§349 — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

When the trust period ends and an Indian is given full ownership of their allotted land by patent, that person must follow the civil and criminal laws of the State or Territory where they live. No Territory may make or enforce a law that denies them the same legal protections as others. The Secretary of the Interior can, when he thinks an allottee can manage their own affairs, issue a full ownership patent at any time. After that, limits on selling, mortgaging, or taxing the land are removed, and the land cannot be used to pay debts made before the patent. Until full ownership patents are issued, allottees with trust patents remain under United States authority. These rules do not apply to Indians in the former Indian Territory.

Title 25, §349

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

At the expiration of the trust period and when the lands have been conveyed to the Indians by patent in fee, as provided in section 348 of this title, then each and every allottee 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: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, and he is authorized, whenever he shall be satisfied that any Indian allottee is competent and capable of managing his or her affairs at any time to cause to be issued to such allottee a patent in fee simple, and thereafter all restrictions as to sale, incumbrance, or taxation of said land shall be removed and said land shall not be liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the issuing of such patent: Provided further, That until the issuance of fee-simple patents all allottees to whom trust patents shall be issued shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States: And provided further, That the provisions of this Act shall not extend to any Indians in the former Indian Territory.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in text, is act Feb. 8, 1887, ch. 119, 24 Stat. 388, and is popularly known as the Indian General Allotment Act. For classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 331 of this title and Tables. Codification Provisions relating to the grant of citizenship to certain Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States were omitted in view of act June 2, 1924, ch. 233, 43 Stat. 253, which granted citizenship to all non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States. See section 1401 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality.

§349 Patents in fee to allottees