33 Stat. L. 1060
AN ACT Making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and six, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and they are hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of paying the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department, and in full compensation for all offices the salaries for which are specially provided for herein, for the service of the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and six, and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes, namely:
Choctaws
For permanent annuity, per second article of treaty of November sixteenth, eighteen hundred and five, and thirteenth article of treaty of June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, three thousand dollars;
For permanent annuity for support of light horsemen, per thirteenth article of treaty of October eighteenth, eighteen hundred and twenty, and thirteenth article of treaty of June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, six hundred dollars;
For permanent annuity for support of blacksmith, per sixth article of treaty of October eighteenth, eighteen hundred and twenty, ninth article of treaty of January twentieth, eighteen hundred and twenty-five, and thirteenth article of treaty of June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, six hundred dollars;
For permanent annuity for education, per second and thirteenth articles of last two treaties named above, six thousand dollars;
For permanent annuity for iron and steel, per ninth article of treaty of January twentieth, eighteen hundred and twenty-five, and thirteenth article of treaty of June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, three hundred and twenty dollars;
For interest on three hundred and ninety thousand two hundred and fifty-seven dollars and ninety-two cents, at five per centum per annum, for education, support of the government, and other beneficial purposes, under the direction of the general council of the Choctaws, in conformity with the provisions contained in the ninth and thirteenth articles of treaty of January twentieth, eighteen hundred and twenty-five, and treaty of June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, nineteen thousand five hundred and twelve dollars and eighty-nine cents; in all, thirty thousand and thirty-two dollars and eighty-nine cents.
Seminoles
For five per centum interest on two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be paid as annuity, per eighth article of treaty of August seventh, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, twelve thousand five hundred dollars;
For five per centum interest on two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be paid as annuity (they having joined their brethren West), per eighth article of treaty of August seventh, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, twelve thousand five hundred dollars;
For interest on fifty thousand dollars, at the rate of five per centum per annum, to be paid annually for the support of schools, as per third article of treaty of March twenty-first, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, two thousand five hundred dollars;
For interest oh twenty thousand dollars, at the rate of five per centum per annum, to be paid annually for the support of the Seminole government, as per same article, same treaty, one thousand dollars ; in all, twenty-eight thousand five hundred dollars.
Miscellaneous
For clerical and incidental expenses of the United States inspector s office, Indian Territory, in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-seven of the Act of June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, entitled “An Act for the protection of the people of the Indian Territory, and for other purposes,” ten thousand dollars.
For pay of confidential clerk in office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, at the rate of one hundred and fifty dollars per month, one thousand eight hundred dollars, to be immediately available.
To pay all expenses incident to completion of the survey, platting, and appraisement of town sites in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee Nations, Indian Territory, under the provisions of an Act of June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and all Acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, ten thousand dollars, the same to be immediately avail able:
Provided, That the several town site commissions in the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee Nations shall, upon the completion of the appraisement of the town lots in their respective nations, be abolished by the Secretary of the Interior at such time as in his judgment it is considered proper; and all unfinished work of such commissions, the sale of town lots at public auctions, disposition of contests, the determination of the rights of claimants, and the closing up of all other minor matters appertaining thereto shall be performed by the Secretary of the Interior under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe:
Provided further, That all unsold lots, the disposition of which is required by public auction, shall be offered for sale and disposed of from time to time by the Secretary of the Interior for the best obtainable price as will in his judgment best subserve the interests of the several tribes ; and the various provisions of law in conflict herewith are modified accordingly.
Removal of intruders, Five Civilized Tribes: For the purpose of removing intruders and placing allottees in unrestricted possession of their allotments, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, fifteen thousand dollars.
For clerical work and labor connected with the sale and leasing of Creek and the leasing of Cherokee lands, fifteen thousand dollars.
For special clerical force in the office of the United States Indian Agent, Union Agency, and miscellaneous expenses in connection with entering of remittances received on account of payments of town lots and issuance of patents, and conveying same, six thousand dollars.
For the completion of the work heretofore required by law to be done by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, and the provisions for investigations herein contained two hundred thousand dollars. Said appropriation to be disbursed under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior:
Provided, That the work of completing the unfinished business, if any, of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes shall devolve upon the Secretary of the Interior, and that all the powers heretofore granted to the said Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes are hereby conferred upon the said Secretary on and after the first of July, nineteen hundred arid five.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to investigate, or cause to be investigated, any lease of allotted land in the Indian Territory which he has reason to believe has been obtained by fraud, or in violation of the terms of existing agreements with any of the Five Civilized Tribes, and he shall in any such case where in his opinion the evidence warrants it refer the matter to the Attorney-General for suit in the proper United States court to cancel the same, and in all cases where it may appear to the court that any lease was obtained by fraud, or in violation of such agreements, judgment shall be rendered canceling the same upon such terms and conditions as equity may prescribe, and it shall be allowable in cases where all parties in interest consent thereto to modify any lease and to continue the same as modified: Provided, No lease made by any administrator, executor, guardian or curator which has been investigated by and has received the approval of the United States court having jurisdiction of the proceeding shall be subject to suit or proceeding by the Secretary of the Interior or Attorney-General: Provided further, No lease made by any administrator, executor, guardian, or curator shall be valid or enforceable without the approval of the court having jurisdiction of the proceeding.
That all restrictions as to the sale, incumbrance, or taxation of the lands heretofore allotted or that may hereafter be allotted to Mrs. Jennie O. Morton, of Ramona, Indian Territory, or to Fred. A. Kerr, of Hereford, Indian Territory, both citizens of the Cherokee Nation, and duly enrolled as such, be, and the same hereby are, removed.
That in the case entitled “In the matter of enrollment of persons claiming rights in the Cherokee Nation by intermarriage against The United States, Departmental, Numbered Seventy-six,” now pending in the Court of Claims, the said court is hereby authorized and empowered to render final judgment in said case, and either party feeling itself aggrieved by said judgment shall have the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States within thirty days from the filing of said judgment in the Court of Claims. And the said Supreme Court of the United States shall advance said case on its calendar for early hearing.
That Delaware-Cherokee citizens who have made improvements, or were in rightful possession of such improvements upon lands in the Cherokee Nation on April twenty-first, nineteen hundred and four to which there is no valid adverse claim, shall have the right within six months from the date of the approval of this Act to dispose of such improvements to other citizens of the Cherokee Nation entitled to select allotments at a valuation to be approved by an official to be designated by the President for that purpose and the amount for which said improvements are disposed of, if sold according to the provisions of this Act, shall be a lien upon the rents and profits of the land until paid, and such lien may be enforced by the vendor in any court of competent jurisdiction:
Provided, That the right of any Delaware-Cherokee citizen to dispose of such improvements shall, before the valuation at which the improvements may be sold, be determined under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.
That the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes is hereby authorized for sixty days after the date of the approval of this Act to receive and consider applications for enrollment of infant children born prior to September twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and two, and who were living on said date, to citizens by blood of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians whose enrollment has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior prior to the date of the approval of this Act ; and to enroll and make allotments to such children.
That the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes is authorized for sixty days after the date of the approval of this Act to receive and consider applications for enrollment of children born subsequent to September twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and two, and prior to March fourth, nineteen hundred and five, and who were living on said latter date, to citizens by blood of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians whose enrollment has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior prior to the date of the approval of this Act ; and to enroll and make allotments to such children.
That the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes is authorized for sixty days after the date of the approval of this Act to receive and consider applications for enrollments of children born subsequent to May twenty-five, nineteen hundred and one, and prior to March fourth, nineteen hundred and five, and living on said latter date, to citizens of the Creek tribe of Indians whose enrollment has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior prior to the date of the approval of this Act ; and to enroll and make allotments to such children.
That the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes is authorized for ninety days after the date of the approval of this Act to receive and consider applications for enrollment of infant children born prior to March fourth, nineteen hundred and five, and living on said latter date, to citizens of the Seminole tribe whose enrollment has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; and to enroll arid make allotments to such children giving to each an equal number of acres of land, and such children shall also share equally with other citizens of the Seminole tribe in the distribution of all other tribal property and funds.
That the sum of three hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated from the trust or invested funds of the Chickasaw tribe now in the Treasury of the United States belonging to said tribe, for the immediate payment of all the outstanding school warrants of said tribe, legally issued for the purpose of maintaining the public schools of said tribe, such payment to be made under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior:
Provided, That any unexpended balance of said three hundred thousand dollars shall be held by the Secretary of the Interior and be by him added to the interests of the Chickasaw tribe in the coal and asphaltum royalty fund, and used for the maintenance of public schools of said tribe during the existence of the tribal government: And provided further, That the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars of the money in the Treasury belonging to the Creek Nation, derived from the sale of lots in town sites, is hereby appropriated and made immediately available for the payment, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, of the outstanding indebtedness of said Nation.
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay, out of any available funds of the Creek Nation of Indians in the Treasury of the United States, to the Turner Hardware Company, of Muscogee, Indian Territory, the sum of one thousand two hundred and forty-nine dollars and five cents, in full payment of accounts for certain school supplies purchased by the superintendents for the use of various Creek boarding schools in the years eighteen hundred and ninety-nine and nineteen hundred, which accounts are approved by the superintendent of schools in Indian Territory.
That the provision in the Indian appropriation bill for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and four, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to sell the residue of the lands of the Creek Nation not taken as allotments is hereby repealed and the provision of the Creek agreement, Article III, approved March one, nineteen hundred and one, is hereby restored and reenacted.
That the Secretary of the Interior shall make an investigation and definitely ascertain what amount of land, if any, belonging to the Creek Nation, has been taken and allotted to the members of the Seminole tribe and arrange payment to the Creek Nation for such land if there be anything due by the Seminole Nation.
That the improvements of Seminole citizens upon Creek lands and the improvements of Creek citizens upon Seminole lands that are unpaid for by said allottees shall be investigated by the Secretary of the Interior and paid for by said nations, respectively.
SEC. 12. That hereafter all appeals and writs of error shall be taken from the United States courts in the Indian Territory to the United States court of appeals in the Indian Territory, and from the United States court of appeals in the Indian Territory to the United States circuit court of appeals for the eighth circuit in the same manner as is now provided for in cases taken by appeal or writ of error from the circuit courts of the United States to the circuit court of appeals of the United States for the eighth circuit.