§404 — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

Allows allotted Indian land or an inherited share to be sold if the allottee or their heirs ask for it, except for land in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and South Dakota. The Secretary of the Interior sets the rules and terms for any sale. Lands of a minor or of someone the Secretary finds unable to act can be sold if the natural guardian or a person the Secretary names petitions for the sale. If an allotted Indian dies before the trust period ends, the Secretary will find the legal heirs. If the heirs can manage their own affairs, the Secretary must give them a patent in fee simple. If they cannot, the land may be sold as described above. Money from any sale during the trust period must be used for the seller’s benefit under the Commissioner of Indian Affairs’ supervision. After the Secretary approves a sale, a fee patent must be issued to the buyer.

Title 25, §404

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The lands, or any part thereof, allotted to any Indian, or any inherited interest therein, which can be sold under existing law by authority of the Secretary of the Interior, except the lands in Oklahoma and the States of Minnesota and South Dakota, may be sold on the petition of the allottee, or his heirs, on such terms and conditions and under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and the lands of a minor, or of a person deemed incompetent by the Secretary of the Interior to petition for himself, may be sold in the same manner, on the petition of the natural guardian in the case of infants, and in the case of Indians deemed incompetent as aforesaid, and of orphans without a natural guardian, on petition of a person designated for the purpose by the Secretary of the Interior. When any Indian who has received an allotment of land dies before the expiration of the trust period, the Secretary of the Interior shall ascertain the legal heirs of such Indian, and if satisfied of their ability to manage their own affairs shall cause to be issued in their names a patent in fee simple for said lands; but if he finds them incapable of managing their own affairs, the land may be sold as hereinbefore provided: Provided, That the proceeds derived from all sales hereunder shall be used, during the trust period, for the benefit of the allottee, or heir, so disposing of his interest, under the supervision of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: And provided further, That upon the approval of any sale hereunder by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall cause a patent in fee to issue in the name of the purchaser for the lands so sold: And provided further, That nothing in this section shall apply to the States of Minnesota and South Dakota.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Yakima Indian Reservation, WashingtonSpecial provisions for sale of interests of Indian minors in lands of the Yakima Indian reservation, in the State of Washington, whether by direct allotment or by inheritance, were made by act Mar. 27, 1908, ch. 107, 35 Stat. 49.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For

Transfer of Functions

of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

§404 Sale on petition of allottee or heirs

Summary

Title 25, §404

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

Transfer of Functions

Citations & Metadata