[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2606 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2606

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Act of August 4, 1947 (commonly known as the Stigler Act), 
    with respect to restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five 
         Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stigler Act Amendments of 2018''.

SEC. 2. IN GENERAL.

    The first section of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, 
chapter 458), is amended--
            (1) in the matter before subsection (a), by striking ``That 
        all restrictions'' and all that follows through subsection (a) 
        and inserting the following:
    ``Sec. 1. (a) All restrictions against alienation, conveyance, 
lease, mortgage, creation of liens, or other encumbrances upon all 
lands, including oil and gas or other mineral interests, in Oklahoma 
belonging to a lineal descendant by blood of an original enrollee whose 
name appears on the Final Indian Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes in 
Indian Territory, whether acquired by allotment, inheritance, devise, 
gift, purchase, exchange, partition, partition sale, or by purchase 
with restricted funds, of whatever degree of Indian blood, and whether 
enrolled or unenrolled, shall be and are hereby, extended until an Act 
of Congress determines otherwise.
    ``(b) The extension of restrictions described in subsection (a) 
shall include without limitation, those interests in the estate of a 
decedent Indian who died before the date of enactment of the Stigler 
Act Amendments of 2018--
            ``(1) if such interests were acquired by an heir or devisee 
        of one-half or more degree of Indian blood, as computed from 
        the nearest enrolled lineal ancestors of Indian blood enrolled 
        on the Final Rolls described in subsection (a), by final order 
        issued by an Oklahoma district court or a United States 
        district court determining the decedent's heirs or devisees or 
        otherwise determining the ownership of said interests before 
        said date; or
            ``(2) if such interests were, immediately prior to the 
        decedent's death, subject to restrictions and had not, as of 
        said date, been--
                    ``(A) the subject of a final order issued by an 
                Oklahoma district court or a United States district 
                court determining the decedent's heirs or devisees or 
                otherwise determining the ownership of said interests;
                    ``(B) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined heirs 
                or devisees by deed approved by an Oklahoma district 
                court; or
                    ``(C) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined heirs 
                or devisees of less than one-half degree of Indian 
                blood with or without Oklahoma district court approval.
    ``Sec. 2. (a) Except as provided in subsection (f), subsection (g), 
subsection (h), and subsection (i), no conveyance, including an oil and 
gas or mineral lease, of any interest in the restricted lands described 
in this section shall be valid unless approved in open court by the 
district court of the county in Oklahoma in which the land is 
situated;'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``county judge'' and inserting 
                ``district judge''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Proceedings for approval of 
                conveyances by restricted heirs or devisees'' and 
                inserting ``Proceedings for approval of conveyances'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``best interest of the 
        Indian'' and inserting ``best interest of the grantor''; and
            (4) by adding before the period at the end the following: 
        ``; (h) nothing contained in this section shall limit or affect 
        the right of an Indian owner of restricted lands described in 
        this Act to seek and obtain Secretarial removal of restrictions 
        on all or any portion of said restricted lands in accordance 
        with any applicable Federal law; (i) nothing contained in this 
        section shall invalidate the alienation, conveyance, lease, 
        including oil and gas or other mineral leases, mortgage, 
        creation of liens, or other encumbrance of any lands, if such 
        action was effective before the date of enactment of the 
        Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 and valid under the law then in 
        effect; and (j) in determining the quantum of Indian blood of 
        any Indian heir or devisee, the Final Indian Rolls of the Five 
        Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory as to such heir or 
        devisee, if enrolled, shall be conclusive of his or her quantum 
        of Indian blood. If unenrolled, his or her degree of Indian 
        blood shall be computed from the nearest enrolled lineal 
        ancestors of Indian blood enrolled on the Final Indian Rolls of 
        the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory''.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

    The Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458), is amended--
            (1) in section 5, by striking ``of one-half or more Indian 
        blood,'';
            (2) in section 6(c)--
                    (A) by inserting ``purchase, partition sale,'' 
                after ``gift,'' each place it appears; and
                    (B) by striking ``of one-half or more Indian 
                blood''; and
            (3) in section 8, by striking ``of one-half or more Indian 
        blood,''.

SEC. 4. REPEALS.

    The following are repealed:
            (1) The first section of the Act of August 11, 1955 (69 
        Stat. 666, chapter 768).
            (2) Section 2 of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, 
        chapter 458).

            Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 2018.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 2606

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To amend the Act of August 4, 1947 (commonly known as the Stigler Act), 
    with respect to restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five 
         Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma, and for other purposes.