Washington : Government Printing Office
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Public Law 86-97 | Indians Quapaw tribal roll. |
Sec. 2 | 222 Per capita payments. |
Sec. 4 | Costs. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to prepare a roll of the persons whose names appear on the Quapaw membership roll forwarded under date of January 4, 1890, and whose membership in the tribe was based upon Quapaw blood rather than solely upon adoption, and the descendants of such persons, who are living on the date of this Act. Applications for enrollment must be filed with the area director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Muskogee, Oklahoma, on forms prescribed by the Secretary, within six months after the date of this Act. For a period of three months thereafter, the Secretary shall permit the examination of the applications by the Quapaw Tribal Business Committee or by persons having a material interest therein for the purpose of lodging protests against any application. The determination of the Secretary regarding the eligibility of an applicant shall be final.
The Secretary shall distribute on a pro rata basis to the persons whose names appear on the roll prepared pursuant to section 1 of this Act, or their heirs or legatees, the balance of the funds on deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Quapaw Indians that were appropriated by the Act of August 26, 1954 (68 Stat. 801), in satisfaction of a judgment against the United States that was obtained by the tribe in the Indian Claims Commission on May 7, 1954, and accrued interest thereon. The funds so distributed shall not be subject to Federal or State income tax.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall distribute a share payable to a living enrollee directly to such enrollee, and the Secretary shall distribute a share payable to a deceased enrollee directly to his next of kin or legatees as determined by the laws of the place of domicile of the decedent, upon proof of death and inheritance satisfactory to the Secretary, whose findings upon such proof shall be final and conclusive.
(b) A share payable to a person under twenty-one years of age or to a person under legal disability shall be paid in accordance with the laws applicable to such person in the place of his domicile, or in the
discretion of the Secretary to the natural parent or guardian of such person.
All costs incurred by the Secretary in the preparation of the roll and in the payment of shares in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be paid by appropriate withdrawals from the judgment fund, but the cost and expense of any litigation that may arise from the preparation of the roll or the payment of shares shall be paid by the United States.
Approved, July 17, 1959.