth in such
report, review of which shall not have been so sought, nor in any
proceeding for review in any court under the provisions of this
section shall costs be awarded against any party.
"Sec. 7. It shall be the further duty of the board to
investigate, ascertain, and report to the Secretary of the Interior
who shall report to the Congress of the United States, together
with his recommendation, the fair market value of lands,
improvements appurtenant thereto, and water rights of non-Indian
claimants who, in person or through their predecessors in title
prior to January 6, 1912, in good faith and for a valuable
consideration purchased and entered upon Indian lands under a claim
of right based upon a deed or document purporting to convey title
to the land claimed or upon a grant, or license from the governing
body of a pueblo to said land, but fail to sustain such claim under
the provisions of this Act, together with a statement of the loss
in money value thereby suffered by such non-Indian claimants. Any
lands lying within the exterior boundaries of the pueblo of Nambe
land grant, which were conveyed to any holder or occupant thereof
or his predecessor or predecessors in interest by the governing
authorities of said pueblo, in writing, prior to January 6, 1912,
shall unless found by said board to have been obtained through
fraud or deception, be recognized as constituting valid claims by
said board and by said courts, and disposed of in such manner as
lands the Indian title to which has been determined to have been
extinguished pursuant to the provisions of this Act: Provided, That
nothing in this section contained with reference to the said Nambe
Pueblo Indians shall be construed as depriving the said Indians of
the right to impeach any such deed or conveyance for fraud or to
have mistakes therein corrected through a suit in behalf of said
pueblo or of an individual Indian under the provisions of this Act.
"Sec. 8. It shall be the further duty of the board to
investigate, ascertain, and report to the Secretary of the Interior
the area and the value of the lands and improvements appurtenant
thereto of non-Indian claimants within or adjacent to Pueblo Indian
settlements or towns in New Mexico, title to which in such non-
Indian claimants is valid and indefeasible, said report to include
a finding as to the benefit to the Indians in anywise of the
removal of such non-Indian claimants by purchase of their lands and
improvements and the transfer of the same to the Indians, and the
Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress the facts with
his recommendations in the premises.
"Sec. 9. That all lands, the title to which is determined in said
suit or suits, shall, where necessary, be surveyed and mapped under
the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, at the expense of
the United States, but such survey shall be subject to the approval
of the judge of the United States District Court for the District
of New Mexico, and if approved by said judge shall be filed in said
court and become a part of the decree or decrees entered in said
district court.
"Sec. 10. That necessary costs in all original proceedings under
this Act, to be determined by the court, shall be taxed against the
United States and any party aggrieved by any final judgment or
decree shall have the right to a review thereof by appeal or writ
of error or other process, as in other cases, but upon such appeal
being taken each party shall pay his own costs.
"Sec. 11. That in the sense in which used in this Act the word
'purchase' shall be taken to mean the acquisition of community
lands by the Indians other than by grant or donation from a
sovereign.
"Sec. 12. That any person claiming any interest in the premises
involved but not impleaded in any such action may be made a party
defendant thereto or may intervene in such action, setting up his
claim in usual form.
"Sec. 13. That as to all lands within the exterior boundaries of
any lands granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico,
by any authority of the United States of America or any prior
sovereignty, or acquired by said Indians as a community by purchase
or otherwise and which have not been claimed for said Indians by
court proceedings then pending or the findings and report of the
board as herein provided, the Secretary of the Interior at any time
after two years after the filing of said reports of the board shall
file field notes and plat for each pueblo in the office of the
surveyor general of New Mexico at Santa Fe, New Mexico,
showing the lands to which the Indian title has been extinguished
as in said report set out, but excluding therefrom lands claimed by
or for the Indians in court proceedings then pending, and copies of
said plat and field notes certified by the surveyor general of New
Mexico as true and correct copies shall be accepted in any court as
competent and conclusive evidence of the extinguishment of all the
right, title, and interest of the Indians in and to the lands so
described in said plat and field notes and of any claim of the
United States in or to the same. And the Secretary of the Interior
within thirty days after the Indians' right to bring independent
suits under this Act shall have expired, shall cause notice to be
published in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation
issued, if any there be, in the county wherein lie such lands
claimed by non-Indian claimants, respectively, or wherein some part
of such lands are situated, otherwise in some newspaper or
newspapers of general circulation published nearest to such lands,
once a week for five consecutive weeks, setting forth as nearly as
may be the names of such non-Indian claimants of land holdings not
claimed by or for the Indians as herein provided, with a
description of such several holdings, as shown by a survey of
Pueblo Indian lands heretofore made under the direction of the
Secretary of the Interior and commonly known as the 'Joy Survey,'
or as may be otherwise shown or defined by authority of the
Secretary of the Interior, and requiring that any person or persons
claiming such described parcel or parcels of land or any part
thereof, adversely to the apparent claimant or claimants so named
as aforesaid, or their heirs of assigns, shall, on or before the
thirtieth day after the last publication of such notice, file his
or their adverse claim in the United States Land Office in the land
district wherein such parcel or parcels of land are situate, in the
nature of a contest, stating the character and basis of such
adverse claim, and notice of such contest shall be served upon the
claimant or claimants named in the said notice, in the same manner
as in cases of contest of homestead entries. If no such contest is
instituted as aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue
to the claimant or claimants, or their heirs or assigns, a patent
or other certificate of title for the parcel or parcels of land so
described in said notice; but if a contest be filed it shall
proceed and be heard and decided as contests of homestead entries
are heard and decided under the rules and regulations of the
General Land Office pertinent thereto. Upon such contest either
party may claim the benefit of the provisions of section 4 of this
Act to the same extent as if he were a party to a suit to quiet
title brought under the provisions of this Act, and the successful
party shall receive a patent or certificate of title for the land
as to which he is successful in such proceeding. Any patent or
certificate of title issued under the provisions of this Act shall
have the effect only of a relinquishment by the United States of
America and the said Indians.
"If after such notice more than one person or group of persons
united in interest makes claim in such land office adverse to the
claimant or claimants named in the said notice, or to any other
person or group of persons who may have filed such contest, each
contestant shall be required to set forth the basis and nature of
his respective claim, and thereupon the said claims shall be heard
and decided as upon an original contest or intervention.
"And in all cases any person or persons whose right to a given
parcel or parcels of land has become fixed either by the action of
the said board or the said court or in such contest may apply to
the Commissioner of the General Land Office for a patent or
certificate of title and receive the same without cost or charge.
"Sec. 14. That if any non-Indian party to any such suit shall
assert against the Indian title a claim based upon a Spanish or
Mexican grant, and if the court should finally find that such claim
by the non-Indian is superior to that of the Indian claim, no final
decree or judgment of ouster of the said Indians shall be entered
or writ of possession or assistance shall be allowed against said
Indians, or any of them, or against the United States of America
acting in their behalf. In such case the court shall ascertain the
area and value of the land thus held by any non-Indian claimant
under such superior title, excluding therefrom the area and value
of lots or parcels of land the title to which has been found to be
in other persons under the provisions of this Act: Provided,
however, That any findings by the court under the provisions of
this section may be reviewed on appeal or writ of error at the
instance of any party aggrieved thereby, in the same manner, to the
same extent, and with like effect as if such findings were a final
judgment or decree. When such finding adverse to the Indian claim
has become final, the Secretary of the Interior shall report to
Congress the facts, including the area and value of the land so
adjudged against the Indian claim, with his recommendations in the
premises.
"Sec. 15. That when any claimant, other than the United States
for said Indians not covered by the report provided for in section
7 of this Act, fails to sustain his claim to any parcel of land
within any Pueblo Indian grant, purchase, or donation under
provisions of this Act, but has held and occupied any such parcel
in good faith, claiming the same as his own, and the same has been
improved, the value of the improvements upon the said parcel of
land shall be found by the court and reported by the Secretary of
the Interior to Congress, with his recommendations in the premises.
"Sec. 16. That if the Secretary of the Interior deems it to be
for the best interest of the Indians that any land adjudged by the
court or said Lands Board against any claimant be sold, he may,
with the consent of the governing authorities of the pueblo, order
the sale thereof, under such regulations as he may make, to the
highest bidder for cash; and if the buyer thereof be other than the
losing claimant, the purchase price shall be used in paying to such
losing claimant the adjudicated value of the improvements
aforesaid, if found under the provisions of section 15 hereof, and
the balance thereof, if any, shall be paid over to the proper
officer, or officers, of the Indian community, but if the buyer be
the losing claimant, and the value of his improvements has been
adjudicated as aforesaid, such buyer shall be entitled to have
credit upon his bid for the value of such improvements so
adjudicated.
"Sec. 17. No right, title, or interest in or to the lands of the
Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to which their title has not been
extinguished as hereinbefore determined shall hereafter be acquired
or initiated by virtue of the laws of the State of New Mexico, or
in any other manner except as may hereafter be provided by
Congress, and no sale, grant, lease of any character, or other
conveyance of lands, or any title or claim thereto, made by any
pueblo as a community, or any Pueblo Indian living in a community
of Pueblo Indians, in the State of New Mexico, shall be of any
validity in law or in equity unless the same be first approved by
the Secretary of the Interior.
"Sec. 18. That the pleading, practice, procedure, and rules of
evidence shall be the same in all causes arising under this Act as
in other civil causes in the Federal courts, except as otherwise
herein provided.
"Sec. 19. That all sums of money which may hereafter be
appropriated by the Congress of the United States for the purpose
of paying in whole or in part any liability found or decreed under
this Act from the United States to any pueblo or to any of the
Indians of any pueblo, shall be paid over to the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, which Bureau, under the direction of the Secretary of the
Interior, shall use such moneys at such times and in such amounts
as may seem wise and proper for the purpose of the purchase of
lands and water rights to replace those which have been lost to
said pueblo or to said Indians, or for purchase or construction of
reservoirs, irrigation works, or the making of other permanent
improvements upon, or for the benefit of lands held by said pueblo
or said Indians.
"SEC. 20. CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
"(a) In General. - Except as otherwise provided by Congress,
jurisdiction over offenses committed anywhere within the exterior
boundaries of any grant from a prior sovereign, as confirmed by
Congress or the Court of Private Land Claims to a Pueblo Indian
tribe of New Mexico, shall be as provided in this section.
"(b) Jurisdiction of the Pueblo. - The Pueblo has jurisdiction,
as an act of the Pueblos' inherent power as an Indian tribe, over
any offense committed by a member of the Pueblo or an Indian as
defined in title 25 [United States Code], sections 1301(2) and
1301(4), or by any other Indian-owned entity.
"(c) Jurisdiction of the United States. - The United States has
jurisdiction over any offense described in chapter 53 of title 18,
United States Code, committed by or against an Indian as defined in
title 25 [United States Code], sections 1301(2) and 1301(4) or any
Indian-owned entity, or that involves any Indian property or
interest.
"(d) Jurisdiction of the State of New Mexico. - The State of New
Mexico shall have jurisdiction over any offense committed by a
person who is not a member of a Pueblo or an Indian as defined in
title 25 [United States Code], sections 1301(2) and 1301(4), which
offense is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States."
WHITE EARTH RESERVATION LAND SETTLEMENT
Pub. L. 99-264, Mar. 24, 1986, 100 Stat. 61, as amended by Pub.
L. 100-153, Sec. 6(a), (b), Nov. 5, 1987, 101 Stat. 887; Pub. L.
100-212, Sec. 4, Dec. 24, 1987, 101 Stat. 1443; Pub. L. 101-301,
Sec. 8, May 24, 1990, 104 Stat. 210; Pub. L. 102-572, title IX,
Sec. 902(b)(2), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516; Pub. L. 103-263,
Sec. 4, May 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 708, provided: "That this Act may
be cited as the 'White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of
1985'.
"Sec. 2. The Congress finds that -
"(1) claims on behalf of Indian allottees or heirs and the
White Earth Band involving substantial amounts of land within the
White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota are the subject of
existing and potential lawsuits involving many and diverse
interests in Minnesota, and are creating great hardship and
uncertainty for government, Indian communities, and non-Indian
communities;
"(2) the lawsuits and uncertainty will result in great expense
and expenditure of time, and could have a profound negative
impact on the social and well-being of everyone on the
reservation;
"(3) the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians, State of
Minnesota, along with its political subdivisions, and other
interested parties have made diligent efforts to fashion a
settlement to these claims, and the Federal Government, by
providing the assistance specified in this Act, will make
possible the implementation of a permanent settlement with regard
to these claims;
"(4) past United States laws and policies have contributed to
the uncertainty surrounding the claims;
"(5) it is in the long-term interest of the United States,
State of Minnesota, White Earth Band, Indians, and non-Indians
for the United States to assist in the implementation of a fair
and equitable settlement of these claims; and
"(6) this Act will settle unresolved legal uncertainties
relating to these claims.
"Sec. 3. For purposes of this Act:
"(a) 'Allotment' shall mean an allocation of land on the White
Earth Reservation, Minnesota, granted, pursuant to the Act of
January 14, 1889 (25 Stat. 642), and the Act of February 8, 1887
(24 Stat. 388) [see Short Title note above], to a Chippewa Indian.
"(b) 'Allottee' shall mean the recipient of an allotment.
"(c) 'Full blood' shall mean a Chippewa Indian of the White Earth
Reservation, Minnesota, who was designated as a full blood Indian
on the roll approved by the United States District Court for the
District of Minnesota on October 1, 1920, or who was so designated
by a decree of a Federal court of competent jurisdiction; it shall
also refer to an individual who is not designated on said roll but
who is the biological child of two full blood parents so designated
on the roll or of one full blood parent so designated on the roll
and one parent who was an Indian enrolled in any other federally
recognized Indian tribe, band, or community.
"(d) 'Inherited' shall mean received as a result of testate or
intestate succession or any combination of testate or intestate
succession, which succession shall be determined by the Secretary
of the Interior or his authorized representative.
"(e) 'Mixed blood' shall mean a Chippewa Indian of the White
Earth Reservation, Minnesota, who was designated as a mixed blood
Indian on the roll approved by the United States District Court of
Minnesota on October 1, 1920, unless designated a full blood by
decree of a Federal court of competent jurisdiction; it shall also
refer to any descendants of an individual who was listed on said
roll providing the descendant was not a full blood under the
definition in subsection (c) of this section. The term 'mixed
blood' shall not include an Indian enrolled in any federally
recognized Indian tribe, band, or community other than the White
Earth Band.
"(f) 'Tax forfeited' shall mean an allotment which, pursuant to
State law, was declared forfeited for nonpayment of real property
taxes and purportedly transferred directly to the State of
Minnesota or to private parties or governmental entities.
"(g) 'Majority' shall mean the age of twenty-one years or older.
"(h) 'Secretary' shall mean the Secretary of the Interior or
his/or her authorized representative.
"(i) 'Trust period' shall mean the period during which the United
States held an allotment in trust for the allottee or the
allottee's heirs. For the purpose of this Act, the Executive Order
Numbered 4642 of May 5, 1927, Executive Order Numbered 5768 of
December 10, 1931, and Executive Order Numbered 5953 of November
23, 1932, shall be deemed to have extended trust periods on all
allotments or interests therein the trust periods for which would
otherwise have expired in 1927, 1932, or 1933, notwithstanding the
issuance of any fee patents for which there were no applications,
and if such allotments were not specifically exempted from the
Executive orders; and the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18,
1934 [see Short Title note set out under section 461 of this
title], shall be deemed to have extended indefinitely trust periods
on all allotments or interests therein the trust periods for which
would otherwise have expired on June 18, 1934, or at any time
thereafter. Said Executive orders and Act shall be deemed not to
have extended the trust period for allotments or interests which
were sold or mortgaged by adult mixed bloods, by non-Indians, or
with the approval of the Secretary, or for allotments or interests
which were sold or mortgaged by anyone where such sale or mortgage
was the subject of litigation in Federal court which proceeded to a
judgment on the merits and where the outcome of such litigation did
not vacate or void said sale or mortgage.
"(j) 'Interest', except where such item is used in conjunction
with 'compound', shall mean a fractional holding, less than the
whole, held in an allotment.
"(k) 'Adult' shall mean having attained the age of majority.
"(l) 'Heir' means a person who received or was entitled to
receive an allotment or interest as a result of testate or
intestate succession under applicable Federal or Minnesota law, or
one who is determined under section 9, by the application of the
inheritance laws of Minnesota in effect on March 26, 1986 (not
including laws relating to spousal allowance and maintenance
payments), to be entitled to receive compensation payable under
section 8.
"(m) 'Transfer' includes but is not limited to any voluntary or
involuntary sale, mortgage, tax forfeiture or conveyance pursuant
to State law; any transaction the purpose of which was to effect a
sale, mortgage, tax forfeiture or conveyance pursuant to State law;
any Act, event, or circumstance that resulted in a change of title
to, possession of, dominion over, or control of an allotment or
interest therein.
"Sec. 4. (a) The provisions of this Act shall apply to the
following allotments:
"(1) allotments which were never sold or mortgaged by the
allottees or by their heirs and which were tax forfeited during
the trust period;
"(2) allotments which were sold or mortgaged during the trust
period, without the approval of the Secretary, by the allottees
prior to having attained majority, and were never again sold or
mortgaged either by the allottees upon their having attained
majority or by heirs of the allottees;
"(3) allotments which were sold or mortgaged during the trust
period by full blood allottees without the approval of the
Secretary, and were never again the subject of a sale or mortgage
by heirs of the allottees; and
"(4) allotments which were never sold or mortgaged by the
allottees, but which subsequent to the deaths of the allottees,
purportedly were sold or mortgaged, during the trust period, by
administrators, executors, or representatives, operating under
authority from State courts, and were never again the subject of
a sale or mortgage by heirs of the allottees.
"(b) The provisions of this Act shall also apply to the following
allotments or interests in allotments:
"(1) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or
mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or
interests or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized
Indian tribes, bands, or communities who never sold or mortgaged
their allotments or interests, where the allotments or interests
were tax forfeited during the trust period;
"(2) allotments or interests which were inherited by mixed
bloods under the age of majority and which were sold or mortgaged
during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary
prior to such mixed bloods having attained majority, but which
were never again sold or mortgaged by them upon having attained
majority or by their heirs;
"(3) allotments or interests which were inherited by full
bloods or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized
Indian tribes, bands, or communities, who sold or mortgaged such
allotments or interests during the trust period without the
approval of the Secretary;
"(4) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or
mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or
interests, but which, subsequent to the deaths of such heirs,
were sold or mortgaged during the trust period by administrators,
operating under authority from State courts;
"(5) allotments or interests which were owned by allottees or
which were inherited by full or mixed bloods for whom guardians
were appointed by State courts, which guardians sold or mortgaged
the allotments or interests during the trust period without the
approval of the Secretary;
"(6) interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who
never sold or mortgaged their interests during the trust period,
even though other interests in the same allotment were sold by
other heirs where the land comprising the allotment has been
claimed in full by other parties adversely to the full or mixed
bloods who never sold or mortgaged their interests; and
"(7) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or
mixed bloods or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized
Indian tribes, bands, or communities which were never sold or
mortgaged during the trust period but which were purportedly
distributed by State court probate proceedings to other
individuals.
"(c) This Act shall not apply to -
"(1) any allotment or interest the sale or mortgage of which
was the subject of litigation which proceeded to a judgment on
the merits in Federal courts and where the outcome of such
litigation was other than vacating and voiding such sale or
mortgage;
"(2) any allotment or interest which was tax forfeited
subsequent to the date on which the tax exemption was declared by
a Federal court to have expired;
"(3) any allotment or interest which was sold, mortgaged, or
tax forfeited after the expiration of the trust period; or
"(4) any allotment or interest which was sold or mortgaged at
any time by an adult mixed blood Indian.
Nothing in this Act is intended to question the validity of the
transactions relating to allotments or interests as described in
section 4(c), and such allotments and interests are declared to be
outside the scope of this Act.
"Sec. 5. (a) Any determination of the heirs of any person holding
an allotment or interest, made by the courts of the State of
Minnesota, which is filed with the proper county recording officer
prior to May 9, 1979, shall be deemed to have effectively
transferred the title of the decedent in the allotment or interest
to the heirs so determined unless a separate determination of heirs
has been made by the Secretary before the effective date of this
Act [Mar. 24, 1986] and such determination has been filed with the
proper county recording officer within six months after the
effective date of this Act. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to remove any allotment described in section 4 from the
compensation provided for in the Act.
"(b) The 'proper county recording officer', as that term is used
in subsection (a) of this section, shall be a county recorder,
registrar of titles, or probate court in Becker, Clearwater, or
Mahnomen Counties, Minnesota.
"(c) As to any allotment which was granted to an allottee who had
died prior to the selection date of the allotment, the granting of
such allotment is hereby ratified and confirmed, and shall be of
the same effect as if the allotment had been selected by the
allottee before the allottee's death: Provided, That the White
Earth Band of Chippewa Indians shall be compensated for such
allotments in the manner provided in sections 6, 7, and 8.
"(d) As to any allotment that was made under the provisions of
the Treaty of March 19, 1867 (16 Stat. 719), and which was
reallotted under the provisions of the Act of January 14, 1889 (25
Stat. 642), such reallotment is hereby ratified and confirmed.
"Sec. 6. (a) As soon as the conditions set forth in section 10 of
this Act have been met, the Secretary shall publish a certification
in the Federal Register that such conditions have been met. After
such publication, any allotment or interest which the Secretary, in
accordance with this Act, determines falls within the provisions of
section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), the tax forfeiture, sale, mortgage, or
other transfer, as described therein, shall be deemed to have been
made in accordance with the Constitution and all laws of the United
States specifically applicable to transfers of allotments or
interests held by the United States in trust for Indians, and
Congress hereby does approve and ratify any such transfer effective
as of the date of said transfer, subject to the provisions of
section 6(c). Compensation for loss of allotments or interests
resulting from this approval and ratification shall be determined
and processed according to the provisions of section 8.
"(b) By virtue of the approval and ratification of transfers of
allotments or interests therein effected by this section, all
claims against the United States, the State of Minnesota or any
subdivisions thereof, or any other person or entity, by the White
Earth Band, its members, or by any other Indian tribe or Indian, or
any successors in interest thereof, arising out of, and at the time
of or subsequent to, the transfers described in section 4(a), 4(b),
or 5(c) and based on any interest in or nontreaty rights involving
such allotments or interests therein, shall be deemed never to have
existed as of the date of the transfer, subject to the provisions
of this Act.
"(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law other than the
provisions of this section, any action in any court to recover
title or damages relating to transactions described in section
4(a), 4(b), 5(a) or 5(c), shall be forever barred unless the
complaint is filed not later than one hundred and eighty days
following enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986], or prior to the
publication required by section 6(a) whichever occurs later in
time: Provided, That immediately upon the date of enactment of this
Act any such action on behalf of the White Earth Band of Chippewa
Indians shall be forever barred, unless the publication required by
section 6(a) does not take place within two years of the date of
enactment of this Act in which case the bar of any such action on
behalf of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians shall be deemed
lifted and nullified: Provided further, That the Secretary shall
not issue to the White Earth Band any report rejecting litigation
nor submit to Congress any legislation report pursuant to section
2415 of title 28, United States Code, relating to transactions
described in section 4(a), 4(b), 5(a) or 5(c) of this Act, until
and unless the bar against actions on behalf of the White Earth
Band is lifted and nullified. Any such action filed within the time
period allowed by this subsection shall not be barred; however, the
filing of any such action by an allottee, heir, or others entitled
to compensation under this Act shall bar such allottee, heir, or
others from receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions of
section 8. The United States District Court for the District of
Minnesota shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any such action
otherwise properly filed within the time allowed by this
subsection.
"(d) This section shall not bar an heir, allottee, or any other
person entitled to compensation under this Act from maintaining an
action, based on the transactions described in section 4(a), 4(b),
5(a), or 5(c), against the United States in the Court of Federal
Claims pursuant to the Tucker Act, section 1491 of title 28, United
States Code, challenging the constitutional adequacy of the
compensation provisions of section 8(a) as they apply to a
particular allotment or interest: Provided, That such action shall
be filed with the Court of Federal Claims not later than one
hundred and eighty days after the issuance of the notice of the
Secretary's compensation determination as provided in section 8(c).
If such an action is not filed within the one-hundred-and-eighty-
day period, it shall be forever barred. The United States hereby
waives any sovereign immunity defense it may have to such an action
but does not waive any other defenses it may have to such action.
The filing of an action by any heir, allottee, or any other person
under the provisions of this section shall bar such person forever
from receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions of section
8.
"Sec. 7. (a) The Secretary is hereby authorized to and shall
diligently investigate to the maximum extent practicable all White
Earth allotments and shall determine which allotments or interest
fall within any of the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c).
As to all such allotments or interests determined to be within the
provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), the Secretary shall
prepare lists of such allotments or interests, which shall include
allotment number, land description, and allottee's name, in English
and Ojibway where available. A first list shall be published within
one hundred and eighty days after the date of enactment of this Act
[Mar. 24, 1986] in the Federal Register; in a newspaper of general
circulation in Mahnomen County, Minnesota; in a newspaper of
general circulation in Becker County, Minnesota; in a newspaper of
general circulation in Clearwater County, Minnesota; in one
newspaper of general circulation in metropolitan Minneapolis-Saint
Paul; and, in the Secretary's discretion, in any appropriate band
or tribal newspaper. Publication in the required newspapers shall
take place no later than thirty days after publication in the
Federal Register.
"(b) Any tribe, band, or group of Indians, or any individual
shall have one year after the date of publication in the Federal
Register to submit to the Secretary any additional allotments or
interests which the tribe, band, group, or individual believes
should fall within any of the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or
5(c). The Secretary, without such submissions, may also
independently determine that additional allotments or interests
fall within such provisions. Any additional allotments or interests
submitted to the Secretary shall be accompanied by a statement
identifying the allotment or interest and its land description and
summarizing the reasons why it should be added to the list required
by this section.
"(c) The Secretary shall determine which additional allotments or
interests fall within the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or
5(c), and not later than March 12, 1989, the Secretary shall
publish a second list in the Federal Register and previously
required newspapers of the allotments or interests the Secretary
has determined should be corrected or added to the first published
list.
"(d) Any determination made by the Secretary under this section
to include an allotment or interest on the first list required by
the section to be published in the Federal Register may be
judicially reviewed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act [5
U.S.C. 701 et seq.] not later than ninety days of the publication
date of the first list of the Federal Register. Any such action not
filed within such ninety-day period shall be forever barred. Any
determination made by the Secretary to include an allotment or
interest on the second list required by this section to be
published in the Federal Register, or any determination made by the
Secretary not to include an allotment or interest on such list, may
be judicially reviewed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act
within ninety days of the publication date of the second list in
the Federal Register. Any such action not filed within such ninety-
day period shall be forever barred. Exclusive jurisdiction over
actions under this subdivision is hereby vested in the United
States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
"(e)(1) After publication of the second list under subsection
(c), the Secretary may, at any time, add allotments or interests to
that second list if the Secretary determines that the additional
allotment or interest falls within the provisions of section 5(c)
or subsection (a) or (b) of section 4.
"(2) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice
of any additions made under paragraph (1) to the second list
published under subsection (c).
"(3) Any determination made by the Secretary to add an allotment
or interest under paragraph (1) to the second list published under
subsection (c) may be judicially reviewed in accordance with
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, within 90 days after the
date on which notice of such determination is published in the
Federal Register under paragraph (2). Any legal action challenging
such a determination that is not filed within such 90-day period
shall be forever barred. Exclusive jurisdiction over any legal
action challenging such a determination is vested in the United
States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
"(f)(1) The Secretary is authorized to make a one-time deletion
from the second list published under subsection (c) or any
subsequent list published under subsection (e) of any allotments or
interests which the Secretary has determined do not fall within the
provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of section 4, or subsection (c)
of section 5, or which the Secretary has determined were
erroneously included in such list by reason of misdescription or
typographical error.
"(2) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice
of deletions made from the second list published under subsection
(c) or any subsequent list published under subsection (e).
"(3) The determination made by the Secretary to delete an
allotment or interest under paragraph (1) may be judicially
reviewed in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, United States
Code, within 90 days after the date on which notice of such
determination is published in the Federal Register under paragraph
(2). Any legal action challenging such a determination that is not
filed within such 90-day period shall be forever barred. Exclusive
jurisdiction over any legal action challenging such a determination
is vested in the United States District Court for the District of
Minnesota.
"Sec. 8. (a) Compensation for a loss of an allotment or interest
shall be the fair market value of the land interest therein as of
the date of tax forfeiture, sale, allotment, mortgage, or other
transfer described in section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), less any
compensation actually received, plus interest compounded annually
at 5 per centum from the date of said loss of an allotment or
interest until the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986],
and at the general rate of interest earned by United States
Department of the Interior funds thereafter. A determination of
compensation actually received shall be supported by Federal,
State, or local public documents filed contemporaneously with the
transaction or by clear and convincing evidence. Compensation
actually received shall not be subtracted from the fair market
value in any instance where an allotment or interest was sold or
mortgaged by a full or mixed blood, under the age of eighteen
years, or in any instance where there is prima facie evidence that
fraud occurred in a sale or mortgage. No compensation for loss of
an allotment or interest relating to transfers described in section
4(b) shall be granted to any person or the heirs of such person
where such allotment or interest was received pursuant to State
court probate proceedings and where also it has been or is
determined by the Secretary that such person or heirs were not
entitled to inherit the allotment or interest.
"(b) For the purpose of this section, the date of transfer
applicable to interests described in section 4(b)(6) shall be the
last date on which any interest in the subject allotment was
transferred by document of record by any other heir of the
allottee; and the date of transfer applicable to allotments
described in section 5(c) shall be the selection date. For purposes
of this section, the Secretary shall establish the fair market
value of various types of land for various years, which shall
govern the compensation payable under this section unless a
claimant demonstrates that a particular allotment or interest had a
value materially different from the value established by the
Secretary.
"(c) The Secretary shall provide written notice of the
Secretary's compensation determination to the allottees or heirs
entitled thereto. Such notice shall describe the basis for the
Secretary's determination, the applicable time limits for judicial
review of the determination, and the process whereby such
compensation will be distributed. The Secretary shall proceed to
make such heirship determinations as may be necessary to provide
the notice required by this section: Provided, That the Secretary
shall accept as conclusive evidence of heirship any determination
of the courts of the State of Minnesota as provided in section 5(a)
of this Act: Provided further, That the Secretary shall give
written notice only to those allottees or heirs whose addresses can
be ascertained by reasonable and diligent efforts; otherwise such
notice shall be given by publication in the Federal Register.
"(d) The Secretary's administrative determination of the
appropriate amount of compensation computed pursuant to the
provisions of this Act may be judicially reviewed pursuant to the
Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.] not later than
one hundred and eighty days after the issuance of notice as
aforesaid; after such time the Secretary's determination shall be
conclusive and all judicial review shall be barred. Exclusive
jurisdiction over any such action is hereby vested in the United
States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
"(e) Once a compensation determination has become conclusive
according to the provisions of subsection (d), the Secretary shall
certify such determination to the Secretary of the Treasury and
such conclusive determination shall be treated as a final judgment,
award or, compromise settlement under the provisions of title 31,
United States Code, section 1304. The Secretary of the Treasury is
authorized and directed to pay out of the funds in the Treasury
into a separate interest bearing White Earth Settlement Fund
account the amount certified by the Secretary of the Interior in
each case. The Secretary of the Interior shall then make a diligent
effort to locate each allottee or heir; however, if, after two
years from the date on which a determination becomes conclusive an
allottee or heir cannot be located, the Secretary of the Interior
shall declare the amount owing to such allottee or heir forfeited.
"(f) Any and all amounts forfeited pursuant to subsection (e)
together with the interest accumulated thereon, pursuant to section
8 shall be transferred annually to the fund established under
section 12 for the White Earth Band.
"Sec. 9. The Secretary shall determine the heirs, if heretofore
undetermined, or modify the inventory of an existing heirship
determination of any full or mixed blood or Indian enrolled in any
other federally recognized Indian tribe, band, or community, where
appropriate for the purposes of this Act: Provided, That the
Secretary shall accept any determination of heirship by the courts
of the State of Minnesota as provided in section 5(a) of this Act.
"Sec. 10. (a) The provisions of section 6 of this Act shall take
effect upon the publication in the Federal Register by the
Secretary of certification that the following conditions have been
satisfied:
"(1) The State of Minnesota, in accordance with Laws of
Minnesota 1984, chapter 539, has entered into an agreement with
the Secretary providing for the transfer of ten thousand acres of
land within the exterior boundaries of the White Earth
Reservation to the United States to hold in trust for the White
Earth Band of Chippewa Indians as the State's contribution to the
settlement provided for by this Act. The Secretary shall not
enter into such an agreement until the Secretary determines, or
the authorized governing body of the band certifies to the
Secretary in writing, that the agreement will result in the
transfer of ten thousand acres which possess reasonable value for
the White Earth Band, including but not limited to value for
agricultural, recreational, forestry, commercial, residential,
industrial, or general land consolidation purposes. The land
transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be accepted by the
United States subject to all existing accesses, roads, easements,
rights of way, or similar uses unless the Governor and Attorney
General of the State of Minnesota certify in writing to the
Secretary the State's intent to abandon such uses on a particular
parcel.
"(2) The State, in accordance with the Laws of Minnesota 1984,
chapter 539, has appropriated $500,000 for the purpose of
providing the United States with technical and computer
assistance for implementing the settlement provided for in this
Act.
"(3) The United States has appropriated $6,600,000 for economic
development for the benefit of the White Earth Band of Chippewa
Indians.
"(b) Upon final acceptance by the Secretary, the land referred to
in subsection (a)(1) shall be deemed to have been reserved as of
the date of the establishment of the White Earth Reservation and to
be part of the trust land of the White Earth Reservation for all
purposes.
"Sec. 11. Nothing in this Act is intended to alter the
jurisdiction currently possessed by the White Earth Band of
Chippewa Indians, the State of Minnesota, or the United States over
Indians or non-Indians within the exterior boundaries of the White
Earth Reservation.
"Sec. 12. (a) There is established in the Treasury of the United
States a fund to be known as the White Earth Economic Development
and Tribal Government Fund. Money in this Fund shall be held in
trust by the United States for the White Earth Band of Chippewa
Indians, and shall be invested and managed by the Secretary in the
same manner as tribal trust funds pursuant to the Act of June 24,
1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a).
"(b) The White Earth Economic Development and Tribal Government
Fund shall consist of -
"(1) money received by the White Earth Band as compensation
pursuant to section 8; and
"(2) money received by the White Earth Band as a result of
amounts forfeited pursuant to section 8(f); and
"(3) money received as an appropriation pursuant to section 15;
and
"(4) income accruing on such sums.
Income accruing to the White Earth Economic Development and Tribal
Government Fund shall, without further appropriation, be available
for expenditure as provided in subsection (c).
"(c) Income from the fund may be used by the authorized governing
body of the band for band administration. Principal and income may
be used by the authorized governing body of the band for economic
development, land acquisition, and investments: Provided, however,
That under no circumstances shall any portion of the moneys
described in subsection (b) be used for per capita payments to any
members of the band: Provided further, That none of the funds
described in subsection (b) shall be expended by the governing body
of the band until -
"(1) such body has adopted a band financial ordinance and
investment plan for the use of such funds; and
"(2) such body has submitted to the Secretary a waiver of
liability on the part of the United States for any loss resulting
from the use of such funds; and
"(3) the Secretary has approved the band financial ordinance
and investment plan. The Secretary shall approve or reject in
writing such ordinance and plan within sixty days of the date it
is mailed or otherwise submitted to him: Provided, That such
ordinance and plan shall be deemed approved if, sixty days after
submission, the Secretary has not so approved or rejected it. The
Secretary shall approve the ordinance and plan if it adequately
contains the element specified in this subsection.
"Sec. 13. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the
United States grants its permission to the State of Minnesota to
transfer land to the White Earth Band as described in section
10(a)(1) which prior to the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24,
1986] may have been obtained by the State pursuant to other Federal
law or with Federal assistance. Any restrictions or conditions
imposed by any other Federal law or regulation on the transfer of
such land are hereby waived and removed.
"Sec. 14. Not later than five years, or as soon as possible,
after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986], the
Secretary shall make all determinations, provide all notices, and
complete the administrative work necessary to accomplish the
objectives of this Act. The Secretary shall give priority in making
compensation determinations and payments under this Act to original
allottees and elderly heirs. The Secretary shall submit a report by
January 1 of each year to the chairman of the House of
Representatives Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs [now
Committee on Natural Resources] and the chairman of the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs, which report shall summarize the
administrative progress to date and shall estimate the amount and
nature of work left to be done.
"Sec. 15. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the
White Earth Band $6,600,000 as a grant to be expended as provided
in section 12.
"Sec. 16. None of the moneys which are distributed under this Act
shall be subject to Federal or State income taxes or be considered
as income or resources in determining eligibility for or the amount
of assistance under the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.]
or any other federally assisted program.
"Sec. 17. The Secretary is authorized, if so requested by the
authorized governing body of the White Earth Band, to exchange any
of the land which is transferred to the United States as described
in section 10(a)(1) for any other land within the exterior
boundaries of the White Earth Reservation which is owned by the
United States, the State of Minnesota, or any of the State's
political subdivisions. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to
require an exchange not agreed to by all parties to the exchange.
"Sec. 18. Any lands acquired by the White Earth Band within the
exterior boundaries of the White Earth Reservation with funds
referred to in section 12, or by the Secretary pursuant to section
17, shall be held in trust by the United States. Such lands shall
be deemed to have been reserved from the date of the establishment
of said reservation and to be part of the trust land of the White
Earth Band for all purposes."
WINNEBAGO RESERVATION, NEBRASKA
Act Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 431, 43 Stat. 1114, provided: "That the
Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized in his
discretion, to cancel any restricted fee patents that have been
issued to Indians of the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, under
the provisions of the Act of Congress of February 21, 1863 (Twelfth
Statutes at Large, page 658), and to issue in lieu thereof, to the
original allottees, or heirs, trust patents of the form and subject
to all the provisions set out in the general allotment act of
February 8, 1887 (Twenty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 388), as
amended: Provided, That the trust period shall be ten years from
the date of issuance of the lieu trust patents."