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Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102

§161 Deposit in Treasury of Trust Funds

Title 25 › CHAPTER 4 — PERFORMANCE BY UNITED STATES OF OBLIGATIONS TO INDIANS › SUBCHAPTER III — DEPOSIT, CARE, AND INVESTMENT OF INDIAN MONEYS › § 161

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior can put into the U.S. Treasury any money he held on April 1, 1880, or later gets as trustee for Indian tribes—money from redeeming U.S. bonds or other securities, from selling tribal lands, or from selling temporary investments—when he thinks that is better than other investments. The United States will pay interest twice a year from the deposit date at the rate set by treaties or law, and will make those payments as they come due without more Congressional approval.

Full Legal Text

Title 25, §161

Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to deposit, in the Treasury of the United States, any and all sums held by him on April 1, 1880, or which may be received by him, as Secretary of the Interior and trustee of various Indian tribes, on account of the redemption of United States bonds, or other stocks and securities belonging to the Indian trust fund, and all sums received on account of sales of Indian trust lands, and the sales of stocks lately purchased for temporary investment, whenever he is of the opinion that the best interests of the Indians will be promoted by such deposits, in lieu of investments; and the United States shall pay interest semiannually, from the date of deposit of any and all such sums in the United States Treasury, at the rate per annum stipulated by treaties or prescribed by law, and such payments shall be made in the usual manner, as each may become due, without further appropriation by Congress.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Appropriations section 2 of act
June 26, 1934, ch. 756, 48 Stat. 1225, which was classified to section 725a of former Title 31, Money and Finance, repealed the permanent appropriation provided for in the last clause of this section under the title “Interest on Indian trust funds” effective
July 1, 1935, and provided that such portions of any Acts as make permanent appropriations to be expended under such account are amended so as to authorize, in lieu thereof, annual appropriations from the general fund of the Treasury in identical terms and in such amounts as now provided by the laws providing such permanent appropriations.

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

25 U.S.C. § 161

Title 25, Indians

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102