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Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1941.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in fulfillment of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 636), there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sums hereinafter set forth, in compensation to the several Indian pueblos hereinafter named, in payment of the liability of the United States to the said pueblos as declared by the Act of June 7, 1924, which appropriations shall be made in equal annual installments as hereinafter specified, and shall be, deposited in the Treasury of the United States and shall be expended by the Secretary of the Interior, subject to approval of the governing authorities of each pueblo in question, at such times and in such amounts as he may deem wise and proper; for the purchase of lands and water rights to replace those which have been divested from said pueblo under the Act of June 7, 1924, or for the purchase or construction of reservoirs, irrigation works, or other permanent improvements upon or for the benefit of the lands of said pueblos.
In addition to the awards made by the Pueblo Lands Board, the following sums, to be used as directed in section 1 of this Act, and in conformity with the Act of June 7, 1924, be, and hereby are, authorized to be appropriated:
Pueblo of Jemez, $1,885; pueblo of Nambe, $47,439.50; pueblo of Taos, $84,707.09; pueblo of Santa Ana, $2,908.38; pueblo of Santo Domingo, $4,256.56; pueblo of Sandia, $12,980.62; pueblo of San Felipe, $14,954.53; pueblo of Isleta, $47,151.31;, pueblo of Picuris; $66,574.40; pueblo of San Ildefonso, $37,058,28; pueblo of San Juan
$153,863.04; pueblo of Santa Clara, $181,114.19; pueblo of Cochiti $37,826.37; pueblo of Pojoaques, $68,562.61; in all, $761,954.88: Provided, however, That the Secretary of the Interior shall report back to Congress any errors or omissions in the foregoing authorization measured by the present fair market value of the lands involved, as heretofore determined by the appraisals of said tracts by the appraisers appointed by the Pueblo Lands Board, with evidence supporting his report and recommendations.
Pursuant to the aforesaid Act of June 7, 1924, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum to compensate white settlers or non-Indian claimants who have been found by the Pueblo Lands Board, created under said Act of June 7, 1924, to have occupied and claimed land in good faith but whose claim has not been sustained and whose occupation has been terminated under said Act of June 7, 1924, for the fair market value of lands, improvements appurtenant thereto, and water rights. The non-Indian claimants, or their successors, as found and reported by said Pueblo Lands Board, to be compensated out of said appropriations to be disbursed under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior in the amounts due them as appraised by the appraisers appointed by said Pueblo Lands Board, as follows:
Within the pueblo of Tesuque, $1,094.64; within the pueblo of Nambe, $19,393.59; within the pueblo of Taos, $14,064.57; within the Tenorio Tract, Taos Pueblo, $43,165.26; within the pueblo of Santa Ana (El Ranchito grant), $846.26; within the pueblo of Santa Domingo, $66; within the pueblo of Sandia, $5,354.46; within the pueblo of San Felipe, $16,424.68; within the pueblo of Isleta, $6,624.45; within the pueblo of Picuris, $11,464.73; within the pueblo of San Ildefonso, $16,209.13; within the pueblo of San Juan, $19,938,22; within the pueblo of Santa Clara, $35,350.88; within the pueblo of Cochiti, $9,653.81; within the pueblo of Pojoaque, $1,767.26; with the pueblo of Laguna, $30,668.87; in all, $232,086.80: Provided, however, That the Secretary of the Interior shall report back to Congress any errors in the amount of award measured by the present fair market value of the lands involved and any errors in the omissions of legitimate claimants for award, with evidence supporting his report and recommendations.
That for the purpose of safeguarding the interests and welfare of the tribe of Indians known as the Pueblo de Taos of New Mexico in the certain lands hereinafter described, upon which lands said Indians depend for water supply, forage for their domestic livestock, wood and timber for their personal use and as the scene of certain of their religious ceremonials, the Secretary of Agriculture may and he hereby is authorized and directed to designate and segregate said lands, which shall not thereafter be subject to entry under the land laws of the United States, and to thereafter grant to said Pueblo de Taos, upon application of, the governor and council thereof, a permit to occupy said lands and use the resources thereof for the personal use and benefit of said tribe of Indians for a period of fifty years, with provision for subsequent renewals if the use and occupancy by said tribe of Indians shall continue, the provisions of the permit are met, and the continued protection of the watershed is required by public interest. Such permit shall specifically provide for and safeguard all rights and equities hitherto established and enjoyed by said tribe of Indians under any contracts or agreements hitherto existing, shall authorize the free use of wood, forage, and lands for the personal or tribal needs of said Indians, shall define the conditions under which natural resources under the control of the Department of Agriculture not needed by said Indians shall be made available for commercial use by the Indians or
others, and shall establish necessary and proper safeguards for the efficient supervision and operation of the area for national forest purposes and all other purposes herein stated, the area referred to being described as follows:
Beginning at the northeast corner of the Pueblo de Taos grant, thence northeasterly along the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Lucero and along the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Red River to a point a half mile east of Rio Pueblo de Taos; thence southwesterly on a line half mile east of Rio Pueblo de Taos and parallel thereto to the northwest corner of township 25 north, range 15 east; thence south on the west boundary of township 25 north, range 15 east, to the divide between Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Fernandez de Taos; thence westerly along the divide to the east boundary of the Pueblo de Taos grant; thence north to the point of beginning; containing approximately thirty thousand acres, more or less.
Except as otherwise provided herein the Secretary of the Interior shall disburse and expend the amounts of money herein authorized to be appropriated, in accordance with and under the terms and conditions of the Act approved June 7, 1924: Provided, however, That the Secretary be authorized to cause necessary surveys and investigations to be made promptly to ascertain the lands and water rights that can be purchased out of the foregoing appropriations and earlier appropriations made for the same purpose, with full authority to disburse said funds in the purchase of said lands and water rights without being limited to the appraised values thereof as fixed by the appraisers appointed by the Pueblo Lands Board appointed under said Act of June 7, 1924, and all prior Acts limiting the Secretary of the Interior in the disbursement of said funds to the appraised value of said lands as fixed by said appraisers of said Pueblo Lands Board be and the same are, expressly repealed: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to disburse a portion of said funds for the purpose of securing options upon said lands and water rights and necessary abstracts of title thereof for the necessary period required to investigate titles and which may be required before disbursement can be authorized: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized; out of the appropriations of the foregoing amounts and out of the funds heretofore appropriated for the same purpose, to purchase any available lands within the several pueblos which in his discretion it is desirable to purchase, without waiting for the issuance of final patents directed to be issued under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924, where the right of said pueblos to bring independent suits, under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924, has expired: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior shall not make any expenditures out of the pueblo funds resulting from the appropriations set forth herein, or prior appropriations for the same purpose; without first obtaining the approval of the governing authorities of the pueblo affected: And provided further, That the governing authorities of any pueblo may initiate matters pertaining to the purchase of lands in behalf of their respective pueblos, which matters, or contracts relative thereto, will not be binding or concluded until approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent any pueblo from prosecuting independent suits as authorized under section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into contract with the several Pueblo Indian tribes, affected by the terms of this Act, in consideration of the authorization of appropriations
contained in section 2 hereof, providing for the dismissal of pending and the abandonment of contemplated original proceedings, in law or equity, by, or in behalf of said Pueblo Indian tribes, under the provisions of section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. L. 636), and the pueblo concerned may elect to accept the appropriations herein authorized, in the sums herein set forth, in full discharge of all claims to compensation under the terms of said Act, notifying the Secretary of the Interior in writing of its election so to do: Provided, That if said election by said pueblo be not made, said pueblo shall have one year from the date of the approval of this Act within which to file any independent suit authorized under section 4 of the Act of June 7, 1924, at the expiration of which period the right to file such suit shall expire by limitation: And provided further, That no ejectment suits shall be filed against non-Indians entitled to compensation under this Act, in less than six months after the sums herein authorized are appropriated.
Section 16 of the Act approved June 7, 1924, is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 16. That if the Secretary of the Interior deems it to be for the best interest of the Indians that any land adjudged by the court or said Lands Board against any claimant be sold, he may, with the consent of the governing authorities of the pueblo, order the sale thereof, under such regulations as he may make, to the highest bidder for cash; and if the buyer thereof be other than the losing claimant, the purchase price shall be used in paying to such losing claimant the adjudicated value of the improvements aforesaid, if found under the provisions of section 15 hereof, and the balance thereof, if any, shall be paid over to the proper officer, or officers, of the Indian community, but if the buyer be the losing claimant, and the value of his improvements has been adjudicated as aforesaid, such buyer shall be entitled to have credit upon his bid for the value of such improvements so adjudicated."
The attorney or attorneys for such Indian tribe or tribes shall be paid such fee as may be agreed upon bye such attorney or attorneys and such Indian tribe or tribes, but in no case shall the fee be more than 10 per centum of the sum herein authorized to be appropriated for the benefit of such tribe or tribes, and such attorney's fees shall be disbursed by the, Secretary of the Interior in accordance herewith out of any funds appropriated for said Indian tribe or tribes under the provisions of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. L. 636), or this Act: Provided however, That 25 per centum of the amount agreed upon as attorneys' fees shall be retained by the Secretary of the Interior to be disbursed by him under the terms of the contract, subject, to approval of the Secretary of the Interior, between said attorneys and said Indian tribes, providing for further services and expenses of said attorneys in furtherance of the objects set forth in section 19 of the Act of June 7, 1924.
Nothing herein contained shall in any manner be construed to deprive any of the Pueblo Indians of a prior right to the use of water from streams running through or bordering on their respective pueblos for domestic, stock-water, and irrigation purposes for the lands remaining in Indian ownership, and such water rights shall not be subject to loss by nonuse or abandonment thereof as long as title to said lands shall remain in the Indians.
The sums authorized to be appropriated under the terms and provisions of section 2 of this Act shall be appropriated in three annual installments, beginning with the fiscal year 1937.
Approved, May 31, 1933.
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