[House Report 107-499]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-499
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FIVE NATIONS INDIAN LAND REFORM ACT
_______
June 11, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2880]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2880) to amend laws relating to the lands of the citizens
of the Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and
Choctaw Nations, historically referred to as the Five Civilized
Tribes, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the
bill as amended do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Five Nations Indian
Land Reform Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
TITLE I--RESTRICTIONS; REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS
Sec. 101. Restrictions on real property.
Sec. 102. Reinvestment of proceeds from condemnation or conveyance of
restricted property.
Sec. 103. Restricted funds.
Sec. 104. Period of restrictions.
Sec. 105. Removal of restrictions.
Sec. 106. Exemptions from prior claims.
Sec. 107. Fractional interests.
TITLE II--ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL OF CONVEYANCES, PARTITIONS, LEASES,
AND MORTGAGES; MANAGEMENT OF MINERAL INTERESTS
Sec. 201. Approval authority for conveyances and leases.
Sec. 202. Approval of conveyances.
Sec. 203. Reimposition of restrictions on conveyances of property to
Indian housing authorities.
Sec. 204. Administrative approval of partition in kind.
Sec. 205. Surface leases.
Sec. 206. Secretarial approval of mineral leases or agreements.
Sec. 207. Management of mineral interests.
Sec. 208. Mortgages.
TITLE III--PROBATE, HEIRSHIP DETERMINATION, AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS
AFFECTING TITLE TO RESTRICTED PROPERTY
Sec. 301. Actions affecting restricted property.
Sec. 302. Heirship determinations and probates.
Sec. 303. Actions to cure title defects.
Sec. 304. Involuntary partitions.
Sec. 305. Requirements for actions to cure title defects and
involuntary partitions.
Sec. 306. Pending State proceedings.
TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 401. Regulations.
Sec. 402. Validation of certain transactions; savings clause.
Sec. 403. Repeals.
Sec. 404. Secretarial trust responsibility.
Sec. 405. Representation by attorneys for the Department of the
Interior.
Sec. 406. Filing requirements; constructive notice.
Sec. 407. Publication of designated officials.
Sec. 408. Rule of construction.
Sec. 409. Effective date.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Since 1970, Federal Indian policy has encouraged Indian
self-determination and economic self-sufficiency. The exercise
of Federal instrumentality jurisdiction by the Oklahoma State
courts over the Indian property that is subject to Federal
restrictions against alienation belonging to enrollees and
descendants of enrollees whose names appear on the final 1906
Indian rolls of the Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Cherokee,
Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations, historically referred to as the
Five Civilized Tribes, but now referred to as the Five Nations,
is inconsistent with that policy.
(2) It is a goal of Congress to recognize the Indian land
base as an integral part of the culture and heritage of Indian
people.
(3) The exercise of Federal instrumentality jurisdiction by
the courts of the State of Oklahoma over conveyances and
inheritance of restricted property belonging to Individual
Indians--
(A) is costly, confusing, and cumbersome, and
effectively prevents any meaningful Indian estate
planning, and unduly complicates the probating of
Indian estates and other legal proceedings relating to
Individual Indians and their lands; and
(B) has impeded the self-determination and economic
self-sufficiency of Individual Indians within the
exterior boundaries of the Five Nations.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To correct the disparate Federal treatment of individual
allotted lands of Individual Indians that resulted from prior
Federal legislation by equalizing the Federal legislative
treatment of restricted and trust lands.
(2) To eliminate unnecessary legal and bureaucratic obstacles
that impede the highest and best use of restricted property
belonging to Individual Indians.
(3) To provide for an efficient process for the
administrative review and approval of conveyances, voluntary
partitions, and leases, and to provide for Federal
administrative proceedings in testate and intestate probate and
other cases that involve the restricted property of Individual
Indians, which concern the rights of Individual Indians to hold
and acquire such property in restricted and trust status.
(4) To transfer to the Secretary the Federal instrumentality
jurisdiction of the Oklahoma State courts together with other
authority currently exercised by such courts over the
conveyance, devise, inheritance, lease, encumbrance, and
certain voluntary partition actions involving restricted
property belonging to such Individual Indians.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Five nations.--The term ``Five Nations'' means the
Cherokee Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, the Choctaw Nation of
Oklahoma, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and the Muscogee
(Creek) Nation, collectively, which were historically referred
to as the ``Five Civilized Tribes''.
(2) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the
meaning given that term in section 1151 of title 18, United
States Code, which includes restricted property and trust
property (as such terms are defined in this Act).
(3) Indian nation.--The term ``Indian Nation'' means one of
the individual Five Nations referred to in paragraph (1).
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the meaning
given that term in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
(5) Individual indian.--The term ``Individual Indian'' means
a member or citizen of one of the individual Five Nations
referred to in paragraph (1), an enrollee on the final Indian
rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes closed in 1906, or an
individual who is a lineal descendant by blood of an Indian
ancestor enrolled on the final Indian rolls of the Five
Civilized Tribes closed in 1906, regardless of whether such
person is an enrolled member of one of the Five Nations.
(6) Restricted property.--(A) The term ``restricted
property'' means any right, title, or interest in real property
owned by an Individual Indian that is subject to a restriction
against alienation, conveyance, lease, mortgage, creation of
liens, or other encumbrances imposed by this Act and other laws
of the United States expressly applicable to the property of
enrollees and lineal descendants of enrollees on the final
Indian rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes in 1906.
(B) The term ``restricted property'' includes, without
limitation, those interests in the estate of a decedent
Individual Indian who died prior to the effective date of this
Act that were, immediately prior to the decedent's death,
subject to restrictions against alienation imposed by the laws
of the United States but that had not, as of the effective date
of this Act--
(i) been the subject of a final order determining the
decedent's heirs and distributing the restricted
property issued by a State district court or a United
States district court;
(ii) been conveyed by heirs by deed approved in State
district court;
(iii) been conveyed by heirs of less than one-half
degree of Indian blood with or without State district
court approval; or
(iv) been the subject of Secretarial approval of
removal of restrictions.
(C) The term ``restricted property'' does not include Indian
trust allotments made pursuant to the General Allotment Act (25
U.S.C. 331 et seq.) or any other trust property.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior or the designee of the Secretary of the Interior.
(8) Trust property.--The term ``trust property'' means Indian
property, title to which is held in trust by the United States
for the benefit of an Individual Indian or an Indian Nation,
provided that such property was acquired in trust by the United
States under the authority of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25
U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Indian
Reorganization Act'') or the Act of June 26, 1936 (25 U.S.C.
501 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Oklahoma Indian Welfare
Act''), within the boundaries of the State of Oklahoma.
TITLE I--RESTRICTIONS; REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS
SEC. 101. RESTRICTIONS ON REAL PROPERTY.
(a) Application.--Beginning on the effective date of this Act, all
restricted property shall be subject to restrictions against
alienation, conveyance, lease, mortgage, creation of liens, or other
encumbrances, regardless of the degree of Indian blood of the
Individual Indian who owns such property.
(b) Continuation.--
(1) In general.--Any restricted property, including any
restricted property referred to in subsection (a), shall remain
restricted property notwithstanding the acquisition of such
property by an Individual Indian by inheritance, devise, gift,
or exchange.
(2) With waiver.--Any restricted property, including any
restricted property referred to in subsection (a), shall remain
restricted property upon the acquisition of such property by an
Individual Indian by election to take at partition or by
purchase, but only if--
(A) prior to the execution of the deed transferring
such restricted property, the Individual Indian who
owned such property prior to such election to take or
purchase executes a written waiver of his or her right
to acquire other property in restricted status pursuant
to section 102; and
(B) such restrictions appear in the deed transferring
such property to the Individual Indian electing to take
at partition or purchasing such property, together with
certification on said deed by the Secretary that the
requirements of this paragraph have been met.
SEC. 102. REINVESTMENT OF PROCEEDS FROM CONDEMNATION OR CONVEYANCE OF
RESTRICTED PROPERTY.
(a) Requirement.--Upon the conveyance of the restricted property of
an Individual Indian pursuant to this Act, or upon the conveyance or
condemnation of such property pursuant to section 3 of the Act of March
3, 1901 (25 U.S.C. 357) or other Federal laws generally applicable to
the condemnation of Indian trust or restricted property, any proceeds
from such conveyance or condemnation shall be used to purchase from a
willing seller other property designated by such Individual Indian, and
such designated property shall be restricted property if--
(1) such proceeds were deposited into a segregated account in
a trust fund under the supervision of the Secretary at the
request of the Individual Indian;
(2) such Individual Indian provides a written request to the
Secretary for payment of all or a portion of such proceeds for
purchase of property to be held in restricted status;
(3) such Individual Indian has not executed a written waiver
of his or her right to acquire other property in restricted
status pursuant to section 101;
(4) such restrictions appear in the conveyance to the
Individual Indian with certification by the Secretary that the
requirements of this section have been met; and
(5) such property is located within the State of Oklahoma.
(b) Fair Market Value in Excess of Proceeds.--If the fair market
value of any property designated under subsection (a) exceeds the
amount of proceeds that are derived from the conveyance or condemnation
involved, a specific tract of land within the property shall be
designated by the Individual Indian for placement in restricted status.
The size of the restricted tract of land so designated shall be in the
same proportion to the whole of the property as the proceeds derived
from the conveyance or condemnation bears to the fair market value of
the whole of the property. Such restrictions shall appear on the face
of the deed with certification by the Secretary describing that portion
of the property which is subject to restrictions.
(c) Rule of Construction.--The provisions of subsections (a) and (b)
of this section shall apply to the reinvestment of proceeds derived
from the conveyance or condemnation of restricted property of an
Individual Indian pursuant to the Act of March 2, 1931, as amended by
the Act of June 30, 1932 (25 U.S.C. 409a), where such reinvestment
occurs after the effective date of this Act.
SEC. 103. RESTRICTED FUNDS.
(a) In General.--All funds and securities held or supervised by the
Secretary derived from restricted property or Individual Indian trust
property on or after the effective date of this Act, including proceeds
from any conveyance or condemnation as provided for in section 102, are
deemed to be restricted and shall remain subject to the jurisdiction of
the Secretary.
(b) Use of Funds.--Funds, securities, and proceeds described in
subsection (a) may be released or expended by the Secretary for the use
and benefit of the Individual Indians to whom such funds, securities,
and proceeds belong, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary
may prescribe.
SEC. 104. PERIOD OF RESTRICTIONS.
Subject to the provisions of this Act that permit restrictions to be
removed, the period of restriction against alienation, conveyance,
lease, mortgage, creation of liens, or other encumbrances of restricted
property and funds belonging to Individual Indians, is hereby extended
until an Act of Congress determines otherwise.
SEC. 105. REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS.
(a) Procedure.--
(1) Application.--An Individual Indian who owns restricted
property, or the legal guardian of a minor Individual Indian or
an Individual Indian who has been determined to be legally
incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction (including a
tribal court), may apply to the Secretary for an order removing
restrictions on any interest in restricted property owned by
such Individual Indian.
(2) Consideration of application.--An application under
paragraph (1) shall be considered by the Secretary only as to
the tract, tracts, or severed mineral or surface interest
described in the application. Not later than 90 days after the
date on which an application is submitted, the Secretary shall
either issue the removal order or disapprove the application.
(3) Disapproval.--The Secretary shall disapprove an
application under paragraph (1) if--
(A) in the Secretary's judgment, the applicant has
been subjected to fraud, undue influence, or duress by
a third party; or
(B) the Secretary determines it is otherwise not in
the Individual Indian owner's best interest.
(b) Removal of Restrictions.--When an order to remove restrictions
becomes effective under subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue a
certificate describing the property and stating that the Federal
restrictions have been removed.
(c) Submission of List.--Not later than April 1 of each year, the
Secretary shall cause to be filed with the county treasurer of each
county in the State of Oklahoma where restricted property is situated,
a list of restricted property that has lost its restricted status
during the preceding calendar year in accordance with the provisions of
this Act.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
to--
(1) abrogate valid existing rights to property that is
subject to an order to remove restrictions under this section;
and
(2) remove restrictions on any other restricted property
owned by the applicant.
SEC. 106. EXEMPTIONS FROM PRIOR CLAIMS.
Sections 4 and 5 of the Act of May 27, 1908 (35 Stat. 312, chapter
199), shall apply to all restricted property.
SEC. 107. FRACTIONAL INTERESTS.
Upon application by an Individual Indian owner of an undivided
unrestricted interest in property of which a portion of the interests
in such property is restricted as of the effective date of this Act,
the Secretary shall forthwith convert that unrestricted interest into
restricted status if all of the interests in the property are owned by
Individual Indians as tenants in common as of the date of the
application under this section. The conversion into restricted status
shall be effective upon the date of filing of a restricted form deed
with the county clerk of the county where the property is situated;
provided that such deed must be executed by the applicant and approved
by the Secretary.
TITLE II--ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL OF CONVEYANCES, PARTITIONS, LEASES,
AND MORTGAGES; MANAGEMENT OF MINERAL INTERESTS
SEC. 201. APPROVAL AUTHORITY FOR CONVEYANCES AND LEASES.
The Secretary shall have exclusive jurisdiction to approve
conveyances and leases of restricted property by an Individual Indian
or by any guardian or conservator of any Individual Indian who is a
ward in any guardianship or conservatorship proceeding pending in any
court of competent jurisdiction, except that petitions for such
approvals that are filed in Oklahoma district courts prior to the
effective date of this Act shall be heard and adjudicated by such
courts pursuant to the procedures described in section 1 of the Act of
August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458), as in effect on the day
before the effective date of this Act, unless the Individual Indian,
guardian, or conservator dismisses the petition or otherwise objects to
the conveyance or lease prior to final court approval.
SEC. 202. APPROVAL OF CONVEYANCES.
(a) Procedure.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
restricted property may be conveyed by an Individual Indian
pursuant to the procedures described in this subsection.
(2) Requirements.--An Individual Indian may only convey
restricted property--
(A) after the property is appraised by the Secretary;
(B) for an amount that is not less than 90 percent of
the appraised value of the property;
(C) to the highest bidder through the submission to
the Secretary of closed, silent bids or negotiated
bids; and
(D) upon the approval of the Secretary.
(b) Exception.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), an
Individual Indian may convey his or her restricted property, or
any portion thereof, to any of the individuals described in
paragraph (2) without soliciting bids, providing notice, or for
consideration which is less than the appraised value of the
property, if the Secretary determines that the conveyance is
not contrary to the best interests of the Individual Indian and
that the Individual Indian has been duly informed of and
understands the fair market appraisal, and is not being coerced
into the conveyance.
(2) Individuals.--An individual described in this paragraph
is the Individual Indian spouse (if he or she is an Individual
Indian, father, mother, brother or sister, son, daughter or
other lineal descendant, aunt or uncle, cousin, niece or
nephew, or Individual Indian co-owner.
SEC. 203. REIMPOSITION OF RESTRICTIONS ON CONVEYANCES OF PROPERTY TO
INDIAN HOUSING AUTHORITIES.
(a) In General.--In any case where the restrictions have been removed
from restricted property for the purpose of allowing conveyances of the
property to Indian housing authorities to enable such authorities to
build homes for individual owners or relatives of owners of restricted
property, the Secretary shall issue a Certificate of Restricted Status
describing the property and imposing restrictions thereon upon written
request by the Individual Indian homebuyer or a successor Individual
Indian homebuyer. Such request shall include evidence satisfactory to
the Secretary that the homebuyer's contract has been paid in full and
be delivered to the Secretary not later than 3 years after the housing
authority conveys such property back to the original Individual Indian
homebuyer or an Individual Indian assignee or successor of the original
Individual Indian homebuyer.
(b) Existing Liens.--Prior to issuing a certificate under subsection
(a) with respect to property, the Secretary may require the elimination
of any existing liens or other encumbrances which would substantially
interfere with the use of the property.
(c) Application to Certain Homebuyers.--Individual Indian homebuyers
described in subsection (a) who acquired ownership of property prior to
the effective date of this Act shall have 3 years from such effective
date to request that the Secretary issue a certificate under such
subsection.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
limit or affect the rights of Individual Indians described in this
section under other Federal laws and regulations relating to the
acquisition and status of trust property.
SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL OF PARTITION IN KIND.
(a) Jurisdiction.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to approve the partition in kind of property,
where--
(A) all of said property is held in trust or
restricted status in common ownership by more than 1
Individual Indian owner;
(B) all owners consent to the partition in writing;
and
(C) all other requirements of subsections (b) and (c)
are met.
(2) Voluntary partition in kind.--The Secretary shall have
jurisdiction to approve the voluntary partition in kind of
property consisting of both restricted and unrestricted, or
both trust and nontrust, undivided interests if all owners
consent to such partition in kind in writing.
(b) Application for Partition.--
(1) In general.--An owner or owners of an undivided interest
in any property described in subsection (a) may make written
application, on a form approved by the Secretary, for the
partition in kind of their trust or restricted property.
(2) Determination.--If, based on an application submitted
under paragraph (1), the Secretary determines that the property
involved is susceptible to partition in kind, the Secretary
shall initiate partition of the property by--
(A) notifying the owners of such determination;
(B) providing the owners with a partition plan; and
(C) affording the owners a reasonable time to
respond, object, or consent in accordance with
subsection (c).
(c) Partition Procedures.--
(1) Proposed land division plan.--The Secretary shall give
applicants under subsection (b) and all other owners of
property subject to a partition application under this section
with a reasonable opportunity to negotiate a proposed land
division plan for the purpose of securing ownership of a tract
on the property equivalent to their respective interests in the
undivided estate, prior to taking any action related to
partition in kind of the property under this section.
(2) Approval.--The Secretary may attempt to negotiate for
partition in kind or for sale of all or a portion of the
property, and secure appropriate deeds from all interest
owners, subject to the Secretary's approval, if a plan under
paragraph (1) is approved by--
(A) Individual Indian owners of more than 50 percent
of the property which is entirely in trust status (as
distinguished from restricted status) and if the
Secretary finds the plan to be reasonable, fair, and
equitable, the Secretary may issue an order
partitioning the trust property in kind; or
(B) any Individual Indian who owns an undivided
interest which is held in restricted status (as
distinguished from trust status) and if the Secretary
finds the plan to be reasonable, fair, and equitable.
(3) Limitation.--No partition under paragraph (2)(B) shall be
effected unless all of the owners have consented to the plan in
writing.
SEC. 205. SURFACE LEASES.
The surface of restricted property may be leased by an Individual
Indian pursuant to the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415 et seq.),
except that the Secretary may approve any agricultural lease or permit
with respect to restricted property in accordance with the provisions
of section 105 of the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management
Act (25 U.S.C. 3715) and section 219 of the Indian Land Consolidated
Act (25 U.S.C. 2218).
SEC. 206. SECRETARIAL APPROVAL OF MINERAL LEASES OR AGREEMENTS.
(a) Approval.--
(1) General rule.--No lease or agreement purporting to convey
or create any mineral interest in restricted or trust property
that is entered into or renewed after the effective date of
this Act shall be valid unless approved by the Secretary.
(2) Requirements.--The Secretary may approve a lease or
agreement described in paragraph (1) only if--
(A) the Individual Indian owners of a majority of the
undivided interest in the restricted or trust mineral
estate that is the subject of the lease or agreement
(including any interest covered by a lease or agreement
executed by the Secretary under subsection (c)) consent
to the lease or agreement;
(B) the Secretary determines that approving the lease
or agreement is in the best interest of the Individual
Indian owners of the restricted or trust mineral
interests; and
(C)(i) the Secretary has accepted the highest bid for
such lease or agreement after a competitive bidding
process has been conducted by the Secretary, or
(ii) the Secretary has determined that it is in the
best interest of the Individual Indian owners to award
a lease made by negotiation, and the Individual Indian
owners so consent in writing.
(b) Effect of Approval.--Upon the approval of a lease or agreement by
the Secretary under subsection (a), the lease or agreement shall be
binding upon all owners of the restricted or trust undivided interests
subject to the lease or agreement and all other parties to the lease or
agreement, to the same extent as if all of the owners of the restricted
or trust mineral interests involved had consented to the lease or
agreement.
(c) Execution of Lease or Agreement by Secretary.--The Secretary may
execute a mineral lease or agreement that affects restricted or trust
property interests on behalf of an Individual Indian owner if that
owner is deceased and the heirs to, or devisees of, the interest of the
deceased owner have not been determined, or if the heirs or devisees
have been determined but one or more of the heirs or devisees cannot be
located.
(d) Distribution of Proceeds.--The proceeds derived from a mineral
lease or agreement approved by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall
be distributed in accordance with the interest held by each owner
pursuant to such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the
Secretary.
(e) Communitization Agreements.--Restricted or trust mineral
interests underlying property located within a spacing and drilling
unit approved by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission shall not be
drained of any oil or gas by a well within such unit without a
communitization agreement prepared and approved by the Secretary,
except that in the event of any such drainage without a communitization
agreement approved by the Secretary, 100 percent of all revenues
derived from the production from any such restricted or trust property
shall be paid to the Individual Indian owner free of all lifting and
other production costs.
SEC. 207. MANAGEMENT OF MINERAL INTERESTS.
(a) Oil and Gas Conservation Laws.--
(1) In general.--The oil and gas conservation laws of the
State of Oklahoma shall apply to restricted property.
(2) Enforcement.--The Oklahoma Corporation Commission shall
have the authority to perform ministerial functions related to
the enforcement of the laws referred to in paragraph (1),
including enforcement actions against well operators, except
that no order of the Corporation Commission affecting
restricted Indian property shall be valid as to such property
until such order is submitted to and approved by the Secretary.
(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to grant to the State of Oklahoma regulatory
jurisdiction over the protection of the environment and natural
resources of restricted property, except to the limited extent
granted by this subsection.
(b) Implementation of Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.--
Beginning on the effective date of this Act, the Secretary shall
exercise all the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary under the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702 et
seq.) with respect to an oil and gas lease where--
(1) the Secretary has approved the oil and gas lease pursuant
to section 206(a);
(2) the Secretary has, prior to the effective date of this
Act, approved the oil and gas lease pursuant to the Act of May
27, 1908 (35 Stat. 312, chapter 199); or
(3) the Secretary has, before the effective date of this Act,
approved an oil and gas lease of lands of any of the Five
Nations pursuant to the Act of May 11, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 396a et
seq.).
SEC. 208. MORTGAGES.
An Individual Indian may mortgage restricted property only in
accordance with and under the authority of the Act of March 29, 1956
(25 U.S.C. 483a).
TITLE III--PROBATE, HEIRSHIP DETERMINATION, AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS
AFFECTING TITLE TO RESTRICTED PROPERTY
SEC. 301. ACTIONS AFFECTING RESTRICTED PROPERTY.
The Secretary shall have jurisdiction over actions affecting title
to, or use or disposition of, trust property or restricted property.
The United States District Court in the State of Oklahoma and the
courts of the State of Oklahoma shall have jurisdiction over actions
affecting title to, or use or disposition of, trust property or
restricted property only to the extent expressly authorized by this Act
or by other Federal laws applicable to trust property or restricted
property.
SEC. 302. HEIRSHIP DETERMINATIONS AND PROBATES.
(a) Jurisdiction.--The Secretary shall have exclusive jurisdiction,
to probate wills or otherwise determine heirs of deceased Individual
Indians and to adjudicate all such estate actions to the extent that
they involve individual trust property, restricted property, or
restricted or trust funds or securities held or supervised by the
Secretary derived from such property, subject to the following
exceptions:
(1) The Secretary shall not have jurisdiction over such
estate actions that are pending in the courts of the State of
Oklahoma as provided in section 306.
(2) The Secretary shall not have jurisdiction over any estate
for which a final order of probate or determination of heirs
was issued by a court of the State of Oklahoma or a United
States district court.
(b) Governing Laws.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary shall exercise the Secretary's jurisdiction and authority
under this section in accordance with the Indian Land Consolidation Act
(25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) and such rules and regulations which
heretofore have been, or will be, prescribed by the Secretary for the
probate of wills, determination of heirs, and distribution of property
in estates of Indian decedents, subject to the following requirements:
(1) Law applicable to estates of individual indian decedents
who died prior to effective date.--The administrative law judge
or other official designated by the Secretary shall apply the
laws of descent and distribution of the State of Oklahoma
contained in title 84 of the Oklahoma Statutes, chapter 4, to
all restricted property, trust property, and all restricted or
trust funds or securities derived from such property in the
estates of deceased Individual Indians who died intestate prior
to the effective date of this Act.
(2) Law applicable to wills executed prior to effective
date.--The Secretary shall determine the validity and effect of
wills as to estates containing trust property or restricted
property when such wills were executed by Individual Indians
prior to the effective date of this Act, in accordance with the
laws of the State of Oklahoma governing the validity and effect
of wills, provided that the will of a full-blood Individual
Indian which disinherits the parent, spouse, or one or more
children of such full-blood Individual Indian shall not be
valid with respect to the disposition of restricted property
unless the requirements of section 23 of the Act of April 26,
1906 (34 Stat. 137, chapter 1876), as in effect on the day
before the effective date of this Act, are met.
(3) Law applicable to wills executed on or after effective
date.--
(A) In general.--Any Individual Indian who has
attained age 18 and owns restricted property or trust
property shall have the right to dispose of such
property by will, executed on or after the effective
date of this Act in accordance with regulations which
heretofore have been, or will be, prescribed by the
Secretary for the probate of wills, provided--
(i) no will so executed shall be valid or
have any force or effect unless and until such
will has been approved by the Secretary; and
(ii) that the Secretary may approve or
disapprove such will either before or after the
death of the Individual Indian testator.
(B) Fraud.--In any case where a will has been
approved by the Secretary under subparagraph (A) and it
is subsequently discovered that there was fraud in
connection with the execution or procurement of the
will, the Secretary is authorized, within 1 year after
the death of the testator, to cancel approval of the
will. If an approval is canceled in accordance with the
preceding sentence, the property purported to be
disposed of in the will shall descend or be distributed
in accordance with the Secretary's rules and
regulations applicable to estates of Indian decedents
who die intestate.
(4) Federal law controls.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, Federal law governing personal
claims against the estate of a deceased Individual Indian or
against trust property or restricted property, including the
restrictions imposed by this Act or other applicable Federal
law against the alienation, conveyance, lease, mortgage,
creation of liens, or other encumbrances of trust property or
restricted property shall apply to all such property contained
in the estate of the deceased Individual Indian.
SEC. 303. ACTIONS TO CURE TITLE DEFECTS.
(a) Jurisdiction.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the
United States district courts in the State of Oklahoma and the State
courts of Oklahoma shall retain jurisdiction over actions seeking to
cure defects affecting the marketability of title to restricted
property, except that all such actions shall be subject to the
requirements of section 305.
(b) Adverse Possession.--No cause of action may be brought to claim
title to or an interest in restricted property by adverse possession or
the doctrine of laches on or after the effective date of this Act,
except that--
(1) all such causes that are pending on the effective date of
this Act in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the
Act of April 12, 1926 (44 Stat. 239, chapter 115), shall be
subject to section 306; and
(2) an action to quiet title to an interest in restricted
property on the basis of adverse possession may be filed in the
courts of the State of Oklahoma provided that all requirements
of Oklahoma law for acquiring title by adverse possession,
including the running of the full 15-year limitations period,
have been met prior to the effective date of this Act, the
claimant in any such action has shown by clear and convincing
evidence that the limitations period had run in full prior to
the effective date of this Act, and the procedures set forth in
section 305 are followed.
(c) Heirship Determinations and Dispositions.--Nothing in this
section shall be construed to authorize a determination of heirs in a
quiet title action in Federal or State court in derogation of the
Secretary's exclusive jurisdiction to probate wills or otherwise
determine heirs of the deceased Individual Indians owning restricted
property and to adjudicate all such estate actions involving restricted
property pursuant to section 302, or in derogation of the Secretary's
exclusive jurisdiction over the disposition of restricted property
under this Act. Any grantee of an heir who, prior to the effective date
of this Act and in accordance with applicable Federal laws, conveyed,
leased, or otherwise encumbered his or her interest in the restricted
property of an unprobated estate of an Individual Indian decedent shall
have standing to request that the Secretary determine the heirs of the
decedent in order to establish marketable title in said grantee. For
purposes of this subsection the term grantee shall include any grantee,
lessee, or mortgagee of such heir and any successors or assigns of such
grantee.
SEC. 304. INVOLUNTARY PARTITIONS.
(a) Petition; Jurisdiction and Applicable Law; Requirements.--
(1) Petitions.--Any person who owns any undivided interest in
a tract of property consisting entirely or partially of
undivided restricted interests, regardless of the size of that
person's interest in the whole tract, may file an action in the
United States district court in the district wherein the tract
is located or the Oklahoma State district court for the county
wherein the tract is located for the involuntary partition of
such tract.
(2) Jurisdiction; applicable law.--The United States district
courts in the State of Oklahoma and the State courts of
Oklahoma shall have jurisdiction over actions for the
involuntary partition of property filed pursuant to this
section, subject to all requirements and limitations of this
section and the requirements in sections 305 and 306. The laws
of the State of Oklahoma governing the partition of property
shall be applicable to all actions for involuntary partition
under this section, except to the extent that any such laws are
in conflict with any provisions of this section and sections
305 and 306.
(3) Agreement after initiation of action.--If after the
initiation of any action authorized by this section, the
parties to the suit reach an agreement for the partition of the
property in kind or by sale, such agreement shall not be valid
or binding as to the restricted interests until it is approved
by the Secretary.
(4) Approval of election or sale.--If the tract consists of
wholly or partially undivided restricted interests, the court
may approve an election by any undivided interest owner to take
the property at the full appraised value pursuant to the laws
of the State of Oklahoma governing partitions or, if there is
no such election, to approve the sale of the property at public
auction for no less than two-thirds of the appraised value
pursuant to the laws of the State of Oklahoma governing
partitions.
(5) Determination of value.--The Secretary shall determine
the value of the property and submit an appraisal to the court.
If the value of the property determined by the Secretary is
greater than the valuation or appraisement of the property made
pursuant to law of the State of Oklahoma, the court shall set a
hearing at which time the Secretary and any other party shall
be afforded an opportunity to present evidence regarding the
value of the property, following which the court may accept the
Secretary's valuation, or accept the valuation and appraisement
made pursuant to law of the State of Oklahoma, or order a new
valuation and appraisement pursuant to law of the State of
Oklahoma.
(b) Payment to Nonconsenting Owners of Restricted Interests.--
Nonconsenting owners of undivided restricted interests shall receive
for the sale of such interests their proportionate share of the greater
of--
(1) the proceeds paid at the partition sale; or
(2) an amount equal to 90 percent of the appraised value of
the tract.
(c) Costs.--A nonconsenting Individual Indian owner of restricted
interests shall not be liable for any filing fees or costs of an action
under this section, including the cost of an appraisal, advertisement,
and sale, and no such costs shall be charged against such nonconsenting
owner's share of the proceeds of sale.
SEC. 305. REQUIREMENTS FOR ACTIONS TO CURE TITLE DEFECTS AND
INVOLUNTARY PARTITIONS.
(a) In General.--All actions authorized by sections 303 and 304 shall
be conducted in accordance with the requirements and procedures
described in this section.
(b) Parties.--
(1) United states.--The United States shall not be a
necessary and indispensable party to an action authorized under
section 303 or 304. The Secretary may participate as a party in
any such action.
(2) Participation of the secretary.--If the Secretary elects
to participate in an action as provided for under paragraph
(1), the responsive pleading of the Secretary shall be made not
later than 20 days after the Secretary receives the notice
required under subsection (c), or within such extended time as
the trial court in its discretion may permit.
(3) Judgment binding.--After the appearance of the Secretary
in any action described in paragraph (1), or after the
expiration of the time in which the Secretary is authorized to
respond under paragraph (2), the proceedings and judgment in
such action shall be binding on the United States and the
parties upon whom service has been made and shall affect the
title to the restricted property which is the subject of the
action, in the same manner and extent as though nonrestricted
property were involved.
(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to waive the requirement of service of summons in
accordance with applicable Federal or State law upon the
Individual Indian landowners, who shall be necessary and
indispensable parties to all actions authorized by sections 303
and 304.
(c) Notice.--
(1) In general.--The plaintiff in any action authorized by
sections 303 and 304 shall serve written notice of the filing
of such action and of a petition or complaint, or any amended
petition or complaint which substantially changes the nature of
the action or includes a new cause of action, upon the
Secretary not later than 10 days after the filing of any such
petition or complaint or any such amended petition or
complaint.
(2) Filing with clerk.--At least one duplicate original of
any notice served under paragraph (1) shall be filed with the
clerk of the court in which the action is pending.
(3) Requirements.--The notice required under paragraph (1)
shall be--
(A) accompanied by a certified copy of all pleadings
on file in the action at the time of the filing of the
duplicate original notice with the clerk under
paragraph (2);
(B) signed by the plaintiff to the action or his or
her counsel of record; and
(C) served by certified mail, return receipt
requested, and due return of service made thereon,
showing date of receipt and service of notice.
(4) Failure to serve.--If the notice required under paragraph
(1) is not served within the time required under such
paragraph, or if return of service thereof is not made within
the time permitted by law for the return of service of summons,
alias notices may be issued and filed until service and return
of notice is made, except that in the event that service of the
notice required under such paragraph is not made within 60 days
following the filing of the petition or complaint or amendments
thereof, the action shall be dismissed without prejudice.
(5) Limitation.--In no event shall the United States or the
parties named in a notice filed under paragraph (1) be bound,
or title to the restricted property be affected, unless written
notice is served upon the Secretary as required under this
subsection.
(d) Removal.--
(1) In general.--The United States shall have the right to
remove any action to which this section applies that is pending
in a State court to a United States district court by filing
with the State court, not later than 20 days after the service
of any notice with respect to such action under subsection (c),
or within such extended period of time as the trial court in
its discretion may permit, a notice of the removal of such
action to a United States district court, together with the
certified copy of the pleadings in such action as served on the
Secretary under subsection (c).
(2) Duty of state court.--It shall be the duty of a State
court to accept a notice filed under paragraph (1) and proceed
no further in said suit.
(3) Pleadings.--Not later than 20 days after the filing of a
notice under paragraph (1), the copy of the pleadings involved
(as provided under such paragraph) shall be entered in the
United States district court and the defendants and intervenors
in such action shall, not later than 20 days after the
pleadings are so entered, file a responsive pleading to the
complaint in such action.
(4) Proceedings.--Upon the submission of the filings required
under paragraph (3), the action shall proceed in the same
manner as if it had been originally commenced in the United
States district court, and its judgment may be reviewed by
certiorari, appeal, or writ of error in like manner as if the
action had been originally brought in such district court.
SEC. 306. PENDING STATE PROCEEDINGS.
The courts of the State of Oklahoma shall continue to exercise
authority as a Federal instrumentality over all heirship, probate,
partition, and other actions involving restricted property that are
pending on the effective date of this Act until the issuance of a final
judgment and exhaustion of all appeal rights in any such action, or
until the petitioner, personal representative, or the State court
dismisses the action in accordance with State law.
TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 401. REGULATIONS.
The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to
carry out this Act, except that failure to promulgate such regulations
shall not limit or delay the effect of this Act.
SEC. 402. VALIDATION OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS; SAVINGS CLAUSE.
(a) Validation of Certain Title Transactions.--Any person having the
legal capacity to own real property in the State of Oklahoma who claims
ownership of an interest in such property through an unbroken chain of
title of record, the title to which interest is or may be defective as
a result of any transaction described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of
this subsection that occurred in such chain of title, may cure the
defect in title and validate the transaction by following the
procedures of this section. When all conditions and requirements of
this section have been met, and if no notice of objection has been
timely filed by the Secretary under subsection (c) or by any other
person under subsection (f), the transaction shall be validated and
shall not be considered a defect in the muniments of title but only
insofar as the defect is based on or arises from Federal statutes
applicable to the conveyance or inheritance of restricted property in
effect at the time of the transaction. The transactions referred to in
this subsection are the following:
(1) Any probate order issued by a county court of the State
of Oklahoma prior to the effective date of the Act of June 14,
1918 (40 Stat. 606) purporting to probate the estate of an
Individual Indian who died owning property which was subject to
restrictions against alienation pursuant to Federal statutes in
effect at the time of issuance of such probate order.
(2) Any probate order issued by a county or district court of
the State of Oklahoma more than 30 years prior to the effective
date of this Act purporting to probate the estate of a deceased
Individual Indian who died owning property which was subject to
restrictions against alienation pursuant to Federal law in
effect at the time of issuance of such probate order, where
notice was not given as required by Federal statutes in effect
at the time.
(3) Any conveyance of record, including an oil and gas or
mineral lease, of an interest in individual trust property or
property which was subject to restrictions against alienation
pursuant to Federal statutes in effect at the time of the
conveyance executed by a person who was an heir or purported
heir of the Individual Indian decedent who owned such property
at the time of his death, if such conveyance was approved by a
county or district court in Oklahoma more than 30 years before
the effective date of this Act but where no judicial or
administrative order of record was issued before or after such
approval finding that such person was in fact the heir to the
interest conveyed.
(4) Any conveyance of record, including an oil and gas or
mineral lease, of individual trust property or property which
was subject to restrictions against alienation pursuant to
Federal statutes in effect at the time of the conveyance that
was approved by a county or district court in Oklahoma or by
the Secretary more than 30 years before the effective date of
this Act, where--
(A) approval was not in compliance with the notice
requirements of Federal statutes governing the
conveyance of said individual trust property or said
restricted property; or
(B) approval was given by a county or district court
in Oklahoma of a conveyance of the property by a
personal representative in a probate action over which
said county or district court possessed jurisdiction,
without compliance with Federal statutes governing the
conveyance of the property in effect at the time of the
conveyance.
(5) Any conveyance of record, including an oil and gas or
mineral lease, of individual trust property or property which
was subject to restrictions against alienation pursuant to
Federal statutes in effect at the time of the conveyance that
was approved by a county or district court in Oklahoma or by
the Secretary at any time before the effective date of this
Act, where--
(A) approval was given by the Secretary where the
Federal statutes governing the conveyance of the
property required approval by a county or district
court in Oklahoma; or
(B) approval was given by a county or district court
in Oklahoma where the Federal statutes governing the
conveyance of the property in effect at the time of the
conveyance required approval of the Secretary.
(b) Notice of Claim; Service and Recording.--Any claimant described
in subsection (a) must serve written notice of his or her claim by
certified mail, return receipt requested, on the Secretary, and file
the notice of claim, together with a copy of the return receipt showing
delivery to the Secretary and filing in the office of county clerk in
the county or counties wherein the property is located. The notice
shall not be complete for the purposes of this section until it has
been served on the Secretary and filed of record as herein provided.
The notice of claim shall set forth the following:
(1) The claimant's name and mailing address.
(2) An accurate and full description of all property affected
by such notice, which description shall be set forth in
particular terms and not be general inclusions; but if said
claim is founded upon a recorded instrument, then the
description in such notice may be the same as that contained in
such recorded instrument.
(3) A specific reference to or description of each title
transaction in the chain of title that the claimant is
attempting to validate pursuant to this section.
(4) A list of all documents of record that are part of the
claimant's unbroken chain of title, copies of which documents
shall be served with the notice.
(c) Response Deadline; Extension.--The Secretary shall have 60 days
from date of receipt of the notice of claim in which to notify the
claimant in writing that the Secretary exercises discretionary
authority to object to the claim for any reason. The Secretary shall be
entitled to an automatic extension of time of 60 days in which to
object to the claim upon the Secretary's service of written notice of
extension on the claimant within the initial 60-day response period.
(d) Notice of Objection; Remedies.--The Secretary shall send the
notice of objection and any notice of extension of time to the claimant
by certified mail to the address set forth in the claimant's notice to
the Secretary. The Secretary's notice of objection or notice of
extension of time shall include a description of the property and shall
be effective on the date of mailing. The Secretary shall file the
notice of objection or notice of extension of time in the office of the
county clerk for the county or counties wherein the property is located
within 30 days after the date of mailing of the notice to the claimant.
If the Secretary notifies the claimant that the Secretary objects to
the claim, such decision shall be final for the Department and the
claimant's sole remedies shall be to file an action to cure title
defects pursuant to section 303 of this Act or to request a
determination of heirs in accordance with section 302 of this Act.
(e) Undisputed Claim.--If, in the exercise of discretionary authority
pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary does not object to the claim,
then the Secretary may notify the claimant that the matter is not in
dispute. Failure of the Secretary to notify the claimant of the
Secretary's objection within the initial 60-day period, or within the
60-day extension period if notice of an extension was given, shall
constitute acceptance of the claim. If the Secretary notifies the
claimant that the matter is not in dispute or fails to file an
objection to the claim of record within the time required by subsection
(d), the title transaction described in the claimant's notice shall be
deemed validated and shall not be considered a defect in the muniments
of the claimant's title based on or arising from Federal statutes
governing the conveyance of restricted property in effect at the time
of the transaction, provided that no written notice of objection is
timely filed by other parties in accordance with subsection (f) of this
section.
(f) Notice of Objection by Other Parties to Applicability of This
Section.--Any person claiming ownership of an interest in property the
record title to which includes a title transaction described in
subsection (a) of this section may prevent the application of
subsections (a) through (e) to said interest by filing for record in
the office of the county clerk for the county or counties wherein the
property in question is located, no later than 3 years after the
effective date of this Act, a written notice of objection in the form
of a declaration made under oath setting forth the following:
(1) The declarant's name and mailing address.
(2) An accurate and full description of all of the
declarant's property interests to be affected by such notice,
which description shall be set forth in particular terms and
not be general inclusions; but if said declarant's claim to
ownership is founded upon a recorded instrument, then the
description in such notice may be the same as that contained in
such recorded instrument.
(3) A statement that the declarant claims in good faith to be
the owner of an interest in the property described in the
notice and that the declarant objects to the operation of this
section with respect to any title transaction that would
otherwise be subject to validation under this section.
(g) Interests of Heirs of Less Than Half-Blood.--Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to invalidate--
(1) any conveyance of record, including a surface, oil and
gas, or mineral lease, of an interest in property made prior to
the effective date of this Act by an heir of a deceased
Individual Indian without district court approval where such
heir was of less than one-half degree of Indian blood, even
though the property was held in restricted status immediately
prior to the decedent Individual Indian's death; or
(2) any other encumbrance that attached prior to the
effective date of this Act to an interest in property of an
heir of a deceased Individual Indian where such heir was of
less than one-half degree of Indian blood, even though the
property was held in restricted status immediately prior to the
decedent Individual Indian's death.
(h) Terms.--For purposes of this section:
(1) A person shall be deemed to have an unbroken chain of
title when the official public records, including probate and
other official public records, as well as records in the county
clerk's office, disclose a conveyance or other title
transaction of record not less than 30 years prior to the
effective date of this Act, which said conveyance or other
title transaction purports to create such interest, either in--
(A) the person claiming such interest; or
(B) some other person from whom, by 1 or more
conveyances or other title transactions of record, such
purported interest has become vested in the person
claiming such interest; with nothing appearing of
record, in either case, purporting to divest such
claimant of such purported interest.
(2) The term recording, when applied to the official public
records of any officer or court, includes filing with the
officer or court.
SEC. 403. REPEALS.
(a) In General.--The following provisions are repealed:
(1) The Act of August 11, 1955 (69 Stat. 666, chapter 786, 25
U.S.C. 355 note).
(2) Sections 1 through 5, 7 through 9, and 11 through 13 of
the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458, 25 U.S.C.
355 note).
(3) The Act of December 24, 1942 (56 Stat. 1080, Chapter
813).
(4) The Act of February 11, 1936 (25 U.S.C. 393a, Chapter
50).
(5) The Act of January 27, 1933 (47 Stat. 777, chapter 23, 25
U.S.C. 355 note).
(6) Sections 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the Act of May 10, 1928 (45
Stat. 495, chapter 517).
(7) The Act of April 12, 1926 (44 Stat. 239, chapter 115).
(8) Sections 1 and 2 of the Act of June 14, 1918 (Chapter
101, 25 U.S.C. 375 and 355, respectively).
(9) Sections 1 through 3 and 6 through 12 of the Act of May
27, 1908 (35 Stat. 312, chapter 199).
(10) Sections 6, 11, 15, 18, 20, and 23 of the Act of April
26, 1906 (34 Stat. 137, chapter 1876).
(b) Technical Amendments.--
(1) Section 28 of the Act of April 26, 1906 (34 Stat. 137,
chapter 1876) is amended--
(A) by striking the first proviso; and
(B) by striking ``Provided further'' and inserting
``Provided''.
(2) Section 6 of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 733,
chapter 458) is amended--
(A) in subsection (c), by inserting before the final
period the following: ``: Provided further, That any
interest in restricted and tax-exempt lands acquired by
descent, devise, gift, exchange, partition, conveyance,
or purchase with restricted funds after the date of the
enactment of the Five Nations Indian Land Reform Act by
an Indian of the Five Civilized Tribes shall continue
to be tax-exempt during the restricted period''; and
(B) in subsection (e), by striking the first
sentence.
(3) The Act of May 7, 1970 (84 Stat. 203, Public Law 91-240,
25 U.S.C. 375d), is amended--
(A) by inserting ``Creek,'' after ``Cherokee,''; and
(B) by striking ``derived and shall'' and inserting
the following: ``derived. Such lands, interests, and
profits, and any restricted Indian lands or interests
therein allotted by any such Indian nation that are
reacquired by that Indian nation by conveyance
authorized under section 202(a) of the Five Nations
Indian Land Reform Act shall''.
(4) Section 1 of the Act of October 22, 1970 (84 Stat. 1091,
Public Law 91-495), is amended by striking the last sentence.
SEC. 404. SECRETARIAL TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to waive, modify, or diminish
in any way the trust responsibility of the United States over
restricted property.
SEC. 405. REPRESENTATION BY ATTORNEYS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR.
Attorneys of the Department of the Interior may--
(1) represent the Secretary in any actions filed in the State
courts of Oklahoma involving restricted property;
(2) when acting as counsel for the Secretary, provide
information to all Individual Indians owning restricted
property (and to private counsel for such Individual Indians if
any) regarding their legal rights with respect to the
restricted property owned by such Individual Indians;
(3) at the request of any Individual Indian owning restricted
property, take such action as may be necessary to cancel or
annul any deed, conveyance, mortgage, lease, contract to sell,
power of attorney, or any other encumbrance of any kind or
character, made or attempted to be made or executed in
violation of this Act or any other Federal law, and take such
action as may be necessary to assist such Individual Indian in
obtaining clear title, acquiring possession, and retaining
possession of restricted property; and
(4) in carrying out paragraph (3), refer proposed actions to
be filed in the name of the United States in a district court
of the United States to the United States Attorney for that
district, and provide assistance in an of-counsel capacity in
those actions that the United States Attorney elects to
prosecute.
SEC. 406. FILING REQUIREMENTS; CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE.
(a) Requirement for Filing.--The Secretary shall file the following
orders or other decision documents which concern restricted property
and are issued after the effective date of this Act by the Secretary in
the appropriate offices of the Department of the Interior, as
designated by the Secretary, and in the office of the county clerk in
the county where such restricted property is located:
(1) Any order or other decision document removing
restrictions, imposing restrictions, approving conveyances,
approving leases, approving voluntary partitions, approving
mortgages, probating wills, or determining heirs.
(2) Any notice issued by the Secretary pursuant to section
402.
(b) Constructive Notice.--The filing of said documents pursuant to
this section shall constitute constructive notice to the public of the
effect of said documents filed.
(c) Certification of Authenticity.--The Secretary shall have
authority to certify the authenticity of copies of such documents and
title examiners shall be entitled to rely on said authenticated copies
for the purpose of determining marketability of title to the property
described therein.
SEC. 407. PUBLICATION OF DESIGNATED OFFICIALS.
The Secretary shall identify each designee for purposes of the
receipt of notices or the performance of any Secretarial duty or
function under this Act by publication of notice in the Federal
Register.
SEC. 408. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit or affect the rights
of Individual Indians under other Federal laws relating to the
acquisition and status of trust property, including without limitation,
the following:
(1) The Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.)
(commonly known as the ``Indian Reorganization Act'').
(2) The Act of June 26, 1936 (25 U.S.C. 501 et seq.)
(commonly known as the ``Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act'').
(3) The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et
seq.).
(4) Regulations relating to the Secretary's authority to
acquire lands in trust for Indians and Indian tribes.
SEC. 409. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2003.
Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend laws
relating to the lands of the enrollees and lineal descendants
of enrollees whose names appear on the final 1906 Indian rolls
of the Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and
Choctaw Nations, historically referred to as the Five Civilized
Tribes, and for other purposes.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2880, is to amend laws relating to the
lands of the citizens of the Muscogee (Creek), Seminole,
Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations, historically referred
to as the ``Five Civilized Tribes,'' and for other purposes.
Background and Need for Legislation
``Individual Indian'' landowners in the Muscogee (Creek),
Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations (the Five
Nations) in eastern Oklahoma face certain problems involving
``restricted property.'' Federal laws grant Oklahoma State
courts, as ``federal instrumentalities,'' jurisdiction over
probates dealing with restricted property. Consequently, a
large and ever-increasing number of restricted estates have not
been probated in eastern Oklahoma because many individual
Indians cannot afford to pay for probate actions in State
court. History has also shown that countless acres of
restricted lands in eastern Oklahoma have been lost when State
probate courts have authorized the sale of the restricted lands
in estates simply to pay the court costs and attorneys fees for
probating the estate. This often involved sale of the entire
restricted estate, rather than sale of just enough property to
pay the costs and attorneys fees.
These problems were documented as early as 1912. According
to a 1925 report, restricted lands in eastern Oklahoma were not
protected within the Oklahoma State court system, particularly
in the area of State court guardianships. In addition, historic
records demonstrate numerous instances where adult Indians,
upon coming into large sums of money through ownership of oil
or mineral development property, were taken into court,
declared incompetent, had guardians appointed, and were forced
to pay attorneys and guardians fees out of restricted funds.
H.R. 2880 attempts to deal with these longstanding problems
through four broad solutions. First, H.R. 2880 tries to correct
the disparate federal treatment of individual allotted lands of
individual Indians that resulted from prior federal
legislation, by equalizing the federal legislative treatment of
restricted and trust lands. Ironically, the inequality arose
due to the Five Nations' treaty-based fee ownership of their
lands. Because of this fee ownership, the Five Nations avoided
the forced allotment of their lands under the 1887 General
Allotment Act, which authorized issuance by the United States
of trust patents to individual Indian landowners who were
members of tribes whose lands were held in trust by the United
States. Since the United States did not own the Five Nations'
lands, the federal government did not have legal authority to
issue patents to individual tribal members. This resulted in a
unique and complex system of federal allotment legislation and
other federal laws applicable only to the Five Nations'
allotted lands.
Second, H.R. 2880 eliminates unnecessary legal and
bureaucratic obstacles that impede the highest, best, and most
efficient use of restricted property by Indian owners. The bill
amends current federal law which requires costly State court
approval of sales and mineral leases of restricted property.
Third, H.R. 2880 establishes a process for the
administrative review and approval of conveyances, voluntary
partitions, and leases. The bill also streamlines federal
administrative proceedings in testate and intestate probates
and other cases that involve restricted property and the rights
of individual Indians to hold and acquire property in
restricted and trust status.
Finally, H.R. 2880 returns to the Department of the
Interior the federal instrumentality jurisdiction of the
Oklahoma State courts over the conveyance, devise, inheritance,
lease, encumbrance, and certain partition actions involving
restricted property belonging to individual Indians of the Five
Nations. This will enable transactions to be handled
administratively within the Department of the Interior, thereby
protecting Indian interests without unnecessary judicial
proceedings.
Committee Action
After its introduction by Congressman Wes Watkins (R-OK) on
September 12, 2001, H.R. 2880 was referred to the Committee on
Resources. The Committee did not hold legislative hearings on
the bill. On March 20, 2002, the Full Resources Committee met
to consider the bill. Congressman James V. Hansen (R-UT)
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to correct
various technical and substantive inconsistencies and to
clarify certain provisions. It was adopted by voice vote. The
bill as amended was then ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by voice vote.
Section-by-Section Analysis of Bill as Amended
Section 1. Short Title; Table of Contents. Section 1
establishes the short title of the Act and provides a table of
contents.
Section 2. Findings. Section 2 recognizes that State court
federal instrumentality jurisdiction over restricted lands in
eastern Oklahoma is inconsistent with federal Indian self-
determination policy.
Section 3. Purposes. Section 3 describes the purposes of
the legislation, which include correcting the historical
disparate federal legislative treatment of individual allotted
lands of ``Individual Indians.''
Section 4. Definitions. Section 4 defines the legislation's
key terms.
``Five Nations'' means the Cherokee Nation, the Chickasaw
Nation, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Nation of
Oklahoma, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, collectively
(historically referred to as the ``Five Civilized Tribes'').
``Indian Country'' has the meaning given that term in
section 1151 of title 18, United States Code, and expressly
includes trust property and restricted property as those terms
are defined in the bill.
``Indian Nation'' means one of the individual Five Nations.
``Indian tribe'' means an Indian tribe as defined by the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
``Individual Indian'' means a member or citizen of one of
the individual Five Nations, an enrollee on the final Five
Civilized Tribes' 1906 Indian rolls, or an individual who is a
lineal descendant by blood of an enrollee, regardless of
whether such person is an enrolled member of one of the Five
Nations.
``Restricted property'' means any right, title, or interest
in real property owned by an Individual Indian subject to a
restriction against alienation, conveyance, lease, mortgage,
creation of liens, or other encumbrances imposed by the
legislation or certain other federal laws, but does not include
trust property.
``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior or her
designee.
``Trust property'' means Indian property, title to which
was acquired in trust by the United States for the benefit of
an Individual Indian or an Indian Nation within the boundaries
of the state of Oklahoma under authority of the Indian
Reorganization Act or the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act.
Title I--Restrictions; Removal of Restrictions
Section 101. Restrictions on Real Property. Section 101
provides that beginning on the effective date of the
legislation, all restricted property shall be subject to
restrictions, regardless of the degree of Indian blood of the
Individual Indian who owns the property, and that restricted
status will remain when the property is acquired by an
Individual Indian by various described means.
Section 102. Reinvestment of Proceeds from Condemnation or
Conveyance of Restricted Property. Section 102 describes
procedures for Individual Indians to use proceeds from
conveyance or condemnation of restricted property to purchase
property to be held in restricted status.
Section 103. Restricted Funds. Section 103 requires that
funds and securities that are held or supervised by the
Secretary and are derived from restricted property or
Individual Indian trust property on or after the effective date
of the legislation are restricted and shall remain subject to
the jurisdiction of the Secretary.
Section 104. Period of Restrictions. Section 104 provides
that, subject to the provisions of the legislation that permit
restrictions to be removed, the period of restriction is
extended until an Act of Congress determines otherwise.
Section 105. Removal of Restrictions. Section 105
establishes the procedure for removal of restrictions from a
specified interest in property owned by an Individual Indian.
Section 106. Exemptions from Prior Claims. Section 106
provides that Sections 4 and 5 of the Act of May 27, 1908 (35
Stat. 312, ch. 199) apply to restricted property.
Section 107. Fractional Interests. Section 107, which
involves conversion of the status of certain undivided property
interests, is similar to section 217 of the Indian Land
Consolidation Act, Public Law 106-462, as amended (25 U.S.C.
Sec. 2216).
Title II--Administrative Approval of Conveyances, Partitions, Leases,
and Mortgages; Management of Mineral Interests
Section 201. Approval Authority for Conveyances and Leases.
Section 201 provides that the Secretary shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to approve conveyances and leases of restricted
property.
Section 202. Approval of Conveyances. Section 202 describes
the procedure and requirements for Secretarial approval of
conveyances of restricted property.
Section 203. Reimposition of Restrictions on Conveyances of
Property to Indian Housing Authorities. Section 203 authorizes
the Secretary to grant requests to reimpose restrictions on
former restricted property used as sites for homes constructed
by Indian housing authorities with Housing and Urban
Development funds, subject to certain requirements.
Section 204. Administrative Approval of Partition in Kind.
Section 204 establishes procedures for Secretarial approval of
certain types of partitions of trust and restricted property.
Section 205. Surface Leases. Section 205 authorizes surface
leases of restricted property in accordance with other federal
laws of general applicability that are listed in this section.
Section 206. Secretarial Approval of Mineral Leases or
Agreements. Section 206, which is based on Public Law 105-188,
describes procedures for Secretarial approval of mineral leases
and agreements affecting restricted property.
Section 207. Management of Mineral Interests. Section 207
makes the oil and gas conservation laws of the State of
Oklahoma applicable to restricted property, requires
Secretarial approval of Oklahoma Corporation Commission orders
affecting restricted Indian property, and requires the
Secretary to implement the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act with respect to leases currently supervised by
the Secretary and with respect to all future leases approved by
the Secretary.
Section 208. Mortgages. Section 208 provides that
Individual Indians may mortgage restricted property only under
the authority of the Act of March 29, 1956 (25 U.S.C.
Sec. 483a).
title iii--probate, heirship determination, and other proceedings
affecting title to restricted property
Section 301. Actions Affecting Restricted Property. Section
301 recognizes Secretarial authority over actions affecting
title to trust or restricted property, and provides that State
and federal court cases for the curing of title defects to
restricted property may be filed only pursuant to the express
authorization contained in section 303 of the bill and subject
to the limitations of that section.
Section 302. Heirship Determinations and Probates. Section
302 confers on the Secretary exclusive jurisdiction to probate
wills and determine heirs of deceased Individual Indians in
cases involving individual trust property, restricted property,
and trust funds in accordance with the Indian Land
Consolidation Act and the Secretary's rules and regulations.
The Oklahoma State district courts will retain jurisdiction
over the decedent Individual Indian's non-restricted assets.
Section 303. Actions to Cure Title Defects. Section 303
provides that the Oklahoma State and federal courts will retain
jurisdiction over actions to cure title defects in restricted
property, subject to certain described exceptions.
Section 304. Involuntary Partitions. Section 304 authorizes
state and federal courts to exercise jurisdiction over
involuntary partition actions, subject to all requirements and
limitations of sections 304, 305, and 306 of the bill.
Section 305. Requirements for Actions to Cure Title Defects
and Involuntary Partitions. Section 305 contains requirements
for State and federal court quiet title actions and involuntary
partition actions involving restricted property.
Section 306. Pending State Proceedings. Section 306
authorizes the courts of the State of Oklahoma to continue to
exercise federal instrumentality authority over heirship,
probate, partition, and other actions involving restricted
property pending on the effective date of the legislation, but
allows the petitioner, personal representative, or State court
to dismiss the action.
title IV--miscellaneous
Section 401. Regulations. Section 401 authorizes the
Secretary to promulgate regulations, but provides that failure
to promulgate such regulations will not limit or delay the
effect of the legislation.
Section 402. Validation of Certain Transactions; Savings
Clause. Section 402 establishes procedures for curing certain
title defects, if all conditions and requirements of section
402 have been met, and no notice of objection has been timely
filed by the Secretary or by any other authorized person.
Section 403. Repeals. Section 403 repeals various federal
laws that have been revised by or would otherwise be
inconsistent with the bill and contains technical amendments of
other laws. Each of the laws listed in section 403 involves
only the Five Nations and Individual Indians.
Section 404. Secretarial Trust Responsibility. Section 404
provides that nothing in the legislation shall be construed to
waive, modify, or diminish in any way the trust responsibility
of the United States over restricted property.
Section 405. Representation by Attorneys for the Department
of the Interior. Section 405 defines the authority of attorneys
of the Department of the Interior related to representation of
the Secretary and the protection of restricted property.
Section 406. Filing Requirements; Constructive Notice.
Section 406 contains requirements for the filing of Secretarial
orders or other decisions concerning restricted property for
purposes of giving constructive notice to the public. This
section allows title examiners to rely on authenticated copies
of the documents filed for the purpose of determining
marketability of title to property.
Section 407. Publication of Designated Officials. Section
407 requires the Secretary to identify each designee for
purposes of the receipt of notices or the performance of any
Secretarial duty or function under the bill by publication of
notice in the Federal Register.
Section 408. Rule of Construction. Section 408 provides
that the bill is not intended to limit or affect the rights of
Individual Indians under other federal laws involving trust
property acquisitions.
Section 409. Effective Date. Section 409 provides that the
legislation shall be effective on January 1, 2003.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 10, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on the Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2880, the Five
Nations Indian Land Reform Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lanette J.
Walker.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2880--Five Nations Indian Land Reform Act
Summary: H.R. 2880 would make various changes to the laws
that regulate restricted land held by individual Indians of the
Five Nations tribes in Oklahoma (Muscogee, Seminole, Cherokee,
Chickasaw, and Choctaw). Restricted land generally refers to
certain real property owned by individual Indians of those
tribes that is encumbered by certain federal laws. Assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would cost $90 million over the 2003-2007
period to pay for additional administrative costs of the
Department of the Interior (DOI). Enacting H.R. 2880 would not
affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would not apply.
H.R. 2880 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in the Unfunded mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Enacting this
legislation would involve some costs and some benefits for the
state of Oklahoma and for local governments in the state, but
these would not be caused by mandates. CBO cannot determine the
net impact of the bill on these governments.
H.R. 2880 would grant authority to the Secretary of the
Interior to partition certain parcels of undivided property
held in trust for individual Indians of the Five Nations who
own interests in such property. In the event that the Secretary
orders a partition without the consent of each of the property
owners, H.R. 2880 would impose a private-sector mandate on
those not favoring the partition. CBO estimates that the cost
of the mandate would be well under the annual threshold
established in UMRA ($115 million in 2002, adjusted annually
for inflation). As part of the partition process, each owner
would receive a parcel or some other form of compensation in
proportion to his interest in the property.
Major provisions: H.R. 2880 would make several changes to
federal laws concerning restricted land held by individual
Indians of the Five Nations. In particular, the bill would:
Make all restricted property subject to
restrictions against alienation, conveyance, lease,
mortgage, or creation of liens regardless of the degree
of Indian blood of the individual Indian who owns the
property;
Establish requirements enabling individual
Indians to use proceeds from the conveyance of
restricted property to purchase other property to be
held in restricted status;
Grant the Secretary of the Interior
exclusive jurisdiction to approve conveyances, leases,
and voluntary partition in-kind of restricted property;
Grant the Secretary of the Interior
exclusive jurisdiction to probate wills or determine
heirs of deceased individual Indians and to adjudicate
estate actions involving trust or restricted property
and securities; and
Authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
administer certain oil and gas leases on restricted
lands held by individual Indians.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 2880 is shown in the following table.
The cost of this legislation falls within budget functions 450
(community and regional development) and 300 (natural resources
and environment).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year in millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Additional Administrative Costs for Bureau of Indian Affairs:
Estimated Authorization Level.................................. 8 8 8 8 8
Estimated Outlays.............................................. 6 8 8 8 8
Additional Administrative Costs for Minerals Management Service and
Bureau of Land Management:
Estimated Authorization Level.................................. 11 11 11 12 12
Estimated Outlays.............................................. 6 11 11 12 12
Total Changes:
Estimated Authorization Level.................................. 19 19 19 20 20
Estimated Outlays.............................................. 20 19 19 20 20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basis of Estimate: H.R. 2880 would make various changes to
the laws that regulate restricted land held by individual
Indians of the Muscogee, Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and
Choctaw tribes in Oklahoma. CBO estimates that implementing the
bill would cost $90 million over the 2003-2007 period for
additional administrative costs to DOI, assuming the
appropriation of the necessary amounts. For this estimate, CBO
assumes that the bill will be enacted by the end of this fiscal
year and that the necessary amounts will be appropriated for
each year, beginning with 2003.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Based on information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO
estimates that it would cost the agency $38 million over the
2003-2007 period for additional salaries and expenses to
establish and maintain individual Indian accounts managed by
the federal government and to review and make determinations on
the additional land transactions that would be under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. Such
costs would be subject to future appropriation action. Proceeds
from the conveyance or condemnation of restricted Indian
property that are held by the Secretary on behalf of individual
Indians are not considered budgetary funds. Consequently, CBO
estimates that any change in the amounts held in the individual
Indian accounts as a result of implementing this bill would
have no impact on the federal budget.
Oil and gas royalty management
Under current law, the Secretary of the Interior is
responsible for administering oil and gas leases on lands that
are held in trust on behalf of Indian tribes. Section 207 of
the bill would authorize the Secretary to administer certain
oil and gas leases on restricted lands that are not held in
trust. Based on information from DOI about the number of leases
that would be added under the bill, we estimate that this
provision would increase federal spending by $6 million in 2003
and $52 million over the 2003-2007 period, mostly for increased
costs to approve leases and audit royalty payments. Enacting
the bill would not affect federal income from oil and gas
leases.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments:
H.R. 2880 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in UMRA. Enacting this legislation would involve some costs and
some benefits for the state of Oklahoma and for local
governments in the state, but these would not be caused by
mandates. Specifically, the changes made by this bill could
affect the amount of property in some Oklahoma counties that is
exempt from local property taxes. Also, by removing
jurisdiction over matters regarding restricted property from
the Oklahoma courts, this bill probably would reduce the burden
now borne by the state and by some of its counties. CBO does
not have sufficient data to determine the impact of this bill
on those governments. The bill would impose no costs on any
other state, local, or tribal government.
The changes made by this bill would affect the tax base of
Oklahoma and some of its local governments because most of the
restricted property addressed by the bill is exempt from state
and local property taxes. We anticipate that, with no change in
current law, the amount of property remaining in restricted
status would decline over time. Enacting H.R. 2880 probably
would slow this decline, and thus result in some loss of state
and local tax receipts. Also, it would make it easier for
Indians to replace restricted property in one county with
restricted property in another county, so it could change the
distribution of this property among the affected counties.
H.R. 2880 would transfer jurisdiction for most matters
concerning restricted property from state and local courts in
Oklahoma to the federal government, and thus would shift some
of the burden now borne by these state and local courts. As a
result, the state and its counties could realize some savings,
which would at least partially offset their losses.
Estimated impact on the private sector: H.R. 2880 would
grant authority to the Secretary of the Interior to partition
certain parcels of undivided property held in trust for
individual Indians of the Five Nations, who own interests in
such property. Generally, a partition of this type, partition
in kind, involves dividing the property into individual parcels
and distributing those parcels to each interest owner in
proportion to his share in the undivided property. As an
alternative, H.R. 2880 would also authorize the Secretary to
secure the appropriate deeds from all interest owners to sell
all, or a portion of the property, and divide the proceeds from
the sale proportionally among the interest owners.
Under the bill, the Secretary would initiate the partition
process at the request of at least one of the interest owners.
Actual partition of the land would occur only after a period of
negotiation between the Secretary and all interest owners,
development of a partition plan,and then approval of the
partition plan by over half of the interest owners. In the event that
the Secretary orders a partition without the consent of each of the
property owners, H.R. 2880 would impose a private-sector mandate on
those not favoring the partition. CBO estimates that because of the
small amount of land involved and the negotiation process required
under the bill, the cost of the mandate would be small and well below
the annual threshold established in UMRA ($115 million in 2002,
adjusted annually for inflation). Although the bill may impose a
mandate on certain interest owners, all of the owners involved in such
a partition are likely to benefit as property values typically increase
when undivided property interests are separated.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Lanette J. Walker and
Megan Carroll; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments:
Marjorie Miller; and Impact on the Private Sector; Lauren
Marks.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any local or tribal
law. It does preempt the law of the State of Oklahoma regarding
restricted property of Individual Indians of the Five Nations.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
ACT OF AUGUST 11, 1955
(Chapter 716)
AN ACT To extend the period of restrictions on lands belonging to
Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That
subject to the provisions of section 2 of this Act, the period
of restrictions against alienation, lease, mortgage, or other
encumbrance of lands belonging to Indians of the Five Civilized
Tribes in Oklahoma of one-half degree or more Indian blood,
which period was extended to April 26, 1956, by the Act of May
10, 1928 (45 Stat. 495), is hereby extended for the lives of
the Indians who own such lands subject to such restrictions on
the date of this Act.
[Sec. 2. (a) Any Indian of the Five Civilized Tribes may
apply to the Secretary of the Interior for an order removing
restrictions. Within ninety days from the date of the
application, the Secretary shall either issue the order or
disapprove the application. The order shall be issued if in the
judgment of the Secretary the applicant has sufficient ability,
knowledge, experience, and judgment to enable him, or her, to
manage his, or her, business affairs, including the
administration, use, investment, and disposition of any
property turned over to such person and the income or proceeds
therefrom, with such reasonable degree of prudence and wisdom
as will be apt to prevent him, or her, from losing such
property or the benefits thereof.
[(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed
to issue, without application, to any Indian of the Five
Civilized Tribes, who in the judgment of the Secretary is able
to manage his, or her, own affairs, in accordance with the
standard specified in subsection (a) of this section, an order
removing restrictions that will become effective six months
after notice of the order is given to such Indian, unless it is
set aside by a county court in accordance with proceedings
initiated prior to such time pursuant to subsection (c) of this
section. The timely initiation of such proceedings shall stay
the effective date of an order until the proceedings are
concluded. When the Secretary issues an order pursuant to this
subsection, he shall notify the board of county commissioners
for the county in which the Indian resides.
[(c) If the Secretary of the Interior disapproves, or fails
either to approve or disapprove, an application within the
ninety-day period prescribed in subsection (a) of this section,
the Indian affected may apply to the county court for the
county in which he, or she, resides for an order removing
restrictions. If the Secretary issues an order removing
restrictions without application therefor in accordance with
the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, either the
Indian affected or the board of county commissioners may apply
to the county court for the county in which the Indian resides
for an order setting aside such order. The court shall set a
hearing date not less than thirty days from the day it receives
the application, and, under rules adopted by the court, notify
the board of county commissioners, the welfare departments of
the State and county governments, the local representative of
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and any other persons the
court considers appropriate. At the hearing the court shall
examine the Indian and may require the persons who appear
before the court to give testimony in the matter of the ability
of the Indian to manage his, or her, own affairs. The Secretary
of the Interior, and the attorney for the county in which such
court is located, shall be given an opportunity to appear at
such hearings and to participate in the examination of the
Indian and other witnesses. The evidence taken at the hearing
shall be transcribed and filed of record in the case. In
determining capability, the court shall apply the standard
specified in subsection (a) of this section with respect to
determinations by the Secretary. If the court finds that the
Indian is able to manage his, or her, own affairs, it shall
issue an order removing restrictions or deny the application
for an order to set aside an order of the Secretary issued
without application therefor, as the case may be. If the court
does not find that the Indian is able to manage his, or her,
own affairs, it shall deny the application for an order
removing restrictions, or set aside an order of the Secretary
issued without application therefor, as the case may be. The
court shall furnish to the Secretary and to the applicant one
certified copy of any final order issued by it. Any final order
of the court shall be subject to appeal by the applicant, by
the Secretary, or by the board of county commissioners in
accordance with the probate laws of the State of Oklahoma,
except that no appeal bond shall be required in an appeal by
the Secretary.
[(d) When an order removing restrictions becomes effective,
the Secretary shall cause to be turned over to the applicant
full ownership and control of any money and property that is
held in trust for him or that is held subject to a restriction
against alienation imposed by the United States, issuing, in
the case of land, such title document as may be appropriate:
Provided, That the Secretary may make such provisions as he
deems necessary to insure payment of money loaned to any such
Indian by the Federal Government or by an Indian tribe:
Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall abrogate
the interest of any lessee or permittee in any lease, contract,
or permit that is outstanding when an order removing
restrictions becomes effective.
[Sec. 3. Section 23 of the Act of April 26, 1906 (34 Stat.
137), as amended by section 8 of the Act of May 27, 1908 (35
Stat. 312), which expires on April 26, 1956, is continued in
force with respect to the restricted properties of Indians of
the Five Civilized Tribes as long as such properties remain
restricted.
[Sec. 4. Except as provided in section 2 of this Act, nothing
in this Act shall be construed to repeal or to limit the
application of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731), the
provisions of which shall continue in effect until otherwise
provided by Congress.
[Sec. 5. Any existing exemption from taxation that
constitutes a vested property right shall continue in force and
effect until it terminates by virtue of its own limitations.]
----------
ACT OF AUGUST 4, 1947
(Chapter 458)
AN ACT Relative 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, [That all
restrictions upon all lands in Oklahoma belonging to members of
the Five Civilized Tribes, whether acquired by allotment,
inheritance, devise, gift, exchange, partition, or by purchase
with restricted funds, of whatever degree of Indian blood, and
whether enrolled or unenrolled, shall be, and are hereby,
removed at and upon his or her death: Provided, (a) That except
as provided in subdivision (f) of this section, no conveyance,
including an oil and gas or mineral lease, of any interest in
land acquired before or after the date of this Act by an Indian
heir or devisee of one-half or more Indian blood, when such
interest in land was restricted in the hands of the person from
whom such Indian heir or devisee acquired same, shall be valid
unless approved in open court by the county court of the county
in Oklahoma in which the land is situated; (b) that petition
for approval of conveyance shall be set for hearing not less
than ten days from date of filing, and notice of hearing
thereon, signed by the county judge, reciting the consideration
offered and a description of the land shall be given by
publication in at least one issue of a newspaper of general
circulation in the county where the land is located and written
notice of such hearing shall be given to the probate attorney
of the district in which the petition is filed at least ten
days prior to the date on which the petition is to be heard.
The grantor shall be present at said hearing and examined in
open court before such conveyance shall be approved, unless the
grantor and the probate attorney shall consent in writing that
such hearing may be had and such conveyance approved in the
absence of the grantor, and the court must be satisfied that
the consideration has been paid in full. Proceedings for
approval of conveyances by restricted heirs or devisees under
this section shall not be removable to the Federal court; (c)
the evidence taken at the hearing shall be transcribed and
filed of record in the case, the expense of which, including
attorney fees and court costs, must be borne by the grantee.
The court in its discretion, when deemed for the best interest
of the Indian, may approve the conveyance conditionally, or may
withhold approval; (d) that at said hearing competitive bidding
may be had and a conveyance may be confirmed in the name of the
person offering the highest bid therefor or when deemed
necessary the court may set the petition for further hearing;
(e) that the probate attorney shall have the right to appeal
from any order approving conveyances to the district court of
the county in which the proceedings are conducted within the
time and in the manner provided by the laws of the State of
Oklahoma in cases of appeal in probate matters generally,
except that no appeal bond shall be required; (f) that sales of
the interests of minor and incompetent persons shall be made in
conformity with the laws of the State of Oklahoma. Notice of
such sale shall be given to the probate attorney of the
district in which the petition is filed at least ten days prior
to the date on which the petition for sale is to be heard; (g)
that nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
modify or repeal the Act of February 11, 1936 (49 Stat. 1135),
relating to leases for farming and grazing purposes.
[Sec. 2. In determining the quantum of Indian blood of any
Indian heir or devisee, the final rolls of the Five Civilized
Tribes 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 paternal and maternal lineal
ancestors of Indian blood enrolled on the final rolls of the
Five Civilized Tribes.
[Sec. 3. (a) The State courts of Oklahoma shall have
exclusive jurisdiction of all guardianship matters affecting
Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes, of all proceedings to
administer estates or to probate the wills of deceased Indians
of the Five Civilized Tribes, and of all actions to determine
heirs arising under section 1 of the Act of June 14, 1918 (40
Stat. 606).
[(b) The United States shall not be deemed to be a necessary
or indispensable party to any action or proceeding of which the
State courts of Oklahoma are given exclusive jurisdiction by
the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, and the final
judgment rendered in any such action or proceeding shall bind
the United States and the parties thereto to the same extent as
though no Indian property or question were involved: Provided,
That written notice of the pendency of any such action or
proceeding shall be served on the Superintendent for the Five
Civilized Tribes within ten days of the filing of the first
pleading in said action or proceeding. Such notice shall be
served by the party or parties causing the first pleading to be
filed. Section 3 of the Act of April 12, 1926 (44 Stat. 239),
shall have no application to actions or proceedings covered by
the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.
[(c) No action or proceeding in which notice has been served
on the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes pursuant to
the provisions of section 3 of the Act of April 12, 1926 (44
Stat. 239), shall be removed to a United States district court
except upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior
or his duly authorized representative. The United States shall
have the right to appeal from any order of remand entered in
any case removed to a United States district court pursuant to
the provisions of the Act of April 12, 1926 (44 Stat. 239).
[(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
limit any right of appeal.
[Sec. 4. That the attorneys provided for under the Act of May
27, 1908 (35 Stat. 312), are authorized to appear and represent
any restricted member of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma
before any of the courts of the State of Oklahoma in any matter
in which the said restricted Indian may have an interest.
[Sec. 5. That all funds and securities now held by, or which
may hereafter come under the supervision of the Secretary of
the Interior, belonging to and only so long as belonging to
Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma of one-half or
more Indian blood, enrolled or unenrolled, are hereby declared
to be restricted and shall remain subject to the jurisdiction
of said Secretary until otherwise provided by Congress, subject
to expenditure in the meantime for the use and benefit of the
individual Indians to whom such funds and securities belong,
under such rules and regulations as said Secretary may
prescribe.]
Sec. 6. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Any interest in restricted and tax-exempt lands acquired
by descent, devise, gift, exchange, partition, or purchase with
restricted funds, after the date of this Act by an Indian of
the Five Civilized Tribes of one-half or more Indian blood
shall continue to be tax-exempt during the restricted period:
Provided, That the tax-exempt lands of any such heir, devisee,
donee, or grantee, whether acquired by allotment, descent,
devise, gift, exchange, partition, or purchase with restricted
funds, shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres in the
aggregate: Provided further, That nothing contained in this
subsection shall be construed to terminate or abridge any right
to tax exemption to which any Indian was entitled on the
effective date of this Act: Provided further, That any interest
in restricted and tax-exempt lands acquired by descent, devise,
gift, exchange, partition, conveyance, or purchase with
restricted funds after the date of the enactment of the Five
Nations Indian Land Reform Act by an Indian of the Five
Civilized Tribes shall continue to be tax-exempt during the
restricted period.
* * * * * * *
(e) [On or before the 1st day of January of each year the
Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be filed with the
county treasurer of each county in the State of Oklahoma where
restricted lands of members of the Five Civilized Tribes are
situated a list of the nontaxable lands that have been sold
during the preceding year.] Before a county treasurer shall
proceed to sell any restricted land for delinquent taxes, it
must appear from the records of the office of the county
treasurer that a list of the tracts included in the proposed
sales of land for delinquent taxes in said county has been sent
by registered mail to the Superintendent for the Five Civilized
Tribes at Muskogee, Oklahoma, at least ninety days before the
date fixed by the laws of the State of Oklahoma for sales of
land for delinquent taxes.
[Sec. 7. All removals of restrictions and approvals of deeds
heretofore made by the Secretary of the Interior, regardless of
whether applications were made therefor by the Indian owner,
are hereby validated and confirmed.
[Sec. 8. That no tract of land, nor any interest therein,
which is hereafter purchased by the Secretary of the Interior
with restricted funds by or for an Indian or Indians of the
Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma of one-half or more Indian
blood, enrolled or unenrolled, shall be construed to be
restricted unless the deed conveying same shows upon its face
that such purchase was made with restricted funds.
[Sec. 9. That all conveyances, including oil and gas or
mineral leases, by Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes in
Oklahoma of lands acquired by inheritance or devise, made after
the effective date of the Act of January 27, 1933, and prior to
the effective date of this Act, that were approved either by a
county court in Oklahoma or by the Secretary of the Interior
are hereby validated and confirmed: Provided, That if any such
conveyance is subject to attack upon grounds other than
sufficiency of approval or lack of approval thereof, such
conveyance shall not be affected by this Act.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 11. All restricted lands of the Five Civilized Tribes
are hereby made subject to all oil and gas conservation laws of
Oklahoma: Provided, That no order of the Corporation Commission
affecting restricted Indian land shall be valid as to such land
until submitted to and approved by the Secretary of the
Interior or his duly authorized representative.
[Sec. 12. Sections 1 and 8 of the Act of January 27, 1933 (47
Stat. 777), are hereby repealed.
[Sec. 13. All Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.]
----------
ACT OF DECEMBER 24, 1942
(Chapter 813)
AN ACT To provide for the probate and distribution of restricted
estates not exceeding $2,500 in value of deceased Indians of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That
exclusive jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the Secretary of
the Interior to determine the heirs after notice and hearing
under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, and to
probate the estate of any deceased restricted Indian, enrolled
or unenrolled, of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma,
whenever the restricted estate consists only of funds or
securities under the control of the Department of the Interior
of an aggregate value not exceeding $2,500: Provided, That
where such decedent died prior to the effective date of this
Act, the distribution of such funds and securities, including
the decedent's share of any tribal funds, shall be made in
accordance with the statute of descent and distribution
applicable at the date of death: And provided further, That
where the decedent dies subsequently to the effective date of
this Act distribution of all such funds and securities,
including tribal funds aforesaid, shall be effected in
accordance with the statute of descent and distribution of the
State of Oklahoma.]
----------
ACT OF FEBRUARY 11, 1936
(Chapter 50)
AN ACT To provide for the leasing of restricted Indian lands of Indians
of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That from
and after thirty days from the date of approval of this Act the
restricted lands belonging to Indians of the Five Civilized
Tribes in Oklahoma of one-half or more Indian blood, enrolled
or unenrolled, may be leased for periods of not to exceed five
years for farming and grazing purposes, under such rules and
regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe and
not otherwise. Such leases shall be made by the owner or owners
of such lands, if adults, subject to approval by the
superintendent or other official in charge of the Five
Civilized Tribes Agency, and by such superintendent or other
official in charge of said agency in cases of minors and of
Indians who are non compos mentis.]
----------
ACT OF JANUARY 27, 1933
(Chapter 23)
AN ACT Relative to restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby,
authorized to permit, in his discretion and subject to his
approval, any Indian of the Five Civilized Tribes, over the age
of twenty-one years, having restricted funds or other property
subject to the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, to
create and establish, out of the restricted funds or other
property, trusts for the benefits of such Indian, his heirs, or
other beneficiaries designated by him, such trusts to be
created by contracts or agreements by and between the Indian
and incorporated trust companies or such banks as may be
authorized by law to act as fiduciaries or trustees: Provided,
That no trust company or bank shall be trustee in any trust
created under this Act which has paid or promised to pay to any
person other than an officer or employee on the regular pay
roll thereof any charge, fee, commission, or remuneration for
any service or influence in securing or attempting to secure
for it the trusteeship in any trust: Provided further, That all
trust agreements or contracts made or entered into prior to the
date of approval of this Act, and all contracts or agreements
made or entered into prior to said date providing for or
looking to the creation of such trust or trusts shall be null
and void unless such contracts or agreements shall have
heretofore been approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
[Sec. 3. The Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby,
authorized, upon the execution and approval of any trust
agreement or contract as herein provided, to transfer, or cause
to be transferred, to the trustee, from the individual
restricted or trust funds or other restricted property of the
respective Indian, the funds or property required by the terms
of the approved agreement, and the funds or property so
transferred shall in each case be held by the trustee subject
to the terms and conditions of the trust agreement or contract
creating the trust, separate and apart from all assets,
investments or trust estates in the hands of said trustee.
[Sec. 4. None of the restrictions upon the funds or property
transferred under the terms of any such trust agreement or
contract shall be in any manner released during the continuance
of the restriction period now or hereafter provided by law,
except as provided by the terms of such agreement or contract,
and neither the corpus of said trust nor the income derived
therefrom shall, during the restriction period provided by law,
be subject to alienation, or encumbrance, nor to the
satisfaction of any debt or other liability of any beneficiary
of such trust during the said restriction period. The trustee
shall render an annual accounting to the Secretary of the
Interior and to the beneficiary or beneficiaries to whom the
income for the preceding year, or any part thereof, was due and
payable.
[Sec. 5. Trust agreements or contracts executed and approved
as herein provided shall be irrevocable except with the consent
and approval of the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That
if any trust, trust agreement, or contract be annulled,
canceled, or set aside by order of any court, or otherwise, the
principal or corpus of the trust estate, with all accrued and
unpaid interest, shall be returned to the Secretary of the
Interior as restricted individual Indian property.
[Sec. 6. If, after the creation and approval of any trust, it
is found that said trust was procured in violation of any of
the provisions of this Act, or that the trustee designated
therein has failed or refused to properly perform the duties
imposed thereby, in accordance with the terms, provisions and
requirements of said trust agreement, it shall be the duty of
the Attorney General to institute appropriate proceedings in
the Federal courts for the cancellation and annulment of said
trust by court decree, and upon decree of annulment and
cancellation, which shall be at the cost of the trustee, and
after accounting, but without the allowance of any fee, charge,
or commission for any services rendered by the trustee, all
funds held by the trustee shall be paid to the Secretary of the
Interior as restricted funds, and the Federal courts are hereby
given exclusive jurisdiction of all actions involving an
accounting under any trust created under the provisions of this
Act, and all actions to cancel, annual, or set aside any trust
entered into pursuant to this Act.
[Sec. 7. The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized
to prescribe such rules and regulations as he may deem
necessary for the proper administration of this Act. He shall
fix and determine the value of each trust, revising such
valuation from time to time as he may deem necessary, and, for
the faithful performance of each trust agreement or contract,
shall require corporate surety company bond equal to the value
of the respective trust so fixed and determined, or the deposit
of securities of the United States Government equal to such
amount: Provided, however, That trusts created under the
provisions of this Act shall not extend beyond a period twenty-
one years after the death of the last survivor of the named
beneficiaries in the respective trust agreement.]
----------
ACT OF MAY 10, 1928
(Chapter 517)
CHAP. 517.--An Act To extend the period of restriction in lands of
certain members of the Five Civilized Tribes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That the
restrictions against the alienation, lease, mortgage, or other
encumbrance of the lands allotted to members of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, enrolled as of one-half or more
Indian blood, be, and they are hereby, extended for an
additional period of twenty-five years commencing on April 26,
1931: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall have
the authority to remove the restrictions, upon the applications
of the Indian owners of the land, and may remove such
restrictions, wholly or in part, under such rules and
regulations concerning terms of sale and disposal of the
proceeds for the benefit of the respective Indians as he may
prescribe.
[Sec. 2. That the provisions of section 9 of the Act of May
27, 1908 (Thirty-fifth Statutes at Large, page 312), entitled
``An Act for the removal of restrictions from part of the lands
of allottees of the Five Civilized Tribes, and for other
purposes,'' as amended by section 1 of the Act of April 12,
1926 (Forty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 239), entitled ``An
Act to amend section 9 of the Act of May 27, 1908 (Thirty-fifth
Statutes at Large, page 312), and for putting in force, in
reference to suits involving Indian titles, the statutes of
limitations of the State of Oklahoma, and providing for the
United States to join in certain actions, and for making
judgments binding on all parties, and for other purposes,'' be,
and are hereby, extended and continued in force for a period of
twenty-five years from and including April 26, 1931, except,
however, the provisions thereof which read as follows:
``Provided further, That if any member of the Five Civilized
Tribes of one-half or more Indian blood shall die leaving issue
surviving, born since March 4, 1906, the homestead of such
deceased allottee shall remain inalienable, unless restrictions
against alienation are removed therefrom by the Secretary of
the Interior for the use and support of such issue, during
their life or lives, until April 26, 1931; but if no such issue
survive, then such allottee, if an adult, may dispose of his
homestead by will free from restrictions; if this be not done,
or in the event the issue hereinabove provided for die before
April 26, 1931, the lands shall then descend to the heirs,
according to the laws of descent and distribution of the State
of Oklahoma, free from all restrictions: Provided, That the
word ``issue,'' as used in this section, shall be construed to
mean child or children: Provided further, That the provisions
of section 23 of the Act of April 26, 1906, as amended by this
Act, are hereby made applicable to all wills executed under
this section:''
which quoted provisions be, and the same are, repealed,
effective April 26, 1931: Provided further, That the provisions
of section 23 of the Act of Congress approved April 26, 1906
(Thirty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 137), as amended by the
provisions of section 8 of the Act of Congress approved May 27,
1908 (Thirty-fifth Statutes at Large, page 312), be, and the
same are hereby, continued in force and effect until April 26,
1956.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 4. That on and after April 26, 1931, the allotted,
inherited, and devised restricted lands of each Indian of the
Five Civilized Tribes in excess of one hundred and sixty acres
shall be subject to taxation by the State of Oklahoma under and
in accordance with the laws of that State, and in all respects
as unrestricted and other lands: Provided, That the Indian
owner of restricted land, if an adult and not legally
incompetent, shall select from his restricted land a tract or
tracts, not exceeding in the aggregate one hundred and sixty
acres, to remain exempt from taxation, and shall file with the
Superintendent of the Five Civilized Tribes a certificate
designating and describing the tract or tracts so selected:
Provided further, That in cases where such Indian fails, within
two years from date hereof, to file such certificate, and in
cases where the Indian owner is a minor or otherwise legally
incompetent, the selection shall be made and certificate
prepared by the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes;
and such certificate, whether by the Indian or by the
Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes, shall be subject
to approval by the Secretary of the Interior; and, when
approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be recorded in
the office of the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes,
and in the county records of the county in which the land is
situated; and said lands, designated and described in the
approved certificates so recorded, shall remain exempt from
taxation while the title remains in the Indian designated in
such approved and recorded certificate, or in any full-blood
Indian heir or devisee of the land: Provided, That the tax
exemption shall not extend beyond the period of restrictions
provided for in this Act: And provided further, That the tax-
exempt land of any such Indian allottee, heir, or devisee shall
not at any time exceed one hundred and sixty acres.
[Sec. 5. That this Act shall not be construed to reimpose
restrictions heretofore or hereafter removed by the Secretary
of the Interior or by operation of law, nor to exempt from
taxation any lands which are subject to taxation under existing
law.]
----------
ACT OF APRIL 12, 1926
(Chapter 115)
CHAP. 115.--An Act To amend section 9 of the Act of May 27, 1908
(Thirty-fifth Statutes at Large, page 312), and for putting in force,
in reference to suits involving Indian titles, the statutes of
limitations of the State of Oklahoma, and providing for the United
States to join in certain actions, and for making judgments binding on
all parties, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That
section 9 of the Act of May 27, 1908 (Thirty-fifth Statutes at
Large, page 312), entitled ``An Act for the removal of
restrictions on part of the lands of allottees of the Five
Civilized Tribes, and for other purposes,'' be, and the same is
hereby, amended to read as follows:
[``Sec. 9. The death of any allottee of the Five Civilized
Tribes shall operate to remove all restrictions upon the
alienation of said allottee's land: Provided, That hereafter no
conveyance by any full-blood Indian of the Five Civilized
Tribes of any interest in lands restricted by section 1 of this
Act acquired by inheritance or devise from an allottee of such
lands shall be valid unless approved by the county court having
jurisdiction of the settlement of the estate of the deceased
allottee or testator: Provided further, That if any member of
the Five Civilized Tribes of one-half or more Indian blood
shall die leaving issue surviving, born since March 4, 1906,
the homestead of such deceased allottee shall remain
inalienable, unless restrictions against alienation are removed
therefrom by the Secretary of the Interior for the use and
support of such issue, during their life or lives, until April
26, 1931; but if no such issue survive, then such allottee, if
an adult, may dispose of his homestead by will free from
restrictions; if this be not done, or in the event the issue
hereinabove provided for die before April 26, 1931, the land
shall then descend to the heirs, according to the laws of
descent and distribution of the State of Oklahoma, free from
all restrictions: Provided, That the word ``issue'' as used in
this section shall be construed to mean child or children:
Provided further, That the provisions of section 23 of the Act
of April 26, 1906, as amended by this Act, are hereby made
applicable to all wills executed under this section: And
provided further, That all orders of the county court approving
such conveyances of such land shall be in open court and shall
be conclusive as to the jurisdiction of such court to approve
such deed: Provided, That all conveyances by full-blood Indian
heirs heretofore approved by the county courts shall be deemed
and held to conclusively establish the jurisdiction of such
courts to approve the same except where more than one such
conveyance of the same interest in the same land has been made
by the same Indian to different grantees and approved by county
courts of different counties prior to the passage of this Act,
and except that this proviso shall not affect and may not be
pleaded in any suit brought before the approval of this Act.''
[Sec. 2. The statutes of limitations of the State of Oklahoma
are hereby made and declared to be applicable to and shall have
full force and effect against all restricted Indians of the
Five Civilized Tribes, and against the heirs or grantees of any
such Indians, and against all rights and causes of action
heretofore accrued or hereafter accruing to any such Indians or
their heirs or grantees, to the same extent and effect and in
the same manner as in the case of any other citizen of the
State of Oklahoma, and may be pleaded in bar of any action
brought by or on behalf of any such Indian, his or her heirs or
grantees, either in his own behalf or by the Government of the
United States, or by any other party for his or her benefit, to
the same extent as though such action were brought by or on
behalf of any other citizen of said State: Provided, That no
cause of action which heretofore shall have accrued to any such
Indian shall be barred prior to the expiration of a period of
two years from and after the approval of this Act, even though
the full statutory period of limitation shall already have run
or shall expire during said two years' period, and any such
restricted Indian, if competent to sue, or his guardian, or the
United States in his behalf, may sue upon any such cause of
action during such two years' period free from any bar of the
statutes of limitations.
[Sec. 3. Any one or more of the parties to a suit in the
United States courts in the State of Oklahoma or in the State
courts of Oklahoma to which a restricted member of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, or the restricted heirs or
grantees of such Indian are parties, as plaintiff, defendant,
or intervenor, and claiming or entitled to claim title to or an
interest in lands allotted to a citizen of the Five Civilized
Tribes or the proceeds, issues, rents, and profits derived from
the same, may serve written notice of the pendency of such suit
upon the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes, and the
United States may appear in said cause within twenty days
thereafter, or within such extended time as the trial court in
its discretion may permit, and after such appearance or the
expiration of said twenty days or any extension thereof the
proceedings and judgment in said cause shall bind the United
States and the parties thereto to the same extent as though no
Indian land or question were involved. Duplicate original of
the notice shall be filed with the clerk of the court in which
the action is pending and the notice shall be served on the
Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes or, in case of his
absence from his principal office, upon one of his assistants,
and shall be served within ten days after the general
appearance in the case of the party who causes the notice to be
issued. The notice shall be accompanied by a certified copy of
all pleadings on file in the suit at the time of the filing of
the duplicate original notice with the clerk and shall be
signed by the party to the action or his or her counsel of
record and shall be served by the United States marshal and due
return of service made thereon, showing date of receipt and
service of notice. If notice is not served within the time
herein specified, or if return of service thereof be not made
within the time allowed by law for the return of service of
summons, alias notices may be given until service and return of
notice is had and in no event shall the United States be bound
unless written notice is had as herein specified: Provided,
That within twenty days after the service of such notice on the
Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes or within such
extended time as the trial court in its discretion may permit
the United States may be, and hereby is, given the right to
remove any such suit pending in a State court to the United
States district court by filing in such suit in the State court
a petition for the removal of such suit into the said United
States district court, to be held in the district where such
suit is pending, together with the certified copy of the
pleadings in such suit served on the Superintendent for the
Five Civilized Tribes as hereinbefore provided. It shall then
be the duty of the State court to accept such petition and
proceed no further in said suit. The said copy shall be entered
in the said district court of the United States within twenty
days after the filing of the petition for removal and the
defendants and intervenors in said suit shall within twenty
days thereafter plead, answer, or demur to the declaration or
complaint in said cause, and the cause shall then proceed in
the same manner as if it had been originally commenced in said
district court, and such court is hereby given jurisdiction to
hear and determine said suit, and its judgment may be reviewed
by certiorari, appeal, or writ of error in like manner as if
the suit had been originally brought in said district court.]
----------
ACT OF JUNE 14, 1918
(Chapter 101)
CHAP. 101.--An Act To provide for a determination of heirship in cases
of deceased members of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and
Seminole Tribes of Indians in Oklahoma, conferring jurisdiction upon
district courts to partition lands belonging to full-blood heirs of
allottees of the Five Civilized Tribes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That a
determination of the question of fact as to who are the heirs
of any deceased citizen allottee of the Five Civilized Tribes
of Indians who may die or may have heretofore died, leaving
restricted heirs, by the probate court of the State of Oklahoma
having jurisdiction to settle the estate of said deceased,
conducted in the manner provided by the laws of said State for
the determination of heirship in closing up the estates of
deceased persons, shall be conclusive of said question:
Provided, That an appeal may be taken in the manner and to the
court provided by law, in cases of appeal in probate matters
generally: Provided further, That where the time limited by the
laws of said State for the institution of administration
proceedings has elapsed without their institution, as well as
in cases where there exists no lawful ground for the
institution of administration proceedings in said courts, a
petition may be filed therein having for its object a
determination of such heirship and the case shall proceed in
all respects as if administration proceedings upon other proper
grounds had been regularly begun, but this proviso shall not be
construed to reopen the question of the determination of an
heirship already ascertained by competent legal authority under
existing laws: Provided further, That said petition shall be
verified, and in all cases arising hereunder service by
publication may be had on all unknown heirs, the service to be
in accordance with the method of serving nonresident defendants
in civil suits in the district courts of said State; and if any
person so served by publication does not appear and move to be
heard within six months from the date of the final order, he
shall be concluded equally with parties personally served or
voluntarily appearing.
[Sec. 2. That the lands of full-blood members of any of the
Five Civilized Tribes are hereby made subject to the laws of
the State of Oklahoma, providing for the partition of real
estate. Any land allotted in such proceedings to a full-blood
Indian, or conveyed to him upon his election to take the same
at the appraisement, shall remain subject to all restrictions
upon alienation and taxation obtaining prior to such partition.
In case of a sale under any decree, or partition, the
conveyance thereunder shall operate to relieve the land
described of all restrictions of every character.]
----------
ACT OF MAY 27, 1908
(Chapter 199)
CHAP. 199.--An Act For the removal of restrictions from part of the
lands of allottees of the Five Civilized Tribes, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That from
and after sixty days from the date of this Act the status of
the lands allotted heretofore or hereafter to allottees of the
Five Civilized Tribes shall, as regards restrictions on
alienation or incumbrance, be as follows: All lands, including
homesteads, of said allottees enrolled as intermarried whites,
as freedmen, and as mixed-blood Indians having less than half
Indian blood including minors shall be free from all
restrictions. All lands, except homesteads, of said allottees
enrolled as mixed-blood Indians having half or more than half
and less than three-quarters Indian blood shall be free from
all restrictions. All homesteads of said allottees enrolled as
mixed-blood Indians having half or more than half Indian blood,
including minors of such degrees of blood, and all allotted
lands of enrolled full-bloods, and enrolled mixed-bloods of
three-quarters or more Indian blood, including minors of such
degrees of blood, shall not be subject to alienation, contract
to sell, power of attorney, or any other incumbrance prior to
April twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, except
that the Secretary of the Interior may remove such
restrictions, wholly or in part, under such rules and
regulations concerning terms of sale and disposal of the
proceeds for the benefit of the respective Indians as he may
prescribe. The Secretary of the Interior shall not be
prohibited by this Act from continuing to remove restrictions
as heretofore, and nothing herein shall be construed to impose
restrictions removed from land by or under any law prior to the
passage of this Act. No restrictions of alienation shall be
construed to prevent the exercise of the right of eminent
domain in condemning rights of way for public purposes over
allotted lands, and for such purposes sections thirteen to
twenty-three inclusive, of an act entitled ``An act to grant
the right of way through Oklahoma Territory and the Indian
Territory to the Enid and Anadarko Railway Company, and for
other purposes,'' approved February twenty-eighth, nineteen
hundred and two (Thirty-second Statutes at Large, page forty-
three), are hereby continued in force in the State of Oklahoma.
[Sec. 2. That all lands other than homesteads allotted to
members of the Five Civilized Tribes from which restrictions
have not been removed may be leased by the allottee if an
adult, or by guardian or curator under order of the proper
probate court if a minor or incompetent, for a period not to
exceed five years, without the privilege of renewal: Provided,
That leases of restricted lands for oil, gas or other mining
purposes, leases of restricted homesteads for more than one
year, and leases of restricted lands for periods of more than
five years, may be made, with the approval of the Secretary of
the Interior, under rules and regulations provided by the
Secretary of the Interior, and not otherwise: And provided
further, That the jurisdiction of the probate courts of the
State of Oklahoma over lands of minors and incompetents shall
be subject to the foregoing provisions, and the term minor or
minors, as used in this Act, shall include all males under the
age of twenty-one years and all females under the age of
eighteen years.
[Sec. 3. That the rolls of citizenship and of freedmen of the
Five Civilized Tribes approved by the Secretary of the Interior
shall be conclusive evidence as to the quantum of Indian blood
of any enrolled citizen or freedman of said tribes and of no
other persons to determine questions arising under this Act and
the enrollment records of the Commissioner to the Five
Civilized Tribes shall hereafter be conclusive evidence as to
the age of said citizen or freedman.
[That no oil, gas, or other mineral lease entered into by any
of said allottees prior to the removal of restrictions
requiring the approval of the Secretary of the Interior shall
be rendered invalid by this Act, but the same shall be subject
to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior as if this Act
had not been passed: Provided, That the owner or owners of any
allotted land from which restrictions are removed by this Act,
or have been removed by previous Acts of Congress, or by the
Secretary of the Interior, or may hereafter be removed under
and by authority of any Act of Congress, shall have the power
to cancel and annul any oil, gas, or mineral lease on said land
whenever the owner or owners of said land and the owner or
owners of the lease thereon agree in writing to terminate said
lease and file with the Secretary of the Interior, or his
designated agent, a true copy of the agreement in writing
canceling said lease, which said agreement shall be executed
and acknowledged by the parties thereto in the manner required
by the laws of Oklahoma for the execution and acknowledgment of
deeds, and the same shall be recorded in the county where the
land is situate.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 6. That the persons and property of minor allottees of
the Five Civilized Tribes shall, except as otherwise
specifically provided by law, be subject to the jurisdiction of
the probate courts of the State of Oklahoma. The Secretary of
the Interior is hereby empowered, under rules and regulations
to be prescribed by him, to appoint such local representatives
within the State of Oklahoma who shall be citizens of that
State or now domiciled therein as he may deem necessary to
inquire into and investigate the conduct of guardians or
curators having in charge the estates of such minors, and
whenever such representative or representatives of the
Secretary of the Interior shall be of opinion that the estate
of any minor is not being properly cared for by the guardian or
curator, or that the same is in any manner being dissipated or
wasted or being permitted to deteriorate in value by reason of
the negligence or carelessness or incompetency of the guardian
or curator, said representative or representatives of the
Secretary of the Interior shall have power and it shall be
their duty to report said matter in full to the proper probate
court and take the necessary steps to have such matter fully
investigated, and go to the further extent of prosecuting any
necessary remedy, either civil or criminal, or both, to
preserve the property and protect the interests of said minor
allottees; and it shall be the further duty of such
representative or representatives to make full and complete
reports to the Secretary of the Interior. All such reports,
either to the Secretary of the Interior or to the proper
probate court, shall become public records and subject to the
inspection and examination of the public, and the necessary
court fees shall be allowed against the estates of said minors.
The probate courts may, in their discretion, appoint any such
representative of the Secretary of the Interior as guardian or
curator for such minors, without fee or charge.
[And said representatives of the Secretary of the Interior
are further authorized, and it is made their duty, to counsel
and advise all allottees, adult or minor, having restricted
lands of all of their legal rights with reference to their
restricted lands, without charge, and to advise them in the
preparation of all leases authorized by law to be made, and at
the request of any allottee having restricted land he shall,
without charge, except the necessary court and recording fees
and expenses, if any, in the name of the allottee, take such
steps as may be necessary, including the bringing of any suit
or suits and the prosecution and appeal thereof, to cancel and
annul any deed, conveyance, mortgage, lease, contract to sell,
power of attorney, or any other encumbrance of any kind or
character, made or attempted to be made or executed in
violation of this Act or any other Act of Congress, and to take
all steps necessary to assist said allottees in acquiring and
retaining possession of their restricted lands.
[Supplemental to the funds appropriated and available for
expenses connected with the affairs of the Five Civilized
Tribes, there is hereby appropriated, for the salaries and
expenses arising under this section, out of any funds in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of ninety thousand
dollars, to be available immediately, and until July first,
nineteen hundred and nine, for expenditure under the direction
of the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That no restricted
lands of living minors shall be sold or encumbered, except by
leases authorized by law, by order of the court or otherwise.
[And there is hereby further appropriated, out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be immediately
available and available until expended as the Attorney-General
may direct, the sum of fifty thousand dollars, to be used in
the payment of necessary expenses incident to any suits brought
at the request of the Secretary of the Interior in the eastern
judicial district of Oklahoma: Provided, That the sum of ten
thousand dollars of the above amount, or so much thereof as may
be necessary, may be expended in the prosecution of cases in
the western judicial district of Oklahoma.
[Any suit brought by the authority of the Secretary of the
Interior against the vendee or mortgagee of a town lot, against
whom the Secretary of the Interior may find upon investigation
no fraud has been established, may be dismissed and the title
quieted upon payment of the full balance due on the original
appraisement of such lot: Provided, That such investigation
must be concluded within six months after the passage of this
Act.
[Nothing in this act shall be construed as a denial of the
right of the United States to take such steps as may be
necessary, including the bringing of any suit and the
prosecution and appeal thereof, to acquire or retain possession
of restricted Indian lands, or to remove cloud therefrom, or
clear title to the same, in cases where deeds, leases or
contracts of any other kind or character whatsoever have been
or shall be made contrary to law with respect to such lands
prior to the removal therefrom of restrictions upon the
alienation thereof; such suits to be brought on the
recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, without costs
or charges to the allottees, the necessary expenses incurred in
so doing to be defrayed from the money appropriated by this
act.
[Sec. 7. That no contest shall be instituted after sixty days
from the date of the selection of any allotment hereafter made,
nor after ninety days from the approval of this Act in case of
selections made prior thereto by or for any allottee of the
Five Civilized Tribes, and, as early thereafter as practicable,
deed or patent shall issue therefor.
[Sec. 8. That section twenty-three of an Act entitled ``An
Act to provide for the final disposition of the affairs of the
Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, and for other
purposes,'' approved April twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and
six, is hereby amended by adding at the end of said section,
the words ``or a judge of a county court of the State of
Oklahoma.''
[Sec. 9. The death of any allottee of the Five Civilized
Tribes shall operate to remove all restrictions upon the
alienation of said allottee's land: Provided, That hereafter no
conveyance by any full-blood Indian of the Five Civilized
Tribes of any interest in lands restricted by section 1 of this
Act acquired by inheritance or devise from an allottee of such
lands shall be valid unless approved by the county court having
jurisdiction of the settlement of the estate of the deceased
allottee or testator: Provided further, That if any member of
the Five Civilized Tribes of one-half or more Indian blood
shall die leaving issue surviving, born since March 4, 1906,
the homestead of such deceased allottee shall remain
inalienable, unless restrictions against alienation are removed
therefrom by the Secretary of the Interior for the use and
support of such issue, during their life or lives, until April
26, 1931; but if no such issue survive, then such allottee, if
an adult, may dispose of his homestead by will free from
restrictions; if this be not done, or in the event the issue
hereinabove provided for die before April 26, 1931, the land
shall then descend to the heirs, according to the laws of
descent and distribution of the State of Oklahoma, free from
all restrictions: Provided, That the word ``issue'' as used in
this section shall be construed to mean child or children:
Provided further, That the provisions of section 23 of the Act
of April 26, 1906, as amended by this Act, are hereby made
applicable to all wills executed under this section: And
provided further, That all orders of the county court approving
such conveyances of such land shall be in open court and shall
be conclusive as to the jurisdiction of such court to approve
such deed: Provided, That all conveyances by full-blood Indian
heirs heretofore approved by the county courts shall be deemed
and held to conclusively establish the jurisdiction of such
courts to approve the same except where more than one such
conveyance of the same interest in the same land has been made
by the same Indian to different grantees and approved by county
courts of different counties prior to the passage of this Act,
and except that this proviso shall not affect and may not be
pleaded in any suit brought before the approval of this Act.
[Sec. 10. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby
authorized and directed to pay out of any moneys in the
Treasury of the United States, belonging to the Choctaw or
Chickasaw nations respectively, any and all outstanding general
and school warrants duly signed by the auditor of public
accounts of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, and drawn on the
national treasurers thereof prior to January first, nineteen
hundred and seven, with six per cent interest per annum from
the respective dates of said warrants: Provided, That said
warrants be presented to the United States Indian agent at the
Union Agency, Muskogee, Oklahoma, within sixty days from the
passage of this act, together with the affidavits of the
respective holders of said warrants that they purchased the
same in good faith for a valuable consideration, and had no
reason to suspect fraud in the issuance of said warrants:
Provided further, That such warrants remaining in the hands of
the original payee shall be paid by said Secretary when it is
shown that the services for which said warrants were issued
were actually performed by said payee.
[Sec. 11. That all royalties arising on and after July first,
nineteen hundred and eight, from mineral leases of allotted
Seminole lands heretofore or hereafter made, which are subject
to the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall be
paid to the United States Indian agent, Union Agency, for the
benefit of the Indian lessor or his proper representative to
whom such royalties shall thereafter belong; and no such lease
shall be made after said date except with the allottee or owner
of the land: Provided, That the interest of the Seminole Nation
in leases or royalties arising thereunder on all allotted lands
shall cease on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight.
[Sec. 12. That all records pertaining to the allotment of
lands of the Five Civilized Tribes shall be finally deposited
in the office of the United States Indian agent, Union Agency,
when and as the Secretary of the Interior shall determine such
action shall be taken, and there is hereby appropriated, out of
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be
immediately available as the Secretary of the Interior may
direct, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, or so much thereof
as may be necessary to enable the Secretary of the Interior to
furnish the various counties of the State of Oklahoma certified
copies of such portions of said records as affect title to
lands in the respective counties.]
* * * * * * *
----------
ACT OF APRIL 26, 1906
(Chapter 1876)
CHAP. 1876.--An Act To provide for the final disposition of the affairs
of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, and for other
purposes.
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 6. That if the principal chief of the Choctaw,
Cherokee, Creek, or Seminole tribe, or the governor of the
Chickasaw tribe shall refuse or neglect to perform the duties
devolving upon him, he may be removed from office by the
President of the United States, or if any such executive become
permanently disabled, the office may be declared vacant by the
President of the United States, who may fill any vacancy
arising from removal, disability or death of the incumbent, by
appointment of a citizen by blood of the tribe.
[If any such executive shall fail, refuse or neglect, for
thirty days after notice that any instrument is ready for his
signature, to appear at a place to be designated by the
Secretary of the Interior and execute the same, such instrument
may be approved by the Secretary of the Interior without such
execution, and when so approved and recorded shall convey legal
title, and such approval shall be conclusive evidence that such
executive or chief refused or neglected after notice to execute
such instrument.
[Provided, That the principal chief of the Seminole Nation is
hereby authorized to execute the deeds to allottees in the
Seminole Nation prior to the time when the Seminole government
shall cease to exist.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 11. That all revenues of whatever character accruing to
the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole tribes,
whether before or after dissolution of the tribal governments,
shall, after the approval hereof, be collected by an officer
appointed by the Secretary of the Interior under rules and
regulations to be prescribed by him; and he shall cause to be
paid all lawful claims against said tribes which may have been
contracted after July first, nineteen hundred and two, or for
which warrants have been regularly issued, such payments to be
made from any funds in the United States Treasury belonging to
said tribes. All such claims arising before dissolution of the
tribal governments shall be presented to the Secretary of the
Interior within six months after such dissolution, and he shall
make all rules and regulations necessary to carry this
provision into effect and shall pay all expenses incident to
the investigation of the validity of such claims or
indebtedness out of the tribal funds: Provided, That all taxes
accruing under tribal laws or regulations of the Secretary of
the Interior shall be abolished from and after December thirty-
first, nineteen hundred and five, but this provision shall not
prevent the collection after that date nor after dissolution of
the tribal government of all such taxes due up to and including
December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and five, and all such
taxes levied and collected after the thirty-first day of
December, nineteen hundred and five, shall be refunded.
[Upon dissolution of the tribal governments, every officer,
member, or representative of said tribes, respectively, having
in his possession, custody, or control any money or other
property of any tribe shall make full and true account and
report thereof to the Secretary of the Interior, and shall pay
all money of the tribe in his possession, custody, or control,
and shall deliver all other tribal property so held by him, to
the Secretary of the Interior, and if any person shall
willfully and fraudulently fail to account for all such money
and property so held by him, or to pay and deliver the same as
herein provided for sixty days from dissolution of the tribal
government, he shall be deemed guilty of embezzlement and upon
conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding
five thousand dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding five
years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, according to the
laws of the United States relating to such offense, and shall
be liable in civil proceedings to be prosecuted in behalf of
and in the name of the tribe for the amount or value of the
money or property so withheld.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 15. The Secretary of the Interior shall take possession
of all buildings now or heretofore used for governmental,
school, and other tribal purposes, together with the furniture
therein and the land appertaining thereto, and appraise and
sell the same at such time and under such rules and regulations
as he may prescribe, and deposit the proceeds, less expenses
incident to the appraisement and sale, in the Treasury of the
United States to the credit of the respective tribes: Provided,
That in the event said lands are embraced within the
geographical limits of a State or Territory of the United
States such State or Territory or any county or municipality
therein shall be allowed one year from date of establishment of
said State or Territory within which to purchase any such lands
and improvements within their respective limits at not less
than the appraised value. Conveyances of lands disposed of
under this section shall be executed, recorded, and delivered
in like manner and with like effect as herein provided for
other conveyances.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 18. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby
authorized to bring suit in the name of the United States, for
the use of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, or Seminole
tribes, respectively, either before or after the dissolution of
the tribal governments, for the collection of any moneys or
recovery of any land claimed by any of said tribes, whether
such claim shall arise prior to or after the dissolution of the
tribal governments, and the United States courts in Indian
Territory are hereby given jurisdiction to try and determine
all such suits, and the Secretary of the Interior is authorized
to pay from the funds of the tribe interested any costs and
necessary expenses incurred in maintaining and prosecuting such
suits: Provided, That proceedings to which any of said tribes
is a party pending before any court or tribunal at the date of
dissolution of the tribal governments shall not be thereby
abated or in anywise affected, but shall proceed to final
disposition.
[Where suit is now pending, or may hereafter be filed in any
United States court in the Indian Territory, by or on behalf of
any one or more of the Five Civilized Tribes to recover moneys
claimed to be due and owing to such tribe, the party defendants
to such suit shall have the right to set up and have
adjudicated any claim it may have against such tribe; and any
balance that may be found due by any tribe or tribes shall be
paid by the Treasurer of the United States out of any funds of
such tribe or tribes upon the filing of the decree of the court
with him.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 20. That after the approval of this Act all leases and
rental contracts, except leases and rental contracts for not
exceeding one year for agricultural purposes for lands other
than homesteads, of full-blood allottees of the Choctaw,
Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole tribes shall be in
writing and subject to approval by the Secretary of the
Interior and shall be absolutely void and of no effect without
such approval: Provided, That allotments of minors and
incompetents may be rented or leased under order of the proper
court: Provided further, That all leases entered into for a
period of more than one year shall be recorded in conformity to
the law applicable to recording instruments now in force in
said Indian Territory.]
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 23. Every person of lawful age and sound mind may by
last will and testament devise and bequeath all of his estate,
real and personal, and all interest therein: Provided, That no
will of a full-blood Indian devising real estate shall be
valid, if such last will and testament disinherits the parent,
wife, spouse, or children of such full-blood Indian, unless
acknowledged before and approved by a judge of the United
States court for the Indian Territory, or a United States
commissioner.]
* * * * * * *
Sec. 28. That the tribal existence and present tribal
governments of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and
Seminole tribes or nations are hereby continued in full force
and effect for all purposes authorized by law, until otherwise
provided by law, but the tribal council or legislature in any
of said tribes or nations shall not be in session for a longer
period than thirty days in any one year[: Provided, That no
act, ordinance, or resolution (except resolutions of
adjournment) of the tribal council or legislature of any of
said tribes or nations shall be of any validity until approved
by the President of the United States: Provided further]:
Provided, That no contract involving the payment or expenditure
of any money or affecting any property belonging to any of said
tribes or nations made by them or any of them or by any officer
thereof, shall be of any validity until approved by the
President of the United States.
* * * * * * *
----------
ACT OF MAY 7, 1970
(Public Law 91-240)
AN ACT To provide for disposition of estates of intestate members of
the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole Nations of Oklahoma
dying without heirs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That upon
the final determination of a court having jurisdiction or by
decision of the Secretary of the Interior after a period of
five years from the death of the decedent, it is determined
that a member of the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, or
Seminole Nations or Tribes of Oklahoma or a person of the blood
of said tribes has died intestate without heirs, owning trust
or restricted Indian lands in Oklahoma or an interest therein
or rents or profits therefrom, such lands, interests, or
profits shall escheat to the Nation or tribe from which title
to the trust or restricted Indian lands or interest therein was
[derived and shall] derived. Such lands, interests, and
profits, and any restricted Indian lands or interests therein
allotted by any such Indian nation that are reacquired by that
Indian nation by conveyance authorized under section 202(a) of
the Five Nations Indian Land Reform Act shall be held
thereafter in trust by the United States for said nation or
tribe.
----------
ACT OF OCTOBER 22, 1970
(Public Law 91-495)
AN ACT To authorize each of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma to
popularly select their principal officer, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That,
notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the principal
chiefs of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Tribes of
Oklahoma and the governor of the Chickasaw Tribe of Oklahoma
shall be popularly selected by the respective tribes in
accordance with procedures established by the officially
recognized tribal spokesman and or governing entity. [Such
established procedures shall be subject to approval by the
Secretary of the Interior.]
* * * * * * *