Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102
§379 Sale of Allotted Lands by Heirs
Title 25 › CHAPTER 10 — DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION; HEIRS OF ALLOTTEE › § 379
Summary
Adult heirs of a deceased Indian who received restricted allotment land may sell the land they inherit. If the heirs are minors, a court-appointed guardian must petition and get a court order to sell. Sales must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior; once approved the buyer gets full title and the land becomes subject to State or Territorial taxes. The homestead cannot be sold while a parent is alive or any child is a minor.
Full Legal Text
Title 25, §379
Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The adult heirs of any deceased Indian to whom a trust or other patent containing restrictions upon alienation has been or shall be issued for lands allotted to him may sell and convey the lands inherited from such decedent, but in case of minor heirs their interests shall be sold only by a guardian duly appointed by the proper court upon the order of such court, made upon petition filed by the guardian, but all such conveyances shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and when so approved shall convey a full title to the purchaser, the same as if a final patent without restriction upon the alienation had been issued to the allottee. All allotted land so alienated by the heirs of an Indian allottee and all land so patented to a white allottee shall thereupon be subject to taxation under the laws of the State or Territory where the same is situate: Provided, That the sale herein provided for shall not apply to the homestead during the life of the father, mother or the minority of any child or children.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 379
Title 25, Indians
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102