§373b Restricted estate or homestead on the public domain

Summary

When an Indian who owned a restricted allotment or homestead on public land dies without a will and without heirs, the land and any rent or income from it go to the United States. Existing farm, surface, and mineral leases and any rights under them stay in place. The land becomes public land, and the Secretary of the Interior may use cash on hand or income from the estate to pay creditors he finds proper to pay. If the Secretary decides the land is in or next to an Indian community and could be used for Indian purposes, the United States will hold it in trust for needy Indians the Secretary names if the estate is $50,000 or less. If the estate is more than $50,000, the United States will hold it in trust for Indians that Congress may name on or after November 24, 1942. All interests in Burns public-domain allotments in Harney County, Oregon, that belonged to Indians who die without a will or heirs must be held in trust by the United States for the Burns Paiute Indian Colony of Oregon and become part of the Burns Paiute Indian Reservation.