Stigler Act Amendments of 2017

Summary: Stigler Act Amendments of 2017 This bill amends the Act of August 4, 1947 (commonly known as the Stigler Act) to revise the qualifications that must be met by a person who inherits land originally allotted to members of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma (the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Seminole tribes) for that land to remain in restricted status. When land is in restricted status, it is not subject to taxation and may not be sold or transferred without permission of the Department of the Interior. Under current law, the restricted fee status of land allotted to the Five Tribes is maintained only if the individual holding title has at least 50% Indian blood from one of the Five Tribes. This bill removes this requirement. Thus, the restricted fee status is maintained for all lineal descendants of an original enrollee whose name appears on the membership rolls of the Five Tribes. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Stigler Act Amendments of 2018''.
SEC. 2. IN GENERAL.
    The first section of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, 
chapter 458), is amended--
        (1) in the matter before subsection (a), by striking ``That all 
    restrictions'' and all that follows through subsection (a) and 
    inserting the following:
    ``Sec. 1. (a) All restrictions against alienation, conveyance, 
lease, mortgage, creation of liens, or other encumbrances upon all 
lands, including oil and gas or other mineral interests, in Oklahoma 
belonging to a lineal descendant by blood of an original enrollee whose 
name appears on the Final Indian Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes in 
Indian Territory, whether acquired by allotment, inheritance, devise, 
gift, purchase, exchange, partition, partition sale, or by purchase 
with restricted funds, of whatever degree of Indian blood, and whether 
enrolled or unenrolled, shall be and are hereby, extended until an Act 
of Congress determines otherwise.
    ``(b) The extension of restrictions described in subsection (a) 
shall include without limitation, those interests in the estate of a 
decedent Indian who died before the date of enactment of the Stigler 
Act Amendments of 2018--
        ``(1) if such interests were acquired by an heir or devisee of 
    one-half or more degree of Indian blood, as computed from the 
    nearest enrolled lineal ancestors of Indian blood enrolled on the 
    Final Rolls described in subsection (a), by final order issued by 
    an Oklahoma district court or a United States district court 
    determining the decedent's heirs or devisees or otherwise 
    determining the ownership of said interests before said date; or
        ``(2) if such interests were, immediately prior to the 
    decedent's death, subject to restrictions and had not, as of the 
    date of enactment of the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018, been--
            ``(A) the subject of a final order issued by an Oklahoma 
        district court or a United States district court determining 
        the decedent's heirs or devisees or otherwise determining the 
        ownership of said interests;
            ``(B) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined heirs or 
        devisees by deed approved by an Oklahoma district court; or
            ``(C) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined heirs or 
        devisees of less than one-half degree of Indian blood with or 
        without Oklahoma district court approval.
    ``Sec. 2. (a) Except as provided in subsection (f), subsection (g), 
subsection (h), and subsection (i), no conveyance, including an oil and 
gas or mineral lease, of any interest in the restricted lands described 
in this section shall be valid unless approved in open court by the 
district court of the county in Oklahoma in which the land is 
situated;'';
        (2) in subsection (b)--
            (A) by striking ``county judge'' and inserting ``district 
        judge''; and
            (B) by striking ``Proceedings for approval of conveyances 
        by restricted heirs or devisees'' and inserting ``Proceedings 
        for approval of conveyances'';
        (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``best interest of the 
    Indian'' and inserting ``best interest of the grantor''; and
        (4) by adding before the period at the end the following: ``; 
    (h) nothing contained in this section shall limit or affect the 
    right of an Indian owner of restricted lands described in this Act 
    to seek and obtain Secretarial removal of restrictions on all or 
    any portion of said restricted lands in accordance with any 
    applicable Federal law; (i) nothing contained in this section shall 
    invalidate the alienation, conveyance, lease, including oil and gas 
    or other mineral leases, mortgage, creation of liens, or other 
    encumbrance of any lands, if such action was effective before the 
    date of enactment of the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 and valid 
    under the law then in effect; and (j) in determining the quantum of 
    Indian blood of any Indian heir or devisee, the Final Indian Rolls 
    of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory as to such heir or 
    devisee, if enrolled, shall be conclusive of his or her quantum of 
    Indian blood. If unenrolled, his or her degree of Indian blood 
    shall be computed from the nearest enrolled lineal ancestors of 
    Indian blood enrolled on the Final Indian Rolls of the Five 
    Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory''.
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
    The Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458), is amended--
        (1) in section 5, by striking ``of one-half or more Indian 
    blood,'';
        (2) in section 6(c)--
            (A) by inserting ``purchase, partition sale,'' after 
        ``gift,'' each place it appears; and
            (B) by striking ``of one-half or more Indian blood''; and
        (3) in section 8, by striking ``of one-half or more Indian 
    blood,''.
SEC. 4. REPEALS.
    The following are repealed:
        (1) The first section of the Act of August 11, 1955 (69 Stat. 
    666, chapter 768).
        (2) Section 2 of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, 
    chapter 458).
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION PROVIDING FOR NO RETROACTIVITY.
    Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be 
construed to revise or extend the restricted status of any lands under 
the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458) that lost 
restricted status under such Act before the date of enactment of this 
Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.