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Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1913.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That until the inherited lands of the deceased members of the Osage Tribe of Indians shall be partitioned or sold the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, authorized to pay the taxes on said land out of any money due and payable to the heirs from the segregated decedent’s funds in the Treasury of the United States.
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he hereby is, authorized, where the same would be to the best interests of Osage allottees, and the same is submitted to the Osage council for recommendation and approved by it, to permit the exchange of surplus allotments, or any portions thereof, of Osage allottees under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe and upon such terms as he shall approve. The Secretary shall have authority to do any and all things necessary to make these exchanges effective.
That the property of deceased and of orphan minor, insane, or other incompetent allottees of the Osage Tribe, such incompetency being determined by the laws of the State of Oklahoma, which are hereby extended for such purpose of the allottees of said tribe, shall, in probate matters, be subject to the jurisdiction of the country courts of the State of Oklahoma, but a copy of all papers filed in the county court shall be served on the superintendent of the Osage Agency at
the time of filing, and said superintendent is authorized, whenever the interests of the allottee require, to appear in the county court for the protection of the interests of the allottee. The superintendent of the Osage Agency or the Secretary of the Interior, whenever he deems the same necessary, may investigate the conduct of executors, administrators, and guardians or other persons having in charge the estate of any deceased allottee or of minors or persons incompetent under the laws of Oklahoma, and whenever he shall be of opinion that the estate is in any manner being dissipated or wasted or is being permitted to deteriorate in value by reason of the negligence, carelessness, or incompetency of the guardian or other person in charge of the estate, the superintendent of the Osage Agency or the Secretary of the Interior or his representative shall have power, and it shall be his duty, to report said matter to the county court and take the necessary steps to have such case fully investigated, and also to prosecute any remedy, either civil or criminal, as the exigencies of the case and the preservation and protection of the interests of the allottee or his estate may require, the costs and expenses of the civil proceedings to be a charge upon the estate of the allottee or upon the executor, administrator, guardian, or other person in charge of the estate of the allottee and his surety, as the county court shall determine. Every bond of the executor, administrator, guardian, or other person in charge of the estate of any Osage allottee shall be subject to the provisions of this section and shall contain therein a reference hereto: Provided, That no guardian shall be appointed for a minor whose parents are living, unless the estate of said minor is being wasted or misused by such parents: Provided further, That no land shall be sold or alienated under the provisions of this section without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
That nothing herein shall be construed as in any way changing the rights of the Osage Tribe in oil, gas, coal, and other minerals as fixed in the Osage act of June twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and six, or in any manner be construed to change or amend the provisions of said act in regard to oil, gas, coal, or other minerals.
That the Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, hereby is authorized, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by him and upon application therefor, to pay to Osage allottees, including the blind, insane, crippled, aged, or helpless, all or part of the funds in the Treasury of the United States to their individual credit: Provided, That he shall be first satisfied of the competency of the allottee or that the release of said individual trust funds would be to the manifest best interests and welfare of the allottee: Provided further, That no trust funds of a minor or a person above mentioned who is incompetent shall be released and paid over except to a guardian of such person duly appointed by the proper court and after the filing by such guardian and approval by the court of a sufficient bond conditioned to faithfully administer the funds released and the avails thereof.
That from and after the approval of this act the lands of deceased Osage allottees, unless the heirs agree to partition the same, may be partitioned or sold upon proper order of any court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of Oklahoma: Provided, That no partition or sale of the restricted lands of a deceased Osage allottee shall be valid until approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Where some of the heirs are minors, the said court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for said minors in the matter of said partition, and partition of said land shall be valid when approved by the court and the Secretary of the Interior. When the heirs of such deceased allottees have certificates of competency or are not members
of the tribe, the restrictions on alienation are hereby removed. If some of the heirs are competent and others have not certificates of competency, the proceeds of such part of the sale as the competent heirs shall be entitled to shall be paid to them without the intervention of an administrator. The shares due minor heirs, including such minor Indian heirs as may not be tribal members and those Indian heirs not having certificates of competency, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States and placed to the credit of the Indians upon the same conditions as attach to segregated shares of the Osage national fund, or with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior paid to the duly appointed guardian. The same disposition as herein provided for with reference to the proceeds of inherited lands sold shall be made of the money in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of deceased Osage allottees.
That the lands allotted to members of the Osage tribe shall not in any manner whatsoever be encumbered, taken, or sold to secure or satisfy any debt or obligation contracted or incurred prior to the issuance of a certificate of competency, or removal of restrictions on alienation; nor shall the lands or funds of Osage tribal members be subject to any claim against the same arising prior to grant of a certificate of competency. That no lands or moneys inherited from Osage allottees shall be subject to or be taken or sold to secure the payment of any indebtedness incurred by such heir prior to the time such lands and moneys are turned over to such heirs: Provided, however, That inherited moneys shall be liable for funeral expenses and expenses of last illness of deceased Osage allottees, to be paid upon order of the county court of Osage County, State of Oklahoma: Provided further, That nothing herein shall be construed so as to exempt any such property from liability for taxes.
That any adult member of the Osage Tribe of Indians not mentally incompetent may dispose of any or all of his estate, real, personal, or mixed, including trust funds, from which restrictions as to alienation have not been removed, by will, in accordance with the laws of the State of Oklahoma: Provided, That no such will shall be admitted to probate or have any validity unless approved before or after the death of the testator by the Secretary of the Interior.
The word “competent,” as used in this act, shall mean a person to whom a certificate has been issued authorizing alienation of all the lands comprising his allotment, except his homestead.
That section four, paragraph four, of the Osage allotment act, approved June twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and six, be, and the same hereby is, amended to read as follows:
“Fourth. There shall be set aside and reserved from the royalties received from oil, gas, or other tribal mineral rights or other tribal funds, however arising, not to exceed forty thousand dollars per annum for agency purposes and as an emergency fund, which money 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: Provided, That the provision in the 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, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and for other purposes,’ approved June seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven (Thirtieth, Statutes at Large, page ninety), limiting the amount of money to be expended for salaries of regular employees at any one agency shall not hereafter apply to the Osage Agency.”
That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be, and the same hereby are, repealed.
Approved, April 18, 1912.
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