§8 Untitled Section

Summary

Pays people for the loss of an allotment or an interest in land by giving them the land’s fair market value on the date it was lost (for example by tax forfeiture, sale, allotment, mortgage, or another transfer), minus any money they already got, plus interest. Interest is compounded yearly at 5% from the date of loss until March 24, 1986, and after that it uses the general interest rate earned by Department of the Interior funds. Proof of any money already received must be shown by public records or clear convincing evidence. No offset is allowed when the sale or mortgage was done by a full- or mixed-blood person under 18, or when there is initial evidence of fraud. No compensation is paid for certain transfers received through Minnesota probate if the Secretary finds the person was not entitled to inherit. The Secretary of the Interior will set standard fair market values for land by type and year unless a claimant shows a different value. The Secretary must send written notice of the amount, the reasons, the time limit to go to court, and how payments will be made. Court review under the Administrative Procedure Act must be started within 180 days in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota; after 180 days the decision is final. Final amounts are certified to the Treasury and placed in a separate interest-bearing White Earth Settlement Fund. The Interior will try to find each payee, but if a person cannot be found within two years after the decision is final, the money is forfeited and is sent annually to the White Earth Band fund under section 12.