Title 43 — Public LandsRelease 119-73
§868 Representation of Indian claimants in suits to determine right to school lands
Title 43 › Chapter CHAPTER 20— - RESERVATIONS AND GRANTS TO STATES FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES › § 868
Summary
When a State asks the Supreme Court to decide who owns school lands inside an Indian reservation or in land the Indians ceded, the court can rule on the State’s right without naming the tribe if the Secretary of the Interior joins the case. If the Secretary asks, the Attorney General must represent and defend the tribe’s claimed interest.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §868
Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In any suit instituted in the Supreme Court of the United States to determine the right of a State to what are commonly known as school lands within any Indian Reservation or any Indian cession where an Indian tribe claims any right to or interest in the lands in controversy, or in the disposition thereof by the United States, the right of such State may be fully tested and determined without making the Indian tribe, or any portion thereof, a party to the suit if the Secretary of the Interior is made a party thereto; and the duty of representing and defending the right or interest of the Indian tribe, or any portion thereof, in the matter shall devolve upon the Attorney General upon the request of such Secretary.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 868
Title 43 — Public Lands
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73