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Manner of dissolving tribal relations.-A circular to registers and receivers, issued by the General Land Office August 23, 1881, states: Upon any Indian applying to enter land under the above act, you will allow him to do so without payment of fee or commission, but you will require him to furnish a certificate from the agent of the tribe to which he belongs that he is an Indian of the age of twenty-one, or head of a family, and not the subject of any foreign country. The certificate of any other officer of the Indian Department, particularly where the Indian making application is not attached to any particular agency, will serve as well. In a previous circular letter to registers and receivers by the General Land Office, they are instructed "to peremptorily refuse all entries and filings attempted to be made by others than the Indians occupying lands in the possession of Indians who have made improvements of any value whatsoever thereon, and, further, when lands are unsurveyed" no apportionment will be allowed within the region of Indian settlers until the surveys have been made and the land occupied by Indians ascertained and defined. Leasing of Indian lands.-The Attorney General, on July 21, 1885, in reply to certain questions propounded by the Interior Department, touching the legality of the leases of Indian lands, rendered his opinion that under existing statutes of the United States (twelfth section of the trade and intercourse act of June 30, 1834, 4 Statutes at Large, p. 730, reproduced in section 2116 of the Revised Statutes) the several Indian nations or tribes, regardless of the character of the title by which they hold their lands, whether the same be a fee-simple or a right of occupancy only, are precluded by the force and effect of the statute from either alienating or leasing any part of their several reservations, or imparting any interest or claim in or to the same, without the consent of the Government of the United States, and that a lease of land for grazing purposes is as clearly within the statutes as a lease for any other or for general purposes, the duration of the term being immaterial.

The Attorney-General further holds that in the absence of any treaty or statutory provisions to that effect, neither the President, Secretary of the Interior, nor any other officer of the Government has power to make, authorize, or approve any leases of lands held by Indian tribes; instancing the act of Congress of February 19, 1875 (18 Statutes at Large, p. 330), "authorizing the Seneca Nation of New York Indians to lease lands within the Cattaraugus and Allegany Reservations, and to confirm existing leases," as significant that, in the views of Congress, Indian tribes can not lease their reservations without the authority of some law of the United States.1

Land in severalty.-The following is the text in full of the act which permits certain Indians to possess their land individually:

AN ACT to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians on the various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United States and Territories over the Indians, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases where any tribe or band of Indians has been,

Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs 1885, pp. xviii, xix.

or shall hereafter be, located upon any reservation created for their use, either by treaty stipulation or by virtue of an act of Congress or executive order setting apart the same for their use, the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized, whenever in his opinion any reservation or any part thereof of such Indians is advantageous for agricultural and grazing purposes, to cause said reservation, or any part thereof, to be surveyed, or resurveyed if necessary, and to allot the lands in said reservation in severalty to any Indian located thereon in quantities as follows:

To each head of a family, one-quarter of a section;

To each single person over eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; To each orphan child under eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; and To each other single person under eighteen years now living, or who may be born prior to the date of the order of the President directing an allotment of the land embraced in any reservation, one-sixteenth of a section: Provided, That in case there is not sufficient land in any of said reservations to allot lands to each individual of the classes above named in quantities as above provided, the lands embraced in such reservation or reservations shall be allotted to each individual of each of said classes pro rata in accordance with the provisions of this act: And provided further, That where the treaty or act of Congress setting apart such reservation provides for the allotment of lands in severalty in quantities in excess of those herein provided, the President, in making allotments upon such reservation, shall allot the lands to each individual Indian belonging thereon in quantity as specified in such treaty or act: And provided further, That when the lands allotted are only valuable for grazing purposes, an additional allotment of such grazing lands, in quantities as above provided, shall be made to each individual.

Sec. 2. That all allotments set apart under the provisions of this act shall be selected by the Indians, heads of families selecting for their minor children, and the agents shall select for each orphan child, and in such manner as to embrace the improvements of the Indians making the selection. Where the improvements of two or more Indians have been made on the same legal subdivision of land, unless they shall otherwise agree, a provisional line may be run dividing said lands between them, and the amount to which each is entitled shall be equalized in the assignment of the remainder of the land to which they are entitled under this act: Provided, That if any one entitled to an allotment shall fail to make a selection within four years after the President shall direct that allotments may be made on a particular reservation, the Secretary of the Interior may direct the agent of such tribe or band, if such there be, and if there be no agent, then a special agent appointed for that purpose, to make a selection for such Indian, which selection shall be allotted as in cases where selections are made by the Indians, and patents shall issue in like manner.

Sec. 3. That the allotments provided for in this act shall be made by special agents appointed by the President for such purpose, and the agents in charge of the respective reservations on which the allotments are directed to be made, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may from time to time prescribe, and shall be certified by such agents to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in duplicate, one copy to be retained in the Indian Office and the other to be transmitted to the Secretary of the Interior for his action, and to be deposited in the General Land Office.

Sec. 4. That where any Indian not residing upon a reservation, or for whose tribe no reservation has been provided by treaty, act of Congress, or executive order, shall make settlement upon any surveyed or unsurveyed lands of the United States not otherwise appropriated, he or she shall be entitled, upon application to the local landoffice for the district in which the lands are located, to have the same allotted to him or her, and to his or her children, in quantities and manner as provided in this act for Indians residing upon reservations; and when such settlement is made upon unsurveyed lands, the grant to such Indians shall be adjusted upon the survey of the lands

to as to conform thereto; and patents shall be issued to them for such lands in the manner and with the restrictions as herein provided. And the fees to which the officers of such local land-office would have been entitled had such lands been entered under the general laws for the disposition of the public lands shall be paid to them, from any moneys in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, upon a statement of an account in their behalf for such fees by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and a certification of such account to the Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of the Interior.

Sec. 5. That upon the approval of the allotments provided for in this act by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall cause patents to issue therefor in the name of the allottees, which patents shall be of the legal effect, and declare that the United States does and will hold the land thus allotted, for the period of twenty-five years, in trust for the sole use and benefit of the Indian to whom such allotment shall have been made, or, in case of his decease, of his heirs according to the laws of the State or Territory where such land is located, and that at the expiration of said period the United States will convey the same by patent to said Indian, or his heirs as aforesaid, in fee, discharged of said trust and free of all charge or incumbrance whatsoever: Provided, That the President of the United States may in any case in his discretion extend the period. And if any conveyance shall be made of the lands set apart and allotted as herein provided, or any contract made touching the same, before the expiration of the time above mentioned, such conveyance or contract shall be absolutely null and void: Provided, That the law of descent and partition in force in the State or Terrisory where such lands are situate shall apply thereto after patents therefor have been executed and delivered, except as herein otherwise provided; and the laws of the State of Kansas regulating the descent and partition of real estate shall, so far as praeticable, apply to all lands in the Indian Territory which may be allotted in severalty under the provisions of this act: And provided further, That at any time after lands have been allotted to all the Indians of any tribe as herein provided, or sooner if in the opinion of the President it shall be for the best interests of said tribe, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with such Indian tribe for the purchase and release by said tribe, in conformity with the treaty or statute under which such reservation is held, of such portions of its reservation not allotted as such tribe shall, from time to time, consent to sell, on such terms and conditions as shall be considered just and equitable between the United States and said tribe of Indians, which purchase shall not be complete until ratified by Congress, and the form and manner of executing such release shall also be prescribed by Congress: Provided, however, That all lands adapted to agriculture, with or without irrigation so sold or released to the United States by any Indian tribe shall be held by the United States for the sole purpose of securing homes to actual settlers and shall be disposed of by the United States to actual and bona fide settlers only in tracts not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to any one person, on such terms as Congress shall prescribe, subject to grants which Congress may make in aid of education: And provided further, That no patents shall issue therefor except to the person so taking the same as and for a homestead, or his heirs, and after the expiration of five years occupancy thereof as such homestead; and any conveyance of said lands so taken as a homestead, or any contract touching the same, or lien thereon, created prior to the date of such patent, shall be null and void. And the sums agreed to be paid by the United States as purchase money for any portion of any such reservation shall be held in the Treasury of the United States for the sole use of the tribe or tribes of Indians to whom such reservations belonged, and the same, with interest thereon at three per cent. per annum, shall be at all times subject to appropriation by Congress for the education and civilization of such tribe or tribes of Indians or the members thereof. The patents aforesaid shall be recorded in the General Land Office, and afterward delivered, free of charge, to the allottee entitled thereto. And if any religious society or other organization is now occupying any of the public lands to which this act is applicable, for religious or educational work

among the Indians, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to confirm such occupation to such society or organization, in quantity not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in any one tract, so long as the same shall be so occupied, on such terms as he shall deem just; but nothing herein contained shall change or alter any claim of such society for religions or educational purposes heretofore granted by law. And hereafter in the employment of Indian police, or any other employés in the public service among any of the Indian tribes or bands affected by this act, and where Indians can perform the duties required, those Indians who have availed themselves of the provisions of this act and become citizens of the United States shall be preferred. Sec. 6. That upon the completion of said allotments and the patenting of the lands to said allottees, each and every member of the respective bands or tribes of Indians to whom allotments have been made shall have the benefit of and be subject to the laws, both civil and criminal, of the State or Territory in which they may reside; and no Territory shall pass or enforce any law denying any such Indian within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. And every Indian born within the territorial limits of the United States to whom allotments shall have been made under the provisions of this act, or under any law or treaty, and every Indian born within the territorial limits of the United States who has voluntarily taken up, within said limits, his residence separate and apart from any tribe of Indians therein, and has adopted the habits of civilized life, is hereby declared to be a citizen of the United States, and is entitled to all the rights, privileges, and immunities of such citizens, whether said Indian has been or not, by birth or otherwise, a member of any tribe of Indians within the territorial limits of the United States without in any manner impairing or otherwise affecting the right of any such Indian to tribal or other property. Sec. 7. That in cases where the use of water for irrigation is necessary to render the Jands within any Indian reservation available for agricultural purposes, the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to secure a just and equal distribution thereof among the Indians residing upon any such reservations; and no other appropriation or grant of water by any riparian proprietor shall be authorized or permitted to the damage of any other riparian proprietor.

Sec. 8. That the provision of this act shall not extend to the territory occupied by the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, and Osage, Miamies and Peorias, and Sacs and Foxes, in the Indian Territory, nor to any of the reservations of the Seneca Nation of New York Indians in the State of New York, nor to that strip of territory in the State of Nebraska adjoining the Sioux Nation on the south added by Executive order.

Sec. 9. That for the purpose of making the surveys and resurveys mentioned in section two of this act, there be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, to be repaid proportionately out of the proceeds of the sales of such land as may be acquired from the Indians under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 10. That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to affect the right and power of Congress to grant the right of way through any lands granted to an Indian, or a tribe of Indians, for railroads or other highways, or telegraph lines, for the public use, or to condemn such lands to public uses, upon making just compensation. Sec. 11. That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to prevent the removal of the Southern Ute Indians from their present reservation in southwestern Colorado to a new reservation by and with the consent of a majority of the adult male members of said tribe.

Approved, February 8, 1887.

LEGAL STATUS OF INDIANS.

The act of July 22, 1790, was the first act making provision in reference to "intercourse with the Indians," and therein it is stated that any

offense committed by a citizen against the person or property of peaceable and friendly Indians shall be punishable in the same manner as if the act had been committed against a white inhabitant.'

The act of May 19, 1796, gave to the President the power for the legal apprehension or arresting, within the limits of any State or district, of any Indian guilty of theft, outrage, or murder.2 The act of March 3, 1817,3 provided that a similar provision should not "be so construed as to affect any treaty in force between the United States and any Indian nation, or to extend to any offense committed by one Indian against another within any Indian boundary." During the twenty years be tween the two last acts the idea that the Indian tribes were to be distinct nations with their own forms of government, and power to conduct their social polity, had taken form and been distinctly stated in treaties. The right of the Indians to punish white intruding settlers had also been stipulated in treaties made with the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee, Wyandotte, Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Potawatomie, and Sac Nations, Shawnees and other tribes. In the case of The Cherokee Nation v. The State of Georgia (5 Peters, 1), the court stated :

It may well be doubted whether those tribes, which reside within the acknowledged boundaries of the United States, can with strict accuracy be denominated foreign nations. They may more correctly, perhaps, be denominated domestic dependent nations. They occupy a territory to which we assert a title, independent of their will, which must take effect in point of possession when their right of possession ceases; meanwhile they are in a state of pupilage. Their relations to the United States resemble that of a ward to his guardian. They look to our Government for protection; rely upon its kindness and its power

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This confused relation between dependence and independence, which continues to the present day, has permitted much harm to reach the Indians and retarded their advance towards civilization. The need for recasting the entire legal position of Indians towards the state and towards each other, and of permitting the laws of the land to be fully extended over all the various reservations and tribes, has been from time to time fully set forth by Indian Commissioners, and appeals have been made for adequate legislation. Efforts at such legislation have as yet met with but partial success.

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On March 3, 1885, the following act was passed extending the law over Indians to a limited extent:

That immediately upon and after the date of this act all Indians committing against the person or property of another Indian or other person any of the following crimes,

1 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p. 138. 2 Ibid., p. 472. 3 Ibid., Vol. III, p. 383. The court decided that that part of the act of March 3, 1817, "which assumes to exercise a general jurisdiction over Indian countries within a State, is unconstitutional and of no effect. The crime of murder charged against a white man for killing another white man in the Cherokee country, within the State of Tennessee, can not be punished in the courts of the United States." (United States v. Bailey, 1 McLean's C. Cls. R., 234.) Synopsis of treaties with these tribes. United States Statutes at Large, and

Vol. II, p. 146. 7 Report of Indian Commissioner 1876, p. ix, and 1883, p. x, 1884, p. xiv. United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XXIII, p. 335.

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