CALIFORNIA INDIANS JURISDICTIONAL ACT MONDAY, MARCH 8, 1937 UNITED STATES SENATE, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to call at 10:30 a. m., in room 424-A, Senate Office Building, Senator Elmer Thomas presiding. Present: Senators Thomas of Oklahoma (chairman), Bulow, Chavez, and Frazier. Present also: Hon. John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Charles M. Johnson, attorney for the California Indian Rights Association, Inc.; Thomas Largo, sachem, Mrs. Julia D. Gardner, keeper of records, and Mrs. Stella Von Bulow, keeper of wampum, of the California Indian Rights Association, Inc., and official delegates of that association; Hon. James A. Frear, Hon. Marion Butler, A. K. Shipe, Esq., John S. Meaney, Esq., Eugene L. T. Ness, Esq., and F. G. Collett representing California Indians; and Alice Lee Jemison representing the American Indian Federation. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. This meeting was called especially to hear a delegation from California as to the status of the present California Indian claims bills (S. 1651 and S. 1779). Unfortunately our membership is engaged this morning with other hearings, and I regret that I must leave at 11:30. The committee will go as far as we can this morning, and then, if we do not conclude, we will recess to meet tomorrow morning at 10:30. But we will try to get through if we can this morning. The record shows, if I remember correctly, that the Congress passed a bill (S. 1793) last year, June 20, 1936, seeking to amend the existing law. The bill passed last year was pocket vetoed by the President on June 30, 1936. At this point I will place in the record a copy of the bill as passed by the Congress last year: [S. 1793, 74th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To amend the Act entitled "An Act authorizing the Attorney General of the State of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California", approved May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L. 602). Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), entitled "An Act authorizing the Attorney General of the State of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California", as amended by the Act of April 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 259), be, and the same is hereby, amended as follows: SEC. 2. That section 1 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1. That for the purposes of this Act the Indians of California shall be defined to be all Indians who were residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living on May 18, 1928, who are now on the Census Roll of the Indians of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), and who may be enrolled in addition thereto under the provisions of this Act." SEC. 3. That sections 2 and 3 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended to read as follows: "SEC. 2. That all claims of whatsoever nature the Indians of California as defined in section 1 of this Act may have against the United States by reason of lands taken from them in the State of California by the United States without just compensation or for the failure or refusal of the United States to protect their interests in lands in said State and for the loss of the use of the same, may be submitted to the United States Court of Claims by the Attorney General of the State of California or attorneys acting for and on behalf of said Indians, and it is hereby declared that the loss to the said Indians on account of their failure to secure the lands and compensation provided for in the eighteen unratified treaties entered into with certain bands of said Indians in 1851 and 1852, and the loss to such Indians who were not parties to said unratified treaties of their lands to which they had title rising from occupancy and use, without just compensation therefor, is sufficient ground for equitable relief, and jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the said court, with the right of either party to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, to hear, consider, and determine all such claims submitted to them and the said courts shall settle the equitable rights therein and decree just compensation therefor, notwithstanding the lapse of time or statutes of limitation or the fact that the same claim or claims have or have not been presented to any other tribunal, including the commission created by the Act of March 3, 1851 (9 Stat. L. 631): Provided, That the courts shall determine, as near as may be, the acreage of the lands described in said unratified treaties as lands set apart forever for the occupancy and use of the tribes or bands of Indians parties to the said unratified treaties and shall determine, as near as may be, the acreage of the lands to which such tribes or bands of said Indians not parties to the said unratified treaties had title by reason of occupancy and use and shall compute the value of said acreage at $1.25 per acre and shall render judgment for such value: And provided further, That the courts shall consider and determine, as near as may be, the value of the personal property, rights, services, facilities, and improvements set out and described in the aforesaid eighteen unratified treaties and include just compensation for the value and loss of the benefit of the same in any degree rendered hereunder. Any payment which may have been made by the United States or moneys heretofore expended for the benefit of the Indians of California made under specific appropriations for the support, education, health, and civilization of Indians of California, including purchases of land, shall not be pleaded as an estoppel but may be pleaded by way of set-off. SEC. 4. That section 7 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), as amended by the Act of April 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 259), is further amended by adding the following proviso: "Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to allow two years from the date of the approval of this Act in which to receive applications for enrollment of Indians residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living on May 18, 1928, not now on the Census Roll of the Indians of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), and the Secretary of the Interior shall have six months thereafter to approve such supplemental roll, at the expiration of which time the roll shall be forever closed and thereafter no additional names shall be added thereto. "The time for filing amendments to the petition is hereby continued and extended to any time prior to the entry of judgment." SEC. 5. That the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended by adding a new section as follows: "SEC. 8. That there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amount as may be necessary to defray the expenses of enrollment herein authorized." Also at this point I will make a part of the record the veto message of the President giving his reasons for disapproving that proposed legislation: MEMORANDUM OF DISAPPROVAL I am withholding approval of S. 1793 for the following reasons: The bill authorizes the Indians of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims for compensation for lands in that State of which they were dispossessed by the United States, and directs the court to compute the value of said lands at $1.25 per acre and to render judgment therefor. It appears from the report of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs relative to this bill (S. Rept. 709, 74th Cong., 1st sess.) that the total area for which an award might probably be made under the terms of this legislation would be not less than 90,000,000 acres. Thus, the bill involves a liability of at least $100,000,000. In addition to having the effect of imposing a very heavy financial burden on the Government, the bill would create a dangerous and undesirable precedent for similar endeavors on the part of the present descendants of other aborigines to secure payment for lands occupied by their ancestors at the time of the original settlements in the United States or the acquisition of territory by this country. Not only would such a course of action result in an incalculable financial burden to the Government, but justice to the Indians of today does not seem to require this type of reparation. THE WHITE HOUSE, June 30, 1936. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. At this point there will be placed in the record a copy of the bill as it originally (May 28, 1935) passed the Senate and the committee's report thereon: [S. 1793, 74th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To amend the Act entitled "An Act authorizing the Attorney General of the State of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California", approved May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L. 602) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), entitled "An Act authorizing the Attorney General of the State of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California", as amended by the Act of April 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 259), be, and the same is hereby, amended as follows: SEC. 2. That section 1 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1. That for the purposes of this Act the Indians of California shall be defined to be all Indians who were residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living on May 18, 1928, who are now on the Census Roll of the Indians of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), and who may be enrolled in addition thereto under the provisions of this Act." SEC. 3. That sections 2 and 3 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended to read as follows: "SEC. 2. That all claims of whatsoever nature the Indians of California as defined in section 1 of this Act may have against the United States by reason of lands taken from them in the State of California by the United States without just compensation or for the failure or refusal of the United States to protect their interests in lands in said State and for the loss of the use of the same, may be submitted to the United States Court of Claims by the Attorney General of the State of California or attorneys acting for and on behalf of said Indians, and it is hereby declared that the loss to the said Indians on account of their failure to secure the lands and compensation provided for in the eighteen unratified treaties entered into with certain bands of said Indians in 1851 and 1852, and the loss to such Indians who were not parties to said unratified treaties of their lands to which they had title rising from occupancy and use, without just compensation therefor, is sufficient ground for equitable relief, and jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the said court, with the right of either party to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, to hear, consider, and determine all such claims submitted to them and the said courts shall settle the equitable rights therein and decree just compensation therefor, notwithstanding the lapse of time or statutes of limitation or the fact that the same claim or claims have or have not been presented to any other tribunal, including the commission created by the Act of March 3, 1851 (9 Stat. L. 631): Provided, That the courts shall determine, as near as may be, the acreage of the lands described in said unratified treaties as lands set apart forever for the occupancy and use of the tribes or bands of Indian parties to the said unratified treaties and shall determine, as near as may be, the acreage of the lands to which such tribes or bands of said Indians not parties to the said unratified treaties had title by reason of occupancy and use and shall compute the value of said acreage at $1.25 per acre and shall render judgment for such value: And provided further, That the courts shall consider and determine, as near as may be, the value of the personal property, rights, services, facilities, and improvements set out and described in the aforesaid eighteen unratified treaties and include just compensation for the value and loss of the benefit of the same in any decree rendered hereunder. Any payment which may have been made by the United States or moneys heretofore expended for the benefit of the Indians of California, made under specific appropriations for the support, education, health, and civilization of Indians of California, including purchases of land, shall not be pleaded as an estoppel but may be pleaded by way of set-off; but no such payment or appropriation shall be treated as a set-off unless it shall appear that the same was received by said Indians or that such expenditure was actually beneficial to said Indians." SEC. 4. That the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended by adding a new section, as follows: "SEC. 3. That the Indians of California shall have the right to be represented by an attorney or attorneys of their own selection under contract or contracts approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and the courts are directed to recognize such attorneys as attorneys of record: Provided, That for the purposes of this Act the Indians enrolled as Indians of California under the provisions of the Act approved May 18, 1928, the Secretary of the Interior shall classify said Indians by counties and determine the number of Units therein of one hundred each or fraction thereof, and under such regulations as he may prescribe shall provide for the election of Indian delegates to be held at one or more convenient places in each county in the State of California within ninety days after the approval of this Act, provided each county shall be entitled to one vote for each unit or fraction thereof and any Indian enrolled under said Act shall be eligible for election as a delegate, and said Indians of each county may elect a delegate to represent each vote or one delegate to represent all its votes and any delegate may be elected by more than one county, and said Secretary shall provide for two conventions of such delegates to select and retain attorneys to represent the Indians of California; one convention to convene at Riverside and include all delegates in counties south of the southern boundaries of San Luis Obispo and Kern Counties and the northern boundary of San Bernardino County and the other convention at San Francisco to include all delegates north of said boundaries. Said conventions shall be held within thirty days after said election and shall be conducted in accordance with such rules as are usual for a convention: Provided further, That due and proper notice shall be given of the time, place, and purpose of said election and conventions; and upon final determination of such suit, said court is authorized and directed to fix and determine a reasonable fee for such attorney or attorneys, the aggregate amount of such fees not to exceed 5 per centum of the amount recovered on a quantum meruit basis, for services actually rendered, and in addition thereto all necessary and proper expenses incurred in the preparation and prosecution of the suit and such fees and expenses shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury out of the appropriation made by Congress in payment of any decree rendered when such decree has been submitted to, and approved by Congress, and the balance of such appropriation shall be placed in the Treasury as provided in section 6 of the Enabling Act." SEC. 5. That section 7 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), as amended by the Act of April 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 259), is further amended by adding the following proviso: "Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to allow two years from the date of the approval of this Act in which to receive applications for enrollment of Indians residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living on May 18, 1928, not now on the Census Roll of the Indians of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), and the Secretary of the Interior shall have six months thereafter to approve such supplemental roll, at the expiration of which time the roll shall be forever closed and thereafter no additional names shall be added thereto. "The time for filing amendments to the petition is hereby continued and extended to any time prior to entry of judgment." SEC. 6. That the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. 602), be amended by adding a new section as follows: "SEC. 8. That there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amount as may be necessary to defray the expenses of enrollment herein authorized." Passed the Senate May 13 (calendar day, May 28), 1935. EDWIN A. HALSEY, Secretary. [S. Rept. No. 709, 74th Cong., 1st sess.] The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1793) to amend the act entitled "An act authorizing the Attorney General of the State of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California," approved May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L. 602), having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass with the following amendments: Amend the title so as to read "(45 Stat. L. 602)" instead of "(43 Stat. L. 602)". Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following: "That the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. p. 602), entitled “An Act authorizing the Attorney General of the State of California to bring suit in the Court of Claims on behalf of the Indians of California", as amended by the Act of April 29, 1930 (46 Stat. p. 259), be, and the same is hereby, amended as follows: "SEC. 2. That secton 1 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat., p. 602), be amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1. That for the purposes of this Act the Indians of California shall be defined to be all Indians who were residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and their descendants living on May 18, 1928, who are now on the "census roll of the Indians of California under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat., p. 602)", and who may be enrolled in addition thereto under the provisions of this Act.' "SEC. 3. That sections 2 and 3 of the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat., p. 602), be amended to read as follows: "SEC. 2. That all claims of whatsoever nature the Indians of California as defined in section 1 of this Act may have against the United States by reason of lands taken from them in the State of California by the United States without just compensation or for the failure or refusal of the United States to protect their interests in lands in said State and for the loss of the use of the same, may be submitted to the United States Court of Claims by the Attorney General of the State of California or attorneys acting for and on behalf of said Indians, and it is hereby declared that the loss to the said Indians on account of their failure to secure the lands and compensation provided for in the eighteen unratified treaties entered into with certain bands of said Indians in 1851 and 1852, and the loss to such Indians who were not parties to said unratified treaties of their lands to which they had title rising from occupancy and use, without just compensation therefor, is sufficient ground for equitable relief, and jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the said court, with the right of either party to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, to hear, consider, and determine all such claims submitted to them and the said courts shall settle the equitable rights therein and decree just compensation therefor, notwithstanding the lapse of time or statutes of limitation or the fact that the same claim or claims have or have not been presented to any other tribunal, including the commission created by the Act of March 3, 1851 (9 Stat. L. 631): Provided, That the courts shall determine, as near as may be, the acreage of the lands described in said unratified treaties as lands set apart forever for the occupancy and use of the tribes or bands of Indians parties to the said unratified treaties and shall determine, as near as may be, the acreage of the lands to which such tribes or bands of said Indians not parties to the said unratified treaties had title by reason of occupancy and use and shall compute the value of said acreage at $1.25 per acre and shall render |