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Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102

§229 Injuries to Property by Indians

Title 25 › CHAPTER 6 — GOVERNMENT OF INDIAN COUNTRY AND RESERVATIONS › SUBCHAPTER I — GENERALLY › § 229

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

If an Indian from a tribe at peace with the United States steals or destroys someone's property inside Indian country, or goes into a State or Territory and does so there, the injured person or their representative can ask the proper Indian superintendent or agent for help. The agent will gather proof and, under the President's direction, ask the tribe to pay or make things right. If the tribe refuses or does not act within a reasonable time, not more than 12 months, the agent must report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs so the President can decide what to do next.

Full Legal Text

Title 25, §229

Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

If any Indian, belonging to any tribe in amity with the United States, shall, within the Indian country, take or destroy the property of any person lawfully within such country, or shall pass from Indian country into any State or Territory inhabited by citizens of the United States, and there take, steal, or destroy, any horse, or other property belonging to any citizen or inhabitant of the United States, such citizen or inhabitant, his representative, attorney, or agent, may make application to the proper superintendent, agent, or subagent, who, upon being furnished with the necessary documents and proofs, shall, under the direction of the President, make application to the nation or tribe to which such Indian shall belong, for satisfaction; and if such nation or tribe shall neglect or refuse to make satisfaction, in a reasonable time not exceeding twelve months, such superintendent, agent, or subagent shall make return of his doings to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, that such further steps may be taken as shall be proper, in the opinion of the President, to obtain satisfaction for the injury.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification R.S. § 2156 derived from acts June 30, 1834, ch. 161, § 17, 4 Stat. 731; Feb. 28, 1859, ch. 66, § 8, 11 Stat. 401.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Indian AgentsThe services of Indian agents have been dispensed with. See note set out under section 64 of this title.

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. § 229

Title 25, Indians

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102