Title 25 — IndiansRelease 119-73
§117a Per capita distribution of funds to tribe members
Title 25 › Chapter CHAPTER 4— - PERFORMANCE BY UNITED STATES OF OBLIGATIONS TO INDIANS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - DISBURSEMENT OF MONEYS AND SUPPLIES › § 117a
Summary
Tribal trust funds held by the Secretary for per-person payments can be paid by the Secretary or, if the tribe asks and the Secretary approves, by the tribe. Payments must go to each member or, for minors or people legally unable to manage money, to a parent, guardian, or a trust the tribe picks.
Full Legal Text
Title 25, §117a
Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Funds which are held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”) for an Indian tribe and which are to be distributed per capita to members of that tribe may be so distributed by either the Secretary or, at the request of the governing body of the tribe and subject to the approval of the Secretary, the tribe. Any funds so distributed shall be paid by the Secretary or the tribe directly to the members involved or, if such members are minors or have been legally determined not competent to handle their own affairs, to a parent or guardian of such members or to a trust fund for such minors or legal incompetents as determined by the governing body of the tribe.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title
Pub. L. 98–64, Aug. 2, 1983, 97 Stat. 365, which enacted sections 117a to 117c and repealed section 117 of this title and repealed section 19 (per capita payments provisions) of act June 28, 1898, ch. 517, 30 Stat. 502, is popularly known as the “Per Capita Act”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 117a
Title 25 — Indians
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73