Washington : Government Printing Office
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| Chap. 444 | Indians. Distribution of Creek Nation funds. |
| Sec. 2 | 25 U. S. C. 355 note. |
| Sec. 2 | 432 |
| Sec. 3 | Payment to heirs, etc. |
| Sec. 4 | Liens and taxes. |
| Sec. 5 | Appropriation. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of section 1 of the Deficiency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1934 (48 Stat. 1021, 1033), under the heading "Bureau of Indian Affairs" directing the Secretary of the Interior to make a per capita payment to the members of the Creek Tribe of Indians on the basis of a roll to be made as of December 4, 1933, are repealed.
(a) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to use any funds on deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Creek Nation to complete allotment equalization payments to persons with claims thereto that were filed and adjudicated in accordance with the provisions of section 18 in the Act of June 30, 1919 (41 Stat. 3, 24).
(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to distribute per capita to the members of the Creek Nation whose names appear on the final rolls approved under the Act of April 26, 1906 (34 Stat. 137), or to their heirs or legatees, any funds heretofore or hereafter deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Creek Nation that are not used for the purposes of subsection (a) of this section and that are not needed, in the judgment of the Secretary, for other tribal purposes except the proceeds of any final judgment entered in Docket No. 21, pending before the Indian Claims Commission, in which the Creek Nation (Oklahoma) is plaintiff, and McGhee et al., on behalf of the Creek Nation East of the Mississippi are intervenors, and the United States is defendant.
(c) The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to distribute among the persons entitled thereto the funds appropriated by chapter XII of the Third Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1952 (66 Stat. 101, 121), in payment of the judgment entered by the Indian Claims Commission in favor of the Loyal Creek Band or Group of Creek Indians et al., Docket No. 1. Such funds shall be paid to those persons whose names appear on the payroll prepared pursuant to the Act of March 3, 1903 (32 Stat. 982, 994), by J. Blair Schoenfelt, United States Indian Agent, or to their heirs or legatees, on a pro rata basis in proportion to the amounts appearing opposite their names on such payroll.
(a) If a person entitled to a payment authorized by this Act is deceased, such payment shall be made to his heirs or legatees determined in accordance with the laws, relating to the distribution of personal property, of the Creek Nation if the decedent died before January 1, 1898, or of the State of Arkansas in effect at the time of death if the decedent died before November 16, 1907, or of the State of Oklahoma in effect at the time of death if the decedent died on or after November 16, 1907. For the purposes of this section the decedent shall be regarded as an owner in possession of the payment at the time of his death.
(b) Before a payment authorized by this Act is made to an heir or legatee of a deceased person, proof of death and heirship or bequest satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior shall be submitted to him, and his findings with respect thereto shall be final and conclusive. Where satisfactory proof of death and heirship or bequest is already available to the Secretary, no additional submission shall be required.
Funds payable under this Act to minors or to persons under legal disability shall be paid to such representatives and under such conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may direct. The distribution of funds under this Act shall not be subject to any lien, except for debts owed to the United States or to Indian organizations indebted to the United States, and shall not be taxable.
There is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated the sum of $200,000 to remain available until expended, for necessary expenses incident to the distribution of funds authorized by this Act.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to issue rules and regulations necessary for the purposes of this Act.
Approved, August 1, 1955.
