Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102
§82a Contracts for Payment of Money Permitted Certain Tribes; Payment for Legal Services
Title 25 › CHAPTER 3 — AGREEMENTS WITH INDIANS › SUBCHAPTER II — CONTRACTS WITH INDIANS › § 82a
Summary
Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole can sign contracts that spend tribal money or use tribal property, including hiring lawyers, but only with approval and rules from the Secretary of the Interior; this does not allow hiring lawyers to sue the United States.
Full Legal Text
Title 25, §82a
Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Contracts involving the payment or expenditure of any money or affecting any property belonging to the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, or Seminole Tribes of Indians, including contracts for professional legal services, may be made by said tribes, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, or his authorized representative, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to contracts for professional legal services involving the prosecution of claims against the United States.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Contracts Involving Choctaw and Chickasaw TribesAct
July 3, 1952, ch. 549, § 2, 66 Stat. 323, provided: “That the second proviso in section 28 of the Act of
April 26, 1906, ch. 1876 (34 Stat. 148) [not classified to the Code], and the provisions contained in the fifth paragraph of section 17 of the Act of
March 3, 1911, ch. 210 (36 Stat. 1070) [not classified to the Code], dealing with contracts made by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Tribes of Indians for professional legal services of attorneys, are hereby repealed.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 82a
Title 25, Indians
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102