Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

kee, North Carolina, is hereby authorized, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, and lands s0 purchased may be allotted as provided for herein respecting the allotment of lands now owned by said band.

"25. That all things provided for herein shall be done under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, who is authorized to prescribe needed rules and regulations. "All questions as to enrollment and as to all other matters involving the disposition of the lands or moneys of said band, or of the members thereof, shall be decided by the Secretary of the Interior, and such decision as to any matter of fact or law shall be final.

"26. That in addition to any sum or sums heretofore or hereafter regularly appropriated for salaries and expenses, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, from the funds of the United States in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $10,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the payment of such expenses as shall be necessarily incurred, including the salaries of additional employees in the administration of this Act."

Act June 7, 1924, ch. 331, 43 Stat. 636, as amended by act May 31, 1933, ch. 45, § 7, 48 Stat. 111, reads as follows: "That in order to quiet title to various lots, parcels, and tracts of land in the State of New Mexico for which claim shall be made by or on behalf of the Pueblo Indians of said State as hereinafter provided, the United States of America, in its sovereign capacity as guardian of said Pueblo Indians shall, by its Attorney General, file in the District Court of the United States for the District of New Mexico, its bill or bills of complaint with a prayer for discovery of the nature of any claim or claims of any kind whatsoever adverse to the claim of said Pueblo Indians, as hereinafter determined.

"2. That there shall be, and hereby is, established a board to be known as 'Pueblo Lands Board' to consist of the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, each of whom may act through an assistant in all hearings, investigations, and deliberations in New Mexico, and a third member to be appointed by the President of the United States. The board shall be provided with suitable quarters in the city of Santa Fé, New Mexico, and shall have power to require the presence of witnesses and the production of documents by subpoena, to employ a clerk who shall be empowered to administer oaths and take acknowledgments, shall employ such clerical assistance, interpreters, and stenographers with such compensation as the Attorney General shall deem adequate, and it shall be provided with such necessary supplies and equipment as it may require on requisitions to the Department of Justice. The compensation and allowance for travel and expenses of the member appointed by the President shall be fixed by the Attorney General.

"It shall be the duty of said board to investigate, determine, and report and set forth by metes and bounds, illustrated where necessary by field notes and plats, the lands within the exterior boundaries of any land granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico by any authority of the United States of America, or any prior sovereignty, or acquired by said Indians as a community by purchase or otherwise, title to which the said board shall find not to have been extinguished in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the board shall not include in their report any claims of non-Indian claimants who, in the opinion of said board after investigation, hold and occupy such claims of which they have had adverse possession, in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of this Act: Provided, however, That the board shall be unanimous in all decisions whereby it shall be determined that the Indian title has been extinguished.

"The board shall report upon each pueblo as a separate unit and upon the completion of each report one copy shall be filed with the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, one with the Attorney General of the United States, one with the Secretary of the Interior, and one with the Board of Indian Commissioners.

"3. That upon the filing of each report by the sald board, the Attorney General shall forthwith cause to be filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, as provided in section 1 of this Act, a suit to quiet title to the lands described in said report 36-500 0-65-vol. 6 8

as Indian lands the Indian title to which is determined by said report not to have been extinguished.

"4. That all persons claiming title to, or ownership of, any lands involved in any such suit, or suits, may in addition to any other legal or equitable defenses which they may have or have had under the laws of the Territory and State of New Mexico, plead limitation of action, as follows, to wit:

"(a) That in themselves, their ancestors, grantors, privies, or predecessors in interest or claim of interest, they have had open, notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, adverse possession of the premises claimed, under color of title from the 6th day of January, 1902, to the date of the passage of this Act, and have paid the taxes lawfully assessed and levied thereon to the extent required by the statutes of limitation, or adverse possession of the Territory or of the State of New Mexico, since the 6th day of January, 1902, to the date of the passage of this Act, except where the claimant was exempted or entitled to be exempted from such tax payment.

"(b) That in themselves, their ancestors, grantors, privies, or predecessors in interest or claim of interest, they have had open, notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, adverse possession of the premises claimed with claim of ownership, but without color of title from the 16th day of March, 1889, to the date of the passage of this Act, and have paid the taxes lawfully assessed and levied thereon to the extent required by the statutes of limitation or adverse possession of the Territory or of the State of New Mexico, from the 16th day of March, 1899, to the date of the passage of this Act, except where the claimant was exempted or entitled to be exempted from such tax payment.

"Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to impair or destroy any existing right of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to assert and maintain unaffected by the provisions of this Act their title and right to any land by original proceedings, either in law or equity, in any court of competent jurisdiction and any such right may be asserted at any time prior to the filing of the field notes and plats as provided in section 13 hereof, and jurisdiction with respect to any such original proceedings is hereby conferred upon the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico with right of review as in other cases: Provided, however, That any contract entered into with any attorney or attorneys by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, to carry on such litigation shall be subject to and in accordance with existing laws of the United States.

"5. The plea of such limitations, successfully maintained, shall entitle the claimants so pleading to a decree in favor of them, their heirs, executors, successors, and assigns for the premises so claimed by them, respectively, or so much thereof as may be established, which shall have the effect of a deed of quitclaim as against the United States and said Indians, and a decree in favor of claimants upon any other ground shall have a like effect. "The United States may plead in favor of the pueblo, or any individual Indian thereof, as the case might be, the said limitations herein before defined.

"6. It shall be the further duty of the board to separately report in respect of each such pueblo

"(a) The area and character of any tract or tracts of land within the exterior boundaries of any land granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and the extent, source, and character of any water right appurtenant thereto in possession of non-Indian claimants at the time of filing such report, which are not claimed for said Indians by any report of the board.

"(b) Whether or not such tract or tracts of land or such water rights could be or could have been at any time recovered for said Indians by the United States by seasonable prosecution of any right of the United States or of said Indians. Seasonable prosecution is defined to mean prosecution by the United States within the same period of time as that within which suits to recover real property could have been brought under the limitation statutes of the Territory and State of New Mexico.

"(c) The fair market value of said water rights and of said tract or tracts of land (exclusive of any improvements made therein or placed thereon by non-Indian claimants) whenever the board shall determine that such tract or tracts of land or such water rights could be or

could have been at any time recovered for said Indians by the United States by seasonable prosecution of any right of the United States or of said Indians, and the amount of loss, if any, suffered by said Indians through failure of the United States seasonably to prosecute any such right.

"The United States shall be liable, and the board shall award compensation, to the pueblo within the exterior boundaries of whose lands such tract or tracts of land shall be situated or to which such water rights shall have been appurtenant to the extent of any loss suffered by said Indians through failure of the United States seasonably to prosecute any right of the United States or of said Indians, subject to review as herein provided. Such report and award shall have the force and effect of a judicial finding and final judgment upon the question and amount of compensation due to the Pueblo Indians from the United States for such losses. Such report shall be filed simultaneously with and in like manner as the reports herein before provided to be made and filed in section 2 of this Act.

"At any time within sixty days after the filing of said report with the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico as herein provided the United States or any pueblo or Indians concerned therein or affected thereby may, in respect of any report upon liability or of any finding of amount or award of compensation set forth in such report, petition said court for judicial review of said report, specifying the portions thereof in which review is desired. Said court shall thereupon have jurisdiction to review, and shall review, such report, finding, or award in like manner as in the case of proceedings in equity. In any such proceeding the report of the board shall be prima facie evidence of the facts, the values, and the liability therein set forth, subject, however, to be rebutted by competent evidence. Any party in interest may offer evidence in support or in opposition to the findings in said report in any respect. Sald court shall after hearing render its decision so soon as practicable, confirming, modifying, or rejecting said report or any part thereof. At any time within thirty days after such decision is rendered said court shall, upon petition of any party aggrieved, certify the portions of such report, review of which has been sought, together with the record in connection therewith, to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which shall have jurisdiction to consider, review, and decide all questions arising upon such report and record in like manner as in the case of appeals in equity, and its decision thereon shall be final.

"Petition for review of any specific finding or award of compensation in any report shall not affect the finality of any findings nor delay the payment of any award set forth in such report, review of which shall not have been so sought, nor in any proceeding for review in any court under the provisions of this section shall costs be awarded against any party.

"7. It shall be the further duty of the board to investigate, ascertain, and report to the Secretary of the Interior who shall report to the Congress of the United States, together with his recommendation, the fair market value of lands, improvements appurtenant thereto, and water rights of non-Indian claimants who, in person or through their predecessors in title prior to January 6, 1912, in good faith and for a valuable consideration purchased and entered upon Indian lands under a claim of right based upon a deed or document purporting to convey title to the land claimed or upon a grant, or license from the governing body of a pueblo to said land, but fail to sustain such claim under the provisions of this Act, together with a statement of the loss in money value thereby suffered by such non-Indian claimants. Any lands lying within the exterior boundaries of the pueblo of Nambe land grant, which were conveyed to any holder or occupant thereof or his predecessor or predecessors in interest by the governing authorities of said pueblo, in writing, prior to January 6, 1912, shall unless found by said board to have been obtained through fraud or deception, be recognized as constituting valid claims by said board and by said courts, and disposed of in such manner as lands the Indian title to which has been determined to have been extinguished pursuant to the provisions of this Act: Provided, That nothing in this section contained with refer

ence to the said Nambe Pueblo Indians shall be construed as depriving the said Indians of the right to impeach any such deed or conveyance for fraud or to have mistakes therein corrected through a suit in behalf of said pueblo or of an individual Indian under the provisions of this Act.

"8. It shall be the further duty of the board to investigate, ascertain, and report to the Secretary of the Interior the area and the value of the lands and improvements appurtenant thereto of non-Indian claimants within or adjacent to Pueblo Indian settlements or towns in New Mexico, title to which in such non-Indian claimants is valid and indefeasible, said report to include a finding as to the benefit to the Indians in anywise of the removal of such non-Indian claimants by purchase of their lands and improvements and the transfer of the same to the Indians, and the Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress the facts with his recommendations in the premises.

"9. That all lands, the title to which is determined in said suit or suits, shall, where necessary, be surveyed and mapped under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, at the expense of the United States, but such survey shall be subject to the approval of the judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, and if approved by said judge shall be filed in said court and become a part of the decree or decrees entered in said district court.

"10. That necessary costs in all original proceedings under this Act, to be determined by the court, shall be taxed against the United States and any party aggrieved by any final judgment or decree shall have the right to a review thereof by appeal or writ of error or other process, as in other cases, but upon such appeal being taken each party shall pay his own costs.

"11. That in the sense in which used in this Act the word 'purchase' shall be taken to mean the acquisition of community lands by the Indians other than by grant or donation from a sovereign.

"12. That any person claiming any interest in the premises involved but not impleaded in any such action may be made a party defendant thereto or may intervene in such action, setting up his claim in usual form.

"13. That as to all lands within the exterior boundaries of any lands granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, by any authority of the United States of America or any prior sovereignty, or acquired by said Indians as a community by purchase or otherwise and which have not been claimed for said Indians by court proceedings then pending or the findings and report of the board as herein provided, the Secretary of the Interior at any time after two years after the filing of said reports of the board shall file field notes and plat for each pueblo in the office of the surveyor general of New Mexico at Santa Fé, New Mexico, showing the lands to which the Indian title has been extinguished as in said report set out, but excluding therefrom lands claimed by or for the Indians in court proceedings then pending, and copies of said plat and field notes certified by the surveyor general of New Mexico as true and correct copies shall be accepted in any court as competent and conclusive evidence of the extinguishment of all the right, title, and interest of the Indians in and to the lands so described in said plat and field notes and of any claim of the United States in or to the same. And the Secretary of the Interior within thirty days after the Indians' right to bring independent suits under this Act shall have expired, shall cause notice to be published in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation issued, if any there be, in the county wherein lie such lands claimed by non-Indian claimants, respectively, or wherein some part of such lands are situated, otherwise in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation published nearest to such lands, once a week for five consecutive weeks, setting forth as nearly as may be the names of such non-Indian claimants of land holdings not claimed by or for the Indians as herein provided, with a description of such several holdings, as shown by a survey of Pueblo Indian lands heretofore made under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior and commonly known as the 'Joy Survey,' or as may be otherwise shown or defined by authority of the Secretary of the Interior, and requiring that any person or persons claiming such de

scribed parcel or parcels of land or any part thereof, adversely to the apparent claimant or claimants so named as aforesaid, or their heirs or assigns, shall, on or before the thirtieth day after the last publication of such notice, file his or their adverse claim in the United States Land Office in the land district wherein such parcel or parcels of land are situate, in the nature of a contest, stating the character and basis of such adverse claim, and notice of such contest shall be served upon the claimant or claimants named in the said notice, in the same manner as in cases of contest of homestead entries. If no such contest is instituted as aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue to the claimant or claimants, or their heirs or assigns, a patent or other certificate of title for the parcel or parcels of land so described in said notice; but if a contest be filed it shall proceed and be heard and decided as contests of homestead entries are heard and decided under the rules and regulations of the General Land Office pertinent thereto. Upon such contest either party may claim the benefit of the provisions of section 4 of this Act to the same extent as if he were a party to a suit to quiet title brought under the provisions of this Act, and the successful party shall receive a patent or certificate of title for the land as to which he is successful in such proceeding. Any patent or certificate of title issued under the provisions of this Act shall have the effect only of a relinquishment by the United States of America and the said Indians.

"If after such notice more than one person or group of persons united in interest makes claim in such land office adverse to the claimant or claimants named in the said notice, or to any other person or group of persons who may have filed such contest, each contestant shall be required to set forth the basis and nature of his respective claim, and thereupon the said claims shall be heard and decided as upon an original contest or intervention.

"And in all cases any person or persons whose right to a given parcel or parcels of land has become fixed either by the action of the said board or the said court or in such contest may apply to the Commissioner of the General Land Office for a patent or certificate of title and receive the same without cost or charge.

"14. That if any non-Indian party to any such suit shall assert against the Indian title a claim based upon a Spanish or Mexican grant, and if the court should finally find that such claim by the non-Indian is superior to that of the Indian claim, no final decree or judgment of ouster of the said Indians shall be entered or writ of possession or assistance shall be allowed against said Indians, or any of them, or against the United States of America acting in their behalf. In such case the court shall ascertain the area and value of the land thus held by any non-Indian claimant under such superior title, excluding therefrom the area and value of lots or parcels of land the title to which has been found to be in other persons under the provisions of this Act: Provided, however, That any findings by the court under the provisions of this section may be reviewed on appeal or writ of error at the instance of any party aggrieved thereby, in the same manner, to the same extent, and with like effect as if such findings were a final judgment or decree. When such finding adverse to the Indian claim has become final, the Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress the facts, including the area and value of the land so adjudged against the Indian claim, with his recommendations in the premises.

"15. That when any claimant, other than the United States for said Indians not covered by the report provided for in section 7 of this Act, fails to sustain his claim to any parcel of land within any Pueblo Indian grant, purchase, or donation under the provisions of this Act, but has held and occupied any such parcel in good faith, claiming the same as his own, and the same has been improved, the value of the improvements upon the said parcel of land shall be found by the court and reported by the Secretary of the Interior to Congress, with his recommendations in the premises.

"16. That if the Secretary of the Interior deems it to be for the best interest of the Indians that any land adjudged by the court or said Lands Board against any claimant be sold, he may, with the consent of the governing authorities of the pueblo, order the sale thereof,

under such regulations as he may make, to the highest bidder for cash; and if the buyer thereof be other than the losing claimant, the purchase price shall be used in paying to such losing claimant the adjudicated value of the improvements aforesaid, if found under the provisions of section 15 hereof, and the balance thereof, if any, shall be paid over to the proper officer, or officers, of the Indian community, but if the buyer be the losing claimant, and the value of his improvements has been adjudicated as aforesaid, such buyer shall be entitled to have credit upon his bid for the value of such improvements so adjudicated.

"17. No right, title, or interest in or to the lands of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to which their title has not been extinguished as herein before determined shall hereafter be acquired or initiated by virtue of the laws of the State of New Mexico, or in any other manner except as may hereafter be provided by Congress, and no sale, grant, lease of any character, or other conveyance of lands, or any title or claim thereto, made by any pueblo as a community, or any Pueblo Indian living in a community of Pueblo Indians, in the State of New Mexico, shall be of any validity in law or in equity unless the same be first approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

"18. That the pleading, practice, procedure, and rules of evidence shall be the same in all causes arising under this Act as in other civil causes in the Federal courts, except as otherwise herein provided.

"19. That all sums of money which may hereafter be appropriated by the Congress of the United States for the purpose of paying in whole or in part any liability found or decreed under this Act from the United States to any pueblo or to any of the Indians of any pueblo, shall be paid over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which Bureau, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, shall use such moneys at such times and in such amounts as may seem wise and proper for the purpose of the purchase of lands and water rights to replace those which have been lost to said pueblo or to said Indians, or for purchase or construction of reservoirs, irrigation works, or the making of other permanent improvements upon, or for the benefit of lands held by said pueblo or said Indians."

Act Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 421, 43 Stat. 1114, reads as follows: "That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized in his discretion, to cancel any restricted fee patents that have been issued to Indians of the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, under the provisions of the Act of Congress of February 21, 1863 (Twelfth Statutes at Large, page 658), and to issue in lieu thereof, to the original allottees, or heirs, trust patents of the form and subject to all the provisions set out in the general allotment act of February 8, 1887 (Twenty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 388), as amended: Provided, That the trust period shall be ten years from the date of issuance of the lieu trust patents."

Act May 31, 1933, ch. 45, §§ 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9, 48 Stat. 109-111, in addition to authorizing appropriations to pay in part the liability of the United States to the Indian pueblos, provided as follows:

"§ 4. That for the purpose of safeguarding the interests and welfare of the tribe of Indians known as the Pueblo de Taos of New Mexico in the certain lands hereinafter described, upon which lands said Indians depend for water supply, forage for their domestic livestock, wood and timber for their personal use and as the scene of certain of their religious ceremonials, the Secretary of Agriculture may and he hereby is authorized and directed to designate and segregate said lands, which shall not thereafter be subject to entry under the land laws of the United States, and to thereafter grant to said Pueblo de Taos, upon application of the governor and council thereof, a permit to occupy said lands and use the resources thereof for the personal use and benefit of said tribe of Indians for a period of fifty years, with provision for subsequent renewals if the use and occupancy by said tribe of Indians shall continue, the provisions of the permit are met and the continued protection of the watershed is required by public interest. Such permit shall specifically provide for and safeguard all rights and equities hitherto established and enjoyed by said. tribe of Indians under any contracts or agreements hitherto existing, shall authorize the free use of wood, forage, and

lands for the personal or tribal needs of said Indians, shall define the conditions under which natural resources under the control of the Department of Agriculture not needed by said Indians shall be made available for commercial use by the Indians or others, and shall establish necessary and proper safeguards for the efficient supervision and operation of the area for national forest purposes and all other purposes herein stated, the area referred to being described as follows:

"Beginning at the northeast corner of the Pueblo de Taos grant, thence northeasterly along the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Lucero and along the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Red River to a point a half mile east of Rio Pueblo de Taos; thence southwesterly on a line half mile east of Rio Pueblo de Taos and parallel thereto to the northwest corner of township 25 north, range 15 east; thence south on the west boundary of township 25 north, range 15 east, to the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Fernandez de Taos; thence westerly along the divide to the east boundary of the Pueblo de Taos grant; thence north to the point of beginning; containing approximately thirty thousand acres, more or less.

"§ 5. Except as otherwise provided herein the Secretary of the Interior shall disburse and expend the amounts of money herein authorized to be appropriated, in accordance with and under the terms and conditions of the Act approved June 7, 1924: Provided, however, That the Secretary be authorized to cause necessary surveys and investigations to be made promptly to ascertain the lands and water rights that can be purchased out of the foregoing appropriations and earlier appropriations made for the same purpose, with full authority to disburse said funds in the purchase of said lands and water rights without being limited to the appraised values thereof as fixed by the appraisers appointed by the Pueblo Lands Board appointed under said Act of June 7, 1924, and all prior Acts limiting the Secretary of the Interior in the disbursement of said funds to the appraised value of said lands as fixed by said appraisers of said Pueblo Lands Board be, and the same are, expressly repealed: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to disburse a portion of said funds for the purpose of securing options upon said lands and water rights and necessary abstracts of title thereof for the necessary period required to investigate titles and which may be required before disbursement can be authorized: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized, out of the appropriations of the foregoing amounts and out of the funds heretofore appropriated for the same purpose, to purchase any available lands within the several pueblos which in his discretion it is desirable to purchase, without waiting for the issuance of final patents directed to be issued under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924, where the right of said pueblos to bring independent suits, under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924, has expired; Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior shall not make any expenditures out of the pueblo funds resulting from the appropriations set forth herein, or prior appropriations for the same purpose, without first obtaining the approval of the governing authorities of the pueblo affected: And provided further, That the governing authorities of any pueblo may initiate matters pertaining to the purchase of lands in behalf of their respective pueblos, which matters, or contracts relative thereto, will not be binding or concluded until approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

"§ 6. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent any pueblo from prosecuting independent suits as authorized under section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into contract with the several Pueblo Indian tribes, affected by the terms of this Act, in consideration of the authorization of appropriations contained in section 2 hereof, providing for the dismissal of pending and the abandonment of contemplated original proceedings, in law or equity, by, or in behalf of said Pueblo Indian tribes, under the provisions of section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. L. 636), and the pueblo concerned may elect to accept the appropriations herein authorized, in the sums herein set forth, in full discharge of all claims to compensation under the terms of said Act, notifying the

Secretary of the Interior in writing of its election so to do: Provided, That if said election by said pueblo be not made, said pueblo shall have one year from the date of the approval of this Act within which to file any independent suit authorized under section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924, at the expiration of which period the right to file such suit shall expire by limitation: And provided further, That no ejectment suits shall be filed against non-Indians entitled to compensation under this Act, in less than six months after the sums herein authorized are appropriated.

"§ 8. The attorney or attorneys for such Indian tribe or tribes shall be paid such fee as may be agreed upon by such attorney or attorneys and such Indian tribe or tribes, but in no case shall the fee be more than 10 per centum of the sum herein authorized to be appropriated for the benefit of such tribe or tribes, and such attorney's fees shall be disbursed by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance herewith out of any funds appropriated for said Indian tribe or tribes under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. L. 636), or this Act: Provided however, That 25 per centum of the amount agreed upon as attorneys' fees shall be retained by the Secretary of the Interior to be disbursed by him under the terms of the contract, subject to approval of the Secretary of the Interior, between said attorneys and said Indian tribes, providing for further services and expenses of said attorneys in furtherance of the objects set forth in section 19 of the Act of June 7, 1924.

"§ 9. Nothing herein contained shall in any manner be construed to deprive any of the Pueblo Indians of a prior right to the use of water from streams running through or bordering on their respective pueblos for domestic, stock-water, and irrigation purposes for the lands remaining in Indian ownership, and such water rights shall not be subject to loss by nonuse or abandonment thereof as long as title to said lands shall remain in the Indians." OSAGE WORLD WAR II VETERANS; BENEFITS OF SERVICEMEN'S READJUSTMENT ACT OR CHAPTER 37 OF TITLE 38

Act Aug. 4, 1947, ch. 474, § 1, 61 Stat. 747, as amended by Pub. L. 85-857, § 13 (n), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1266, provided: "That the provisions of section 6 of the Act approved February 27, 1925 (43 Stat. 1008) [set out in note under this section], as amended by section 5 of the Act approved March 2, 1929 (45 Stat. 1478) [set out in note under this section], which make invalid contracts of debt entered into by certain members of the Osage Tribe of Indians, shall not apply to any debt contracted pursuant to title III of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 or chapter 37 of title 38, United States Code, by any member of such tribe who, by reason of his service in the armed forces of the United States during World War II, is eligible for the benefits of such title III or chapter 37; and any other member of the Osage Tribe upon attaining the age of twenty-one years may contract a valid debt without approval of the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That the Osage lands and funds and any other property which has heretofore or which may hereafter be held in trust or under supervision of the United States for such Osage Indians not having a certificate of competency shall not be subject to lien, levy, attachment, or forced sale to satisfy any debt or obligation contracted or incurred prior to the issuance of a certificate of competency."

OSAGE INDIAN TRIBE IN OKLAHOMA; CERTIFICATES OF
COMPETENCY

Act Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 46, 62 Stat. 18, provided: "That the Secretary of the Interior shall issue a certificate of competency to each member of the Osage Tribe of less than one-half Indian blood heretofore or hereafter attaining the age of twenty-one years; and shall thereupon pay and deliver to such member, or to his legal guardian if such member has been declared incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction, all money, property, and funds theretofore accrued or hereafter accruing to the individual credit of such member; and all payments to the legal guardian of such member may be expended without the approval of the superintendent of the Osage Agency: Provided, That all restrictions against alienation of the property of every kind and character, except headright shares or interests in the Osage tribal mineral estate, of

members of the Osage Tribe who now have, or may hereafter receive, a certificate of competency, are hereby removed."

OSAGE INDIANS OF OKLAHOMA

Act Feb. 27, 1925, ch. 359, 43 Stat. 1008, as amended Mar. 2, 1929, ch. 493, §§ 3, 4, 45 Stat. 1480; Sept. 1, 1950, ch. 832, 64 Stat. 572, provided that:

"The Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be paid at the end of each fiscal quarter to each adult member of the Osage Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma having a certificate of competency, his or her pro rata share, either as a member of the tribe or heir or devisee of a deceased member, of the interest on trust funds, the bonus received from the sale of oil or gas leases, the royalties therefrom and any other moneys due such Indian received during each fiscal quarter, including all moneys received prior to the passage of this Act and remaining unpaid; and so long as the accumulated income is sumcient the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be paid to the adult members of said tribe not having a certificate of competency $1,000 quarterly, except where such adult members have legal guardians, in which case the amounts provided for herein may be paid to the legal guardian or direct to such Indian in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, the total amounts of such payments, however, shall not exceed $1,000 quarterly except as hereinafter provided; and shall cause to be paid for the maintenance and education, to either one of the parents or legal guardians actually having personally in charge, enrolled or unenrolled, minor member under twentyone years of age, and above eighteen years of age, $1,000 quarterly out of the income of each of said minors, and out of the income of minors under eighteen years of age, $500 quarterly, and so long as the accumulated income of the parent or parents of a minor who has no income or whose income is less than $500 per quarter is sumcient, shall cause to be paid to either of said parents having the care and custody of such minor $500 quarterly, or such proportion thereof as the income of such minor may be less than $500, in addition to the allowances above provided for such parents. Rentals due such adult members from their lands and their minor children's lands and all income from such adults' investments shall be paid to them in addition to the allowance above provided. All payments to legal guardians of Osage Indians shall be expended subject to the joint approval in writing of the court and the superintendent of the Osage Agency. All payments to adults not having certificates of competency, including amounts paid for each minor, shall, in case the Secretary of the Interior finds that such adults are wasting or squandering said income, be subject to the supervision of the superintendent of the Osage Agency: Provided, That if an adult member, not having a certificate of competency, so desires, his entire income accumulating in the future from the sources herein specified may be paid to him without supervision, unless the Secretary of the Interior shall find, after notice and hearing, that such member is wasting or squandering his income, in which event the Secretary of the Interior shall pay to such member only the amounts herein before specified to be paid to adult members not having certificates of competency. The Secretary of the Interior shall invest the remainder, after paying the taxes of such members, in United States bonds, Oklahoma State bonds, real estate, first mortgage real estate loans not to exceed 50 per centum of the appraised value of such real estate, and where the member is a resident of Oklahoma such investment shall be in loans on Oklahoma real estate, stock in Oklahoma building and loan associations, livestock, or deposit the same in banks in Oklahoma, or expend the same for the benefit of such member, such expenditures, investments, and deposits to be made under such restrictions, rules, and regulations as he may prescribe: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall not make any investment for an adult member without first securing the approval of such member of such investment: Provided further, That at the beginning of each fiscal year there shall first be reserved and set aside, out of Osage tribal funds available for that purpose, a sufficient amount of money for the expenditures authorized by Congress out of Osage funds for that fiscal year. No guardian shall be appointed except on the written application or approval

of the Secretary of the Interior for the estate of a member of the Osage Tribe of Indians who does not have a certificate of competency or who is of one-half or more Indian blood. All moneys now in the possession or control of legal guardians heretofore paid to them in excess of $4,000 per annum each for adults and $2,000 each for minors under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1921, relating to the Osage Tribe of Indians, shall be returned by such guardians to the Secretary of the Interior, and all property, bonds, securities, and stock purchased, or investments made by such guardians out of said moneys paid them shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Interior by them, to be held by him or disposed of by him as he shall deem to be for the best interest of the members to whom the same belongs. All bonds, securities, stocks, and property purchased and other investments made by legal guardians shall not be subject to alienation, sale, disposal, or assignment without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Any indebtedness heretofore lawfully incurred by guardians shall be paid out of the funds of the members for whom such indebtedness was incurred by the Secretary of the Interior. All funds other than as above mentioned, and other property heretofore or hereafter received by a guardian of a member of the Osage Tribe of Indians, which was theretofore under the supervision and control of the Secretary of the Interior or the title to which was held in trust for such Indian by the United States, shall not thereby become divested of the supervision and control of the Secretary of the Interior or the United States be relieved of its trust; and such guardian shall not sell, dispose of or otherwise encumber such fund or property without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and in accordance with orders of the county court of Osage County, Oklahoma. In case of the death, resignation, or removal from office of such a guardian, the funds and property in his possession subject to supervision and control of the Secretary of the Interior or to which the United States held the title in trust shall be immediately delivered to the superintendent of the Osage Agency, to be held by him and supervised or invested as herein before provided. Within thirty days after the passage of this Act, such guardian shall render and file with the Secretary of the Interior or the superintendent of the Osage Agency a complete accounting, fully itemized, under oath, for the funds so paid to him and pay to the said Secretary or superintendent any and all moneys in his hands at the time of the passage of this Act, which have been paid him in excess of $4,000 per annum each for adults and $2,000 each for minors. The said guardian shall at the same time tender to said Secretary or superintendent all property of whatsoever kind in his possession at the time of the passage of this Act, representing the investment by him of said funds. The Secretary or superintendent is hereby authorized to accept such property or any part thereof at the price paid therefore by said guardian for the benefit of the ward of such guardian, if in his judgment he deems it advisable, and to make such settlement with such guardian as he deems best for such ward. Failing to make satisfactory settlement with said guardian as to said investments or any part thereof, the Secretary is authorized to bring such suit or suits against said guardian, his bond, and other parties in interest as he may deem necessary for the protection of the interests of the ward and may bring such action in any State court of competent jurisdiction or in the United States district court for the district in which said guardian resides.

"The Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby, authorized, in his discretion, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, upon application of any member of the Osage Tribe of Indians not having a certificate of competency, to pay all or any part of the funds held in trust for such Indian: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall, within one year after this Act is approved, pay to each enrolled Indian of less than half Osage blood, one-fifth part of his or her proportionate share of accumulated funds. And such Secretary shall on or before the expiration of ten years from the date of the approval of this Act, advance and pay over to such Osage Indians of less than one-half Osage Indian blood, all of the balance appearing to his credit of accumulated

« ForrigeFortsett »