§ 331 to 333. — Repealed.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC331]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 9--ALLOTMENT OF INDIAN LANDS
Sec. 331. Repealed. Pub. L. 106-462, title I, Sec. 106(a)(1),
Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat. 2007
Section, acts Feb. 8, 1887, ch. 119, Sec. 1, 24 Stat. 388; Feb. 28,
1891, ch. 383, Sec. 1, 26 Stat. 794; June 25, 1910, ch. 431, Sec. 17, 36
Stat. 859, related to allotments of irrigable and nonirrigable land on
reservations.
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, 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, in addition to authorizing appropriations to pay in part the
liability of the United States to the Indian pueblos, provided:
``Sec. 4. That for the purpose of safeguarding the interests and
welfare of the tribe of Indians known as the Pueblo de Taos of New
Mexico in the certain lands hereinafter described, upon which lands said
Indians depend for water supply, forage for their domestic livestock,
wood and timber for their personal use and as the scene of certain of
their religious ceremonials, the Secretary of Agriculture may and he
hereby is authorized and directed to designate and segregate said lands,
which shall not thereafter be subject to entry under the land laws of
the United States, and to thereafter grant to said Pueblo de Taos, upon
application of the governor and council thereof, a permit to occupy said
lands and use the resources thereof for the personal use and benefit of
said tribe of Indians for a period of fifty years, with provision for
subsequent renewals if the use and occupancy by said tribe of Indians
shall continue, the provisions of the permit are met and the continued
protection of the watershed is required by public interest. Such permit
shall specifically provide for and safeguard all rights and equities
hitherto established and enjoyed by said tribe of Indians under any
contracts or agreements hitherto existing, shall authorize the free use
of wood, forage, and lands for the personal or tribal needs of said
Indians, shall define the conditions under which natural resources under
the control of the Department of Agriculture not needed by said Indians
shall be made available for commercial use by the Indians or others, and
shall establish necessary and proper safeguards for the efficient
supervision and operation of the area for national forest purposes and
all other purposes herein stated, the area referred to being described
as follows:
``Beginning at the northeast corner of the Pueblo de Taos grant,
thence northeasterly along the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio
Lucero and along the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Red River to
a point a half mile east of Rio Pueblo de Taos; thence southwesterly on
a line half mile east of Rio Pueblo de Taos and parallel thereto to the
northwest corner of township 25 north, range 15 east; thence south on
the west boundary of township 25 north, range 15 east, to the divide
between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Fernandez de Taos; thence westerly
along the divide to the east boundary of the Pueblo de Taos grant;
thence north to the point of beginning; containing approximately thirty
thousand acres, more or less.
``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, 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.''
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.''
Act Referred to in Other Sections
The Indian General Allotment Act is referred to in sections 334,
335, 339, 340, 341, 342, 348, 349, 350, 352b, 354, 358 of this title;
title 43 section 1617.
