§373b Restricted Estate or Homestead on the Public Domain

Summary

When an Indian dies without a will and without heirs and owned a restricted allotment or homestead on public land (or an interest in one), the land and any rent or income from it go to the United States. Any valid existing farm, surface, or mineral leases and the rights under them stay in effect. The Secretary of the Interior may pay creditors from the estate’s cash or income if the Secretary decides those claims should be paid. If the Secretary finds the land is in or next to an Indian community and could be used for Indian purposes, the United States will hold it in trust for needy Indians the Secretary names when the estate’s value is $50,000 or less. If the estate is worth more than $50,000, the United States will hold it in trust for Indians whom Congress may designate on and after November 24, 1942. All Burns public domain allotments in Harney County, Oregon, from Indians who die without a will or heirs will be held in trust for the Burns Paiute Indian Colony of Oregon and made part of the Burns Paiute Indian Reservation.