INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES. Vol. 1, Laws

Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1904.

Chapter 24
Sections 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Margin Notes
Chap. 24	Chippewa Indians of Minnesota.
Chap. 24	Commissioners to negotiate for relinquishment of lands to be appointed.
Chap. 24	Lands excepted.
Chap. 24	Assent of tribes.
Chap. 24	Proviso. Allottees not to be disturbed.
Chap. 24	Census to be taken.
Chap. 24	Assent to extinguish Indian title.
Sec. 2	Bond and oath of commissioners.
Sec. 2	Compensation.
Sec. 2	Interpreter.
Sec. 3	Removal of Indians to White Earth Reservation.
Sec. 3	Allotment of lands on Red Lake Reservation. Ante, p. 33.
Sec. 3	Prior allotments confirmed.
Sec. 3	Proviso. Deductions.
Sec. 3	Allotments on other reservations.
Sec. 4	Survey of ceded lands.
Sec. 4	Subdivision into 40-acre lots.
Sec. 4	“Pine lands.”
Sec. 4	Minimum valuations.
Sec. 4	New appraisals.
Sec. 4	Lists to be filed.
Sec. 4	Pay of examiners.
Sec. 4	“Agricultural lands.”
Sec. 5	Sale of pine lands.
Sec. 5	Advertisement.
Sec. 5	Auction sale
Sec. 5	Private sale.
Sec. 6	Sale of agricultural lands.
Sec. 6	To be sold under homestead law.
Sec. 6	Provisos. Price, etc.
Sec. 6	Prior entries not disturbed.
Sec. 6	Second entries.
Sec. 7	Funds to be deposited to credit of Chippewa.
Sec. 7	Interest.
Sec. 7	Distribution of interest.
Sec. 7	Schools.
Sec. 7	Proviso. Advances from principal.
Sec. 7	Anticipating interest.
Sec. 7	Aids to farming
Sec. 7	Reimbursement.
Sec. 8	Appropriation.
Sec. 8	Statement to be made.

Chapter 24
Jan. 14, 1889. | 25 Stats., 642.

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An act for the relief and civilization of the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota.^a

^aBy the act of February 26, 1896, chapter 32 (post, p. 576), amendments were made relative to the sale of pine lands. By the act of June 10, 1896, chapter 398 (post, p. 597), the number of commissioners was reduced to one.
The work of the commission as above created was terminated by order of the Secretary of the Interior on June 20, 1900. (See Annual Report, 1899, pp. 33 and 137, and 1900, pp. 52 and 264.) The act of June 27, 1902, amended and revived the act, adding many important features. (See post, p. 756.)
By the act of May 29, 1872, chapter 233 (ante, p. 133), the settlement of the Ottertail Pillagers upon lands of the Mississippi band of Chippewa in the White Earth Reservation was effected.
By the same act (17 Stats., 190) the removal of the Fond du Lac, Lac Court Oreilles, and Lac de Flambeau bands to the lands of the La Pointe band was authorized, dependent upon the consent of these bands; but this was refused by the Indians in council.
The act of May 11, 1880, chapter 85 (ante, p. 178), provided for the deposit in the Treasury of semiannual interest to the credit of the L’Anse and Vieux de Serte bands. The disposal of the lands of the Michigan Chippewa, parties to the treaties of 1836 and July 31, 1855, and the entry of land as homesteads by these Indians, is provided by the act of June 10, 1872, chapter 424 (17 Stats., 381), as amended by the acts of March 3, 1875, chapter 188 (ante, p. 158), and May 23, 1876, chapter 105 (ante, p. 161).
By the act of June 7, 1897, chapter 3, section 9 (post, p. 623), a commissioner was appointed to take a census of the Chippewa on the Chippewa and Christian reservation in Kansas, to investigate their titles, sell unallotted land, etc.
The claim of the Fond du Lac band, arising from the failure to allot them on the White Earth Reservation land equal in area to that relinquished by them, was referred to the Court of Claims by the act of June 7, 1897, chapter 4 (post, p. 622).
Railroads through Chippewa reservations have been authorized by the following acts: January 1, 1889, chapter 49 (post, p. 306); July 18, 1894, chapter 140 (post, p. 515), amended by February 23, 1897, chapter 308 (post, p. 618); August 23, 1894, chapter 311 (post, p. 547); August 27, 1894, chapter 342 (post, p. 550), amended by joint resolution February 23, 1897 (post, p. 619); February 24, 1896, chapter 29 (post, p. 571); April 14, 1896, chapter 100 (post, p. 593); April 17, 1900, chapter 193 (post, p. 698).
By the act of April 18, 1874, chapter 111 (ante, p. 150), lands were granted for church and school purposes in the White Earth Reservation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and directed, within sixty days after the passage of this act, to designate and appoint three commissioners, one of whom shall be a citizen of Minnesota, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable after their appointment, to negotiate with all the

different bands or tribes of Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota for the complete cession and relinquishment in writing of all their title and interest in and to all the reservations of said Indians in the State of Minnesota, except the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations, and to all and so much of these two reservations as in the judgment of said commission is not required to make and fill the allotments required by this and existing acts, and shall not have been reserved by the Commissioners for said purposes, for the purposes and upon the terms hereinafter stated; and such cession and relinquishment shall be deemed sufficient as to each of said several reservations, except as to the Red Lake Reservation, if made and assented to in writing by two-thirds of the male adults over eighteen years of age of the band or tribe of Indians occupying and belonging to such reservations; and as to the Red Lake Reservation the cession and relinquishment shall be deemed sufficient if made and assented to in like manner by two-thirds of the male adults of all the Chippewa Indians in Minnesota; and provided that all agreements therefor shall be approved by the President of the United States before taking effect: Provided further, That in any case where an alloment in severalty has heretofore been made to any Indian of land upon any of said reservations, he shall not be deprived thereof or disturbed therein except by his own individual consent separately and previously given, in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. And for the purpose of ascertaining whether the proper number of Indians yield and give their assent as aforesaid, and for the purpose of making the allotments and payments hereinafter mentioned, the said commissioners shall, while engaged in securing such cession and relinquishment as aforesaid and before completing the same, make an accurate census of each tribe or band, classifying them into male and female adults, and male and female minors; and the minors into those who are orphans and those who are not orphans, giving the exact numbers of each class, and making such census in duplicate lists, one of which shall be filed with the Secretary of the Interior, and the other with the official head of the band or tribe; and the acceptance and approval of such cession and relinquishment by the President of the United States shall, be deemed full and ample proof of the assent of the Indians, and shall operate as a complete extinguishment of the Indian title without any other or further act or ceremony whatsoever for the purposes and upon the terms in this act provided.

That as soon as the census has been taken, and the cession and relinquishment has been obtained, approved, and ratified, as specified in section one of this act, all of said Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota, except those on the Red Lake Reservation, shall, under the direction of said commissioners, be removed to and take up their residence on the White Earth Reservation, and thereupon there shall, as soon as practicable, under the direction of said commissioners, be allotted lands in severalty to the Red Lake Indians on Red Lake Reservation, and to all the other of said Indians on White Earth Reservation, in conformity with the act of February eighth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, entitled “An act for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians on the various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United States and the Territories over the Indians, and for other purposes”; and all allotments heretofore made to any of said Indians on the White Earth Reservation are hereby ratified and confirmed with the like tenure and condition prescribed for all allotments under this act: Provided, however, That the amount heretofore allotted to any Indian on White Earth Reservation shall be deducted from the amount of allotment to which he or she is entitled under this act: Provided further, That any of the Indians residing on any of said reservations may, in his discretion, take his allotment in severalty under this act on the reservation where he lives at the time of the removal herein provided for is effected, instead of being removed to and taking such allotment on White Earth Reservation.

That as soon as the cesssion and relinquishment of said Indian title has been obtained and approved as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Commissioners of the General Land Office to cause the lands so ceded to the United States to be surveyed in the manner provided by law for the survey of public lands, and as soon as practicable after such survey has been made, and the report, field-notes, and plats thereof filed in the General Land Office, and duly approved by the Commissioner thereof, the said Secretary of the Interior, upon notice of the completion of such surveys, shall appoint a sufficient number of competent and experienced examiners, in order that the work may be done within a reasonable time, who shall go upon said lands thus surveyed and personally made a careful, complete, and thorough examination of the same by forty-acre lots, for the purpose of ascertaining on which lots or tracts there is standing or growing pine timber, which tracts on which pine timber is standing or growing for the purposes of this act shall be termed “pine lands,” the minutes of such examination to be at the time entered in books provided for that purpose, showing with particularity the amount and quality of all pine timber standing or growing on any lot or tract, the amount of such pine timber to be estimated by feet in the manner usual in estimating such timber, which

estimates and reports of all such examinations shall be filed with the Commissioner of the General Land Office as a part of the permanent records thereof, and thereupon that officer shall cause to be made a list of all such pine lands, describing each forty-acre lot or tract thereof separately, and opposite each such description he shall place the actual cash value of the same, according to his best judgment and information, but such valuation shall not be at a rate of less than three dollars per thousand feet, board measure of the pine timber thereon, and thereupon such lists of lands so appraised shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Interior for approval, modification, or rejection, as he may deem proper. If the appraisals are rejected as a whole then the Secretary of the Interior shall substitute a new appraisal and the same or original list as approved or modified shall be filed with the Commissioner of the General Land Office as the appraisal of said lands, and as constituting the minimum price for which said lands may be sold, as hereinafter provided, but in no event shall said pine lands be appraised at a rate of less than three dollars per thousand feet board measure of the pine timber thereon. Duplicate lists of said lands as appraised, together with copies of the field-notes, surveys, and minutes of examinations shall be filed and kept in the office of the register of the land office of the district within which said lands may be situated, and copies of said lists with the appraisals shall be furnished to any person desiring the same upon application to the Commissioner of the General Land Office or to the register of said local land office.

The compensation of the examiners so provided for in this section shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, but in no event shall exceed the sum of six dollars per day for each person so employed, including all expenses.

All other lands acquired from the said Indians on said reservations other than pine lands are for the purposes of this act termed “agricultural lands.”

That after the survey, examination, and appraisals of said pine lands has been fully completed they shall be proclaimed as in market and offered for sale in the following manner: The Commissioner of the General Land Office shall cause notices to be inserted once in each week for four successive weeks in one newspaper of general circulation published in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Duluth, and Crookston, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Philadelphia and Wiliamsport. Pennsylvania; and Boston, Massachusetts, of the sale of said lands at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the local land office of the district within which said lands are located, said notice to state the time and place and terms of such sale. At such sale said lands shall be offered in forty-acre parcels, except in case of fractions containing either more or less than forty acres, which shall be sold entire. In no event shall any parcel be sold for a less sum than its appraised value. The residue of such lands remaining unsold after such public offering shall thereafter be subject to private sale for cash at the appraised value of the same upon application at the local land office.

That when any of the agricultural lands on said reservation not allotted under this act nor reserved for the future use of said Indians have been surveyed, the Secretary of the Interior shall give thirty days’ notice through at least one newspaper published at Saint Paul and Crookston, in the State of Minnesota, and, at the expiration of thirty days, the said agricultural lands so surveyed, shall be disposed of by the United States to actual settlers only under the provisions of the homestead law: Provided, That each settler under and in accordance with the provisions of said homestead laws shall pay to the United States for the land so taken by him the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents for each and every acre, in five equal annual pay–

ments, and shall be entitled to a patent therefor only at the expiration of five years from the date of entry, according to said homestead laws, and after the full payment of said one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre therefor, and due proof of occupancy for said period of five years; and any conveyance of said lands so taken as a homestead, or any contract touching the same, prior to the date of final entry, shall be null and void: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be held to authorize the sale or other disposal under its provision of any tract upon which there is a subsisting, valid, pre-emption or homestead entry, but any such entry shall be proceeded with under the regulations and decisions in force at the date of its allowance, and if found regular and valid, patents shall issue thereon: Provided, That any person who has not heretofore had the benefit of the homestead or pre-emption law, and who has failed from any cause to perfect the title to a tract of land heretofore entered by him under either of said laws may make a second homestead entry under the provisions of this act.

That all money accruing from the disposal of said lands in conformity with the provisions of this act shall, after deducting all the expenses of making the census, of obtaining the cession and relinquishment, of making the removal and allotments, and of completing the surveys and appraisals, in this act provided, be placed in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of all the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota as a permanent fund, which shall draw interest at the rate of five per centum per annum, payable annually for the period of fifty years, after the allotments provided for in this act have been made, and which interest and permanent fund shall be expended for the benefit of said Indians in manner following: One-half of said interest shall, during the said period of fifty years, except in the cases hereinafter otherwise provided, be annually paid in cash in equal shares to the heads of families and guardians of orphan minors for their use; and one-fourth of said interest shall, during the same period and with the like exception, be annually paid in cash in equal shares per capita to all other classes of said Indians; and the remaining one-fourth of said interest shall, during the said period of fifty years, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, be devoted exclusively to the establishment and maintenance of a system of free schools among said Indians, in their midst and for their benefit; and at the expiration of the said fifty years, the said permanent fund shall be divided and paid to all of said Chippewa Indians and their issue then living, in cash, in equal shares: Provided, That Congress may, in its discretion, from time to time, during the said period of fifty years, appropriate, for the purpose of promoting civilization and self-support among the said Indians, a portion of said principal sum, not exceeding five per centum thereof. The United States shall, for the benefit of said Indians, advance to them as such interest as aforesaid the sum of ninety thousand dollars annually, counting from the time when the removal and allotments provided for in this act shall have been made, until such time as said permanent fund, exclusive of the deductions hereinbefore provided for, shall equal or exceed the sum of three million dollars, less any actual interest that may in the meantime accrue from accumulations of said permanent fund; the payments of such interest to be made yearly in advance, and, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, may, as to three-fourths thereof, during the first five years be expended in procuring live-stock, teams, farming implements, and seed for such of the Indians to the extent of their shares as are fit and desire to engage in farming, but as to the rest, in cash; and whenever said permanent fund shall exceed the sum of three million dollars the United States shall be fully reimbursed out of such excess, for all the advances of interest made as herein contemplated and other expenses hereunder.

That the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars is hereby appropriated, or so much thereof as may be necessary, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay for procuring the cession and relinquishment, making the census, surveys, appraisals, removal and allotments, and the first annual payment of interest herein contemplated and provided for, which money shall be expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior in conformity with the provisions of this Act. A detailed statement of which expenses, except the interest aforesaid, shall be reported to Congress when the expenditures shall be completed.