§406 — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

Owners of Indian land held in trust or with restrictions can sell the timber there, but only with the Interior Secretary’s permission. Money from the sale, after allowed administrative costs under section 413, goes to the owners or is used for their benefit under the Secretary’s rules. Such deductions are allowed unless they would break a treaty or count as taking property without just payment under the Fifth Amendment. Sales must be done for the owner’s and heirs’ best interests. The Secretary must think about the timber’s growth and the need to keep the land productive, the best use of the land (including other possible uses), and the current and future financial needs of the owner and heirs. If owners holding a majority of the Indian interest ask, the Secretary can sell all undivided Indian trust or restricted interests in part of the timber. An owner of an undivided unrestricted interest can ask to join that sale, and the Secretary can handle the contract, collect and pay out money, and take the same administrative deductions for both restricted and unrestricted shares. The Secretary can stand in for owners who are minors, ruled mentally incompetent, whose share in a deceased person’s estate is not yet decided, or who cannot be found after a careful search and published notice. The Secretary can also sell timber without the owners’ consent when it is needed to avoid loss from fire, insects, disease, windthrow, or other natural disasters. If a timber interest becomes unrestricted after a sale, that change does not relieve the Secretary of any contract duties already in effect.

Title 25, §406

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The timber on any Indian land held under a trust or other patent containing restrictions on alienations may be sold by the owner or owners with the consent of the Secretary of the Interior, and the proceeds from such sales, after deductions for administrative expenses to the extent permissible under section 413 of this title, shall be paid to the owner or owners or disposed of for their benefit under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. It is the intention of Congress that a deduction for administrative expenses may be made in any case unless the deduction would violate a treaty obligation or amount to a taking of private property for public use without just compensation in violation of the fifth amendment to the Constitution. Sales of timber under this subsection shall be based upon a consideration of the needs and best interests of the Indian owner and his heirs. The Secretary shall take into consideration, among other things, (1) the state of growth of the timber and the need for maintaining the productive capacity of the land for the benefit of the owner and his heirs, (2) the highest and best use of the land, including the advisability and practicality of devoting it to other uses for the benefit of the owner and his heirs, and (3) the present and future financial needs of the owner and his heirs.

(b)Upon the request of the owners of a majority Indian interest in land in which any undivided interest is held under a trust or other patent containing restrictions on alienations, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to sell all undivided Indian trust or restricted interests in any part of the timber on such land.

(c)Upon the request of the owner of an undivided but unrestricted interest in land in which there are trust or restricted Indian interests, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to include such unrestricted interest in a sale of the trust or restricted Indian interests in timber sold pursuant to this section, and to perform any functions required of him by the contract of sale for both the restricted and the unrestricted interests, including the collection and disbursement of payments for timber and the deduction from such payments of sums in lieu of administrative expenses.

(d)For the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to represent any Indian owner (1) who is a minor, (2) who has been adjudicated non compos mentis, (3) whose ownership interest in a decedent’s estate has not been determined, or (4) who cannot be located by the Secretary after a reasonable and diligent search and the giving of notice by publication.

(e)The timber on any Indian land held under a trust or other patent containing restrictions on alienations may be sold by the Secretary of the Interior without the consent of the owners when in his judgment such action is necessary to prevent loss of values resulting from fire, insects, disease, windthrow, or other natural catastrophes.

(f)A change from a trust or restricted status to an unrestricted status of any interest in timber that has been sold pursuant to this section shall not affect the obligations of the Secretary of the Interior under any contract of sale that is in effect at the time such change in status occurs.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is act

June 25, 1910, ch. 431, 36 Stat. 855, which enacted section 47, 93, 151, 202, 337, 344a, 351, 352, 353, 372, 403, 406, 407, and 408 of this title, section 6a–1 of former Title 41, Public Contracts, and section 148 of Title 43, Public Lands, and amended section 191, 312, 331, 333, and 336 of this title and section 104 and 107 of former Title 18, Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure. section 104 and 107 of former Title 18 were repealed and restated as section 1853 and 1856 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, by act

June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 683. section 6a–1 of former Title 41 was repealed and restated as section 6102(e) of Title 41, Public Contracts, by Pub. L. 111–350, §§ 3, 7(b), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3677, 3855. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Amendments

1964—Pub. L. 88–301 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted “land” for “allotment”, “owner or owners” for “allottee” in two places, and “their benefit” for “his benefit”, and provided for deductions for administrative expenses from proceeds of sales without violation of treaty obligations or Constitutional compensation provision, for consideration of needs and best interests of owners and heirs, and for standards guiding sales, and added subsecs. (b) to (f).

§406 Sale of Timber on Lands Held Under Trust