Washington : Government Printing Office
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| Chap. 615 | Indians. Leasing of restricted lands. |
| Sec. 2 | 540 |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any restricted Indian lands, whether tribally or individually owned, may be leased by the Indian owners, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, for public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes, including the development or utilization of natural resources in connection with operations under such leases, for grazing purposes, and for those farming purposes which require the making of a substantial investment in the improvement of the land for the production of specialized crops as determined by said Secretary. All leases so granted shall be for a term of not to exceed twenty-five years, excepting leases for grazing purposes, which shall be for a term
of not to exceed ten years. Leases for public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes with the consent of both parties may include provisions authorizing their renewal for one additional term of not to exceed twenty-five years, and all leases and renewals shall be made under such terms and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.
Restricted lands of deceased Indians may be leased under this Act, for the benefit of their heirs or devisees, in the circumstances and by the persons prescribed in the Act of July 8, 1940 (54 Stat. 745; 25 U. S. C., 1946 edition, sec. 380, as amended): Provided, That if the authority of the Secretary under this section is delegated to any subordinate official, then any heir or devisee shall have the right to appeal the action of any such official to the Secretary under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe.
The Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 783; 25 U. S. C. 396) is amended by inserting before the period at the end thereof the following proviso: ": Provided, That if the said allottee is deceased and the heirs to or devisees of any interest in the allotment have not been determined, or, if determined, some or all of them cannot be located, the Secretary of the Interior may offer for sale leases for mining purposes to the highest responsible qualified bidder, at public auction, or on sealed bids, after notice and advertisement, upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. The Secretary of the Interior shall have the right to reject all bids whenever in his judgment the interests of the Indians will be served by so doing, and to readvertise such lease for sale".
No rent or other consideration for the use of land leased under this Act shall be paid or collected more than one year in advance, unless so provided in the lease.
The Secretary of the Interior shall approve no lease pursuant to this Act that contains any provision that will prevent or delay a termination of Federal trust responsibilities with respect to the land during the term of the lease.
Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to repeal any authority to lease restricted Indian lands conferred by or pursuant to any other provision of law.
Approved, August 9, 1955.
