INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES. Vol. 3, Laws

Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1913.

Chapter 3572
Sections 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Margin Notes
Chap. 3572	Osage Indians, Okla. Division of tribal land, etc.
Chap. 3572	Tribal roll. 34 Stat., 540.
Chap. 3572	Proviso. Fraudulent enrollment.
Chap. 3572	Restriction.
Chap. 3572	Revision of roll.
Chap. 3572	Decision of Secretary final. 28 Stat., 305, vol. 1, 520.
Sec. 2	Division of lands.
Sec. 2	First selection.
Sec. 2	Filing notice. Time limit.
Sec. 2	Provisos. Ratification.
Sec. 2	Failure to select.
Sec. 2	First selections for minors.
Sec. 2	Parents may select. 34 Stat., 541.
Sec. 2	Time of selection.
Sec. 2	Prior rights protected.
Sec. 2	Proviso. Disposal of improvements.
Sec. 2	Second selection.
Sec. 2	Third selection.
Sec. 2	Proviso. Surveys.
Sec. 2	Homesteads inalienable, etc.
Sec. 2	Surplus lands.
Sec. 2	Disposal of remaining lands.
Sec. 2	Commission.
Sec. 2	Duties.
Sec. 2	Expenses. 34 Stat., 542.
Sec. 2	Authority to sell selected lands.
Sec. 2	Homesteads excepted.
Sec. 2	Provisos. Taxation, etc. Post, p. 518.
Sec. 2	Sale of oil, etc., lands prohibited.
Sec. 2	Individual ownership after 25 years. post, p. 519.
Sec. 2	Sisters of Saint Francis. Land donated to.
Sec. 2	Lands reserved near Gray Horse.
Sec. 2	Lands reserved for dwelling purposes.
Sec. 2	Proviso. Sale of reserved lands.
Sec. 2	Osage Boarding School reserve, etc. Sale of. 34 Stat., 543.
Sec. 2	Proceeds.
Sec. 2	Sale of Government buildings, etc.
Sec. 2	Erection of new buildings.
Sec. 2	Proviso. Buildings reserved from sale.
Sec. 2	Cemetery reserve donated to Pawhuska.
Sec. 2	Reversion.
Sec. 2	Osage town-site commission. Present law not affected. 33 Stat., pp. 1061, 1062. Ante, p. 137.
Sec. 3	Oil and mineral lands. Leases.
Sec. 3	Provisos. Royalties.
Sec. 3	Prospecting restricted.
Sec. 3	Existing contracts, etc., not affected. 34 Stat., 544.
Sec. 4	Trust fund.
Sec. 4	Segregation of funds.
Sec. 4	Pro rata division.
Sec. 4	Interest payments.
Sec. 4	Misuse of interest money of minors.
Sec. 4	Payments to guardians.
Sec. 4	Deposit of funds to credit of Indians.
Sec. 4	Distribution of.
Sec. 4	Royalties reserved for school purposes.
Sec. 4	For agency purposes. Amended, post, p. 520.
Sec. 5	Termination of trust fund. 34 Stat., 545.
Sec. 6	Right of inheritance.
Sec. 6	Exception.
Sec. 7	Leases for farming purposes.
Sec. 7	Provisos. Parents to control minors’ lands.
Sec. 7	Approval of leases.
Sec. 8	Deeds.
Sec. 9	Tribal officers. Elections, etc.
Sec. 10	Public highways.
Sec. 11	Lands for railroad purposes. 32 Stat., 47, vol. 1, 114.
Sec. 11	Proviso. Restriction.
Sec. 12	Enforcement.

Chapter 3572
June 28, 1906. [H. R. 15333.] | [Public, No. 321.] 34 Stat., 539.

Page Images

An act for the division of the lands and funds of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma Territory, 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 roll of the Osage tribe of Indians, as shown by the records of the United States in the office of the United States Indian agent at the Osage Agency, Oklahoma Territory, as it existed on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and six, and all children born between January first, nineteen hundred and six, and July first, nineteen hundred and seven, to persons whose names are on said roll on January first, nineteen hundred and six, and all children whose names are not now on said roll, but who were born to members of the tribe whose names were on the said roll on January first, nineteen hundred and six, including the children of members of the tribe who have, or have had, white hus–

bands, is hereby declared to be the roll of said tribe and to constitute the legal membership thereof: Provided, That the principal chief of the Osages shall, within three months from and after the approval of this act, file with the Secretary of the Interior a list of the names which the tribe claims were placed upon the roll by fraud, but no name shall be included in said list of any person or his descendants that was placed on said roll prior to the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, the date of the adoption of the Osage constitution, and the Secretary of the Interior, as early as practicable, shall carefully investigate such cases and shall determine which of said persons, if any, are entitled to enrollment; but the tribe must affirmatively show what names have been placed upon said roll by fraud; but where the rights of persons to enrollment to the Osage roll have been investigated by the Interior Department and it has been determined by the Secretary of the Interior that such persons were entitled to enrollment, their names shall not be stricken from the roll for fraud except upon newly discovered evidence; and the Secretary of the Interior shall have authority to place on the Osage roll the names of all persons found by him, after investigation, to be so entitled, whose applications were pending on the date of the approval of this act; and the said Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to strike from the said roll the names of persons or their descendants which he finds were placed thereon by or through fraud, and the said roll as above provided, after the revision and approval of the Secretary of the Interior, as herein provided, shall constitute the approved roll of said tribe; and the action of the Secretary of the Interior in the revision of the roll as herein provided shall be final, and the provisions of the act of Congress of August fifteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, Twenty-eighth Statutes at Large, page three hundred and five, granting persons of Indian blood who have been denied allotments the right to appeal to the courts, are hereby repealed as far as the same relate to the Osage Indians; and the tribal lands and tribal funds of said tribe shall be equally divided among the members of said tribe as hereinafter provided.

First. Each member of said tribe, as shown by the roll of membership made up as herein provided, shall be permitted to select one hundred and sixty acres of land as a first selection; and the adult members shall select their first selections and file notice of the same with the United States Indian agent for the Osages within three months after the approval of this act: Provided, That all selections of lands heretofore made by any member of said tribe, against which no contest is pending, be, and the same are hereby, ratified and confirmed as one of the selections of such member. And if any adult member fails, refuses, or is unable to make such selection within said time, then it shall be the duty of the United States Indian agent for the Osages to make such selection for such member or members, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. That all said first selections for minors shall be made by the United States Indian agent for the Osages, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That said first selections for minors having parents may be made by said parents, and the word “minor” or “minors” used on this act shall be held to mean those who are under twenty-one years of age: And provided further, That all children born to members of said tribe between January first, nineteen hundred and six, and the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, shall have their selections made for them within six months after approval of this act, or within six months

after their respective births. That all children born to members of said tribe on and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, and before the first day of July, nineteen hundred and seven, shall have their selections made for them on or before the last day of July, nineteen hundred and seven, the proof of birth of such children to be made to the United States Indian agent for the Osages.

Second. That in making his or her first selection of land, as herein provided for, a member shall not be permitted to select land already selected by, or in possession of, another member of said tribe as a first selection, unless such other member is in possession of more land than he and his family are entitled to for first selections under this act; and in such cases the member in possession and having houses, orchards, barns, or plowed land thereon shall have the prior right to make the first selection: Provided, That where members of the tribe are in possession of more land than they are entitled to for first selections herein, said members shall have sixty days after the approval of this act to dispose of the improvements on said lands to other members of the tribe.

Third. After each member has selected his or her first selection as herein provided, he or she shall be permitted to make a second selection of one hundred and sixty acres of land in the manner herein provided for the first selection.

Fourth. After each member has selected his or her second selection of one hundred and sixty acres of land as herein provided, he or she shall be permitted to make a third selection of one hundred and sixty acres of land in the manner herein provided for the first and second selections: Provided, That all selections herein provided for shall conform to the existing public surveys in tracts of not less than forty acres, or a legal subdivision of a less amount, designated a “lot.” Each member of said tribe shall be permitted to designate which of his three selections shall be a homestead, and his certificate of allotment and deed shall designate the same as a homestead, and the same shall be inalienable and nontaxable until otherwise provided by act of Congress.¹ The other two selections of each member, together with his share of the remaining lands allotted to the member, shall be known as surplus land, and shall be inalienable for twenty-five years, except as hereinafter provided.²

¹ U. S. v. Board of County Commissioners and John A. Hunter, Treas. v. Sallie Hooper, 193 Fed., 485.
² Lynn v. Brown, 132 Pac., 810.

Fifth. After each member has selected his or her first, second, and third selections of one hundred and sixty acres of land, as herein provided, the remaining lands of said tribe in Oklahoma Territory, except as herein provided, shall be divided as equally as practicable among said members by a commission to be appointed to supervise the selection and division of said Osage lands.

Sixth. The selection and division of lands herein provided for shall be made under the supervision of, or by, a commission consisting of one member of the Osage tribe, to be selected by the Osage council, and two persons to be selected by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior; and said commission shall settle all controversies between members of the tribe relative to said selections of land; and the schedules of said selections and division of lands herein provided for shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. The surveys, salaries of said commission, and all other proper expenses necessary in making the selections and division of land as herein provided shall be paid by the Secretary of the Interior out of any Osage funds derived from the sale of town lots, royalties from oil, gas, or other minerals, or rents from grazing land.

Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, at the request and upon the petition of any adult member of the tribe, may issue to such member a certificate of competency, authorizing him to

sell and convey any of the lands deeded him by reason of this act, except his homestead, which shall remain inalienable and nontaxable for a period of twenty-five years, or during the life of the homestead allottee, if upon investigation, consideration, and examination of the request he shall find any such member fully competent and capable of transacting his or her own business and caring for his or her own individual affairs:¹ Provided, That upon the issuance of such certificate of competency the lands of such member (except his or her homestead) shall become subject to taxation, and such member, except as herein provided, shall have the right to manage, control, and dispose of his or her lands the same as any citizen of the United States: Provided, That the surplus lands shall be nontaxable for the period of three years from the approval of this act, except where certificates of competency are issued or in case of the death of the allottee, unless otherwise provided by Congress:² And provided further, That nothing herein shall authorize the sale of the oil, gas, coal, or other minerals covered by said lands, said minerals being reserved to the use of the tribe for a period of twent-five years, and the royalty to be paid to said tribe as hereinafter provided:³ And provided further, That the oil, gas, coal, and other minerals upon said allotted lands shall become the property of the individual owner of said land at the expiration of said twenty-five years, unless otherwise provided for by act of Congress.

¹  Aaron v. U. S., 183 Fed., 347; 204 Fed., 943. Mosier v. U. S., 198 Fed., 54.
²  U.S. v. Board of County Commissioners, and John A. Hunter, Treas., v. Sallie Hooper, 193 Fed., 485.
³  Leahy v. Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co., 135 Pac., 416.

Eighth. There shall be reserved from selection and division, as herein provided, one hundred and sixty acres on which the Saint Louis School, near Pawhuska, is located, and the one hundred and sixty acres on which the Saint John’s School, on Hominy Creek, Osage Indian Reservation, is located, said tracts to conform to the public surveys; and said tracts of land are hereby set aside and donated to the order of the Sisters of Saint Francis; and said tracts shall be conveyed to said order, the Sisters of Saint Francis, as early as practicable, by deed. There shall also be reserved from selection and division forty acres of land near Gray Horse, to be designated by the Secretary of the Interior, on which are located the dwelling houses of John N. Florer, Walter O. Florer, and John L. Bird; and said John N. Florer shall be allowed to purchase said forty acres at the appraised value placed thereon by the Osage Allotting Commission, the proceeds of the sale to be placed to the credit of the Indians and to be distributed like other funds herein provided for.

Ninth. There shall be reserved from selection and division, as herein provided, the northeast quarter of section three, township twenty-five, range nine east, of the Indian meridian, and one hundred and sixty acres to conform to the public survey at the town of Gray Horse, including the Government doctor’s building, other valuable buildings, and the cemetery, and the one hundred and sixty acres to conform to the public survey, adjoining or near the town site of Hominy; said lands or tracts are hereby set aside for the use and benefit of the Osage Indians, exclusively, for dwelling purposes, for a period of twenty-five years from and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven: Provided, That said land may, in the discretion of the Osage tribe, be sold under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and the proceeds of the same under such sale shall be apportioned and placed to the credit of the individual members of the tribe according to the roll herein provided for.

Tenth. The Osage Boarding School reserve of eighty-seven and five-tenths acres, and the reservoir reserve of seventeen and threetenths acres, and the agent’s residence reserve, together with all the buildings located on said reservations in the town site of Pawhuska, as shown by the official plat of the same, are hereby reserved from

selection and division as herein provided; and the same may be sold in the discretion of the Osage tribe, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may provide; and the proceeds of such sale shall be apportioned and placed to the credit of the individual members of said tribe according to the roll herein provided for.

Eleventh. That the United States Indian agent’s office building, the Osage council building, and all other buildings which are for the occupancy and use of Government employees, in the town of Pawhuska, together with the lots on which the said buildings are situated, shall be sold to the highest bidder as early as practicable, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and with the proceeds he shall erect other suitable buildings for the uses mentioned, on such sites as he may select, the remaining proceeds, if any, to be placed to the credit of the individual members of the Osage tribe of Indians: Provided, That the house known as the chief’s house, together with the lot or lots on which said house is located, and the house known as the United States interpreter’s house, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma Territory, together with the lot or lots on which said houses are located, shall be reserved from sale to the highest bidder and shall be sold to the principal chief of the Osages and the United States interpreter for the Osages, respectively, at the appraised value of the same, said appraisement to be made by the Osage town-site commission, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

Twelfth. That the cemetery reserve of twenty acres in the town site of Pawhuska, as shown by the official plat thereof, is hereby set aside and donated to the town of Pawhuska for the purposes of sepulture, on condition that if said cemetery reserve of twenty acres, or any part thereof, is used for purposes other than that of sepulture, the whole of said cemetery reserve of twenty acres shall revert to the use and benefit of the individual members of the Osage tribe, according to the roll herein provided, or to their heirs; and said tract shall be conveyed to the said town of Pawhuska by deed, and said deed shall recite and set out in full the conditions under which the above donation and conveyance are made.

That the provisions of an act entitled “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,” approved March third, nineteen hundred and five, relating to the Osage Reservation, pages one thousand and sixty-one and one thousand and sixty-two, volume thirty-three, United States Statutes at Large, be, and the same are hereby, continued in full force and effect.¹

¹ Clawson v. Cottingham, 125 Pac., 1114; Neilson v. Alberty, 129 Pac., 847.

That the oil, gas, coal, or other minerals covered by the lands for the selection and division of which provision is herein made are hereby reserved to the Osage tribe for a period of twenty-five years from and after the eighth day of April, nineteen hundred and six; and leases for all oil, gas, and other minerals, covered by selections and division of land herein provided for, may be made by the Osage tribe of Indians through its tribal council, and with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe: Provided, That the royalties to be paid to the Osage tribe under any mineral lease so made shall be determined by the President of the United States: And provided further, That no mining of or prospecting for any of said mineral or minerals shall be permitted on the homestead selections herein provided for without the written consent of the Secretary of the Interior:² Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as affecting any valid existing lease or contract.

² Leahy v. Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co., 135 Pac., 416; Barnsdall Oil Co. v. Leahy, 195 Fed., 731.

That all funds belonging to the Osage tribe, and all moneys due, and all moneys that may become due, or may hereafter be found to be due the said Osage tribe of Indians, shall be held in trust by the United States for the period of twenty-five years from and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, except as herein provided:

First. That all the funds of the Osage tribe of Indians, and all the moneys now due or that may hereafter be found to be due to the said Osage tribe of Indians, and all moneys that may be received from the sale of their lands in Kansas under existing laws, and all moneys found to be due to said Osage tribe of Indians on claims against the United States, after all proper expenses are paid, shall be segregated as soon after January first, nineteen hundred and seven, as is practicable and placed to the credit of the individual members of the said Osage tribe on a basis of a pro rata division among the members of said tribe, as shown by the authorized roll of membership as herein provided for, or to their heirs as hereinafter provided, said credit to draw interest as now authorized by law; and the interest that may accrue thereon shall be paid quarterly to the members entitled thereto, except in the case of minors, in which case the interest shall be paid quarterly to the parents until said minor arrives at the age of twenty-one years: Provided, That if the Commissioner of Indian Affairs becomes satisfied that the said interest of any minor is being misused or squandered he may withhold the payment of such interest: And provided further, That said interest of minors whose parents are deceased shall be paid to their legal guardians, as above provided.

Second. That the royalty received from oil, gas, coal, and other mineral leases upon the lands for which selection and division are herein provided, and all moneys received from the sale of town lots, together with the buildings thereon, and all moneys received from the sale of the three reservations of one hundred and sixty acres each heretofore reserved for dwelling purposes, and all moneys received from grazing lands, shall be placed in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the members of the Osage tribe of Indians as other moneys of said tribe are to be deposited under the provisions of this act, and the same shall be distributed to the individual members of said Osage tribe according to the roll provided for herein, in the manner and at the same time that payments are made of interest on other moneys held in trust for the Osages by the United States, except as herein provided.

Third. There shall be set aside from the royalties received from oil and gas not to exceed fifty thousand dollars per annum for ten years from the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, for the support of the Osage Boarding School and for other schools on the Osage Indian Reservation conducted or to be established and conducted for the education of Osage children.

Fourth. There shall be set aside and reserved from the royalties received from oil, gas, coal, or other mineral leases, and moneys received from the sale of town lots, and rents from grazing lands not to exceed thirty thousand dollars per annum for agency purposes and an emergency fund for the Osage tribe, which shall be paid out from time to time, upon the requisition of the Osage tribal council, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

That at the expiration of the period of twenty-five years from and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, the lands, mineral interests, and moneys, herein provided for and held in trust by the United States shall be the absolute property of the individual members of the Osage tribe, according to the roll herein provided for, or their heirs, as herein provided, and deeds to said lands shall be issued to said members, or to their heirs, as herein provided,

and said moneys shall be distributed to said members, or to their heirs, as herein provided, and said members shall have full control of said lands, moneys, and mineral interests, except as hereinbefore provided.

That the lands, moneys, and mineral interests, herein provided for, of any deceased member of the Osage Tribe shall descend to his or her legal heirs, according to the laws of the Territory of Oklahoma, or of the State in which said reservation may be hereinafter incorporated, except where the decedent leaves no issue, nor husband nor wife, in which case said lands, moneys, and mineral interests must go to the mother and father equally.

That the lands herein provided for are set aside for the sole use and benefit of the individual members of the tribe entitled thereto, or to their heirs, as herein provided; and said members, or their heirs, shall have the right to use and to lease said lands for farming, grazing, or any other purpose not otherwise specifically provided for herein, and said members shall have full control of the same, including the proceeds thereof: Provided, That parents of minor members of the tribe shall have the control and use of said minors’ lands, together with the proceeds of the same, until said minors arrive at their majority: And provided further, That all leases given on said lands for the benefit of the individual members of the tribe entitled thereto, or for their heirs, shall be subject only to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.¹

¹ Midland Valley R. R. Co. v. Lynn, 135 Pac., 370.

That all deeds to said Osage lands or any part thereof shall be executed by the principal chief for the Osages, but no such deeds shall be valid until approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

That there shall be a biennial election of officers for the Osage Tribe as follows: A principal chief, an assistant principal chief, and eight members of the Osage tribal council, to succeed the officers elected in the year nineteen hundred and six, said officers to be elected at a general election to be held in the town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma Territory, on the first Monday in June; and the first election for said officers shall be held on the first Monday in June, nineteen hundred and eight, in the manner to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and said officers shall be elcted for a period of two years, commencing on the first day of July following said election, and in case of a vacancy in the office of principal chief, by death, resignation, or otherwise, the assistant principal chief shall succeed to said office, and all vacancies in the Osage tribal council shall be filled in a manner to be prescribed by the Osage tribal council, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to remove from the council any member or members thereof for good cause, to be by him determined.²

² U. S. ex rel. Brown v. Lane, 40 App. D. C., 533, 232 U. S, 598.

That public highways or roads, two rods in width, being one rod on each side of all section lines, in the Osage Indian Reservation, may be established without any compensation therefor.³ Lands for railroad purposes.

³ Mills v. Glasscock, 110 Pac., 377.

That all lands taken or condemned by any railroad company in the Osage Reservation, in pursuance of any act of Congress or regulation of the Department of the Interior, for rights of way, station grounds, side tracks, stock pens and cattle yards, water stations, terminal facilities, and any other railroad purpose, shall be, and are hereby, reserved from selection and allotment and confirmed in such railroad companies for their use and benefit in the construction, operation, and maintenance of their railroads: Provided, That such railroad companies shall not take or acquire hereby any right or title to any oil, gas, or other mineral in any of said lands.

That all things necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this act not otherwise herein specifically provided for shall be done under the authority and direction of the Secretary of the Interior.