Title 43—Public Lands: Interior--Volume 1
PART 2530—INDIAN ALLOTMENTS
§ 2530.0-3   Authority.
(a) General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887. Section 4 of the General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 389; 25 U.S.C. 334), as amended by the Act of February 28, 1891 (26 Stat. 794), and section 17 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 859; 25 U.S.C. 336), provides that where any Indian entitled to allotment under existing laws shall make settlement upon any surveyed or unsurveyed lands of the United States not otherwise appropriated, he or she shall be entitled, upon application to the proper office for the district in which the lands are located, to have the same allotted to him or her and to his or her children in manner as provided by law for allotments to Indians residing upon reservations, and that such allotments to Indians on the public domain shall not exceed 40 acres of irrigable land, or 80 acres of nonirrigable agricultural land or 160 acres of nonirrigable grazing land to any one Indian.
(b) Act of March 1, 1933. The Act of March 1, 1933 (47 Stat. 1418; 43 U.S.C. 190a) provides that no further allotments of lands to Indians on the public domain shall be made in San Juan County, Utah.
(c) Executive Orders 6910 and 6964, Taylor Grazing Act of June 28, 1934. Public land withdrawn by Executive Orders 6910 and 6964 of November 26, 1934, and February 5, 1935, respectively, and land within grazing districts established under section 1 of the Taylor Grazing Act of June 28, 1934 (43 U.S.C. 315), is not subject to settlement under section 4 of the General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, until such settlement has been authorized by classification. See parts 2410, 2420, and 2430 of this chapter.
§ 2530.0-7   Cross reference.
For native allotments in Alaska see subpart 2561 of this chapter.
§ 2530.0-8   Land subject to allotment.
(a) General. (1) The law provides that allotments may include not to exceed 40 acres of irrigable land, 80 acres of nonirrigable agricultural land, or 160 acres of nonirrigable grazing land.
(2) Irrigable lands are those susceptible of successful irrigation at a reasonable cost from any known source of water supply; nonirrigable agricultural lands are those upon which agricultural crops can be profitably raised without irrigation; grazing lands are those which can not be profitably devoted to any agricultural use other than grazing.
(3) An allotment may be allowed for coal and oil and gas lands, with reservation of the mineral contents to the United States.
§ 2531.1   Qualifications of applicants.
(a) General. An applicant for allotment under the fourth section of the Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, is required to show that he is a recognized member of an Indian tribe or is entitled to be so recognized. Such qualifications may be shown by the laws and usages of the tribe. The mere fact, however, that an Indian is a descendant of one whose name was at one time borne upon the rolls and who was recognized as a member of the tribe does not of itself make such Indian a member of the tribe. The possession of Indian blood, not accompanied by tribal affiliation or relationship, does not entitle a person to an allotment on the public domain. Tribal membership, even though once existing and recognized, may be abandoned in respect to the benefits of the fourth section.
(b) Certificate that applicant is Indian and eligible for allotment. Any person desiring to file application for an allotment of land on the public domain under this act must first obtain from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs a certificate showing that he or she is an Indian and eligible for such allotment, which certificate must be attached to the allotment application. Application for the certificate must be made on the proper form, and must contain information as to the applicant's identity, such as thumb print, age, sex, height, approximate weight, married or single, name of the Indian tribe in which membership is claimed, etc., sufficient to establish his or her identity with that of the applicant for allotment. Each certificate must bear a serial number, record thereof to be kept in the Indian Office. The required forms may be obtained as stated in § 2531.2(b).
(c) Heirs of Indian settlers and applicants. (1) Allotments are allowable only to living persons or those in being at the date of application. Where an Indian dies after settlement and filing of application, but prior to approval, the allotment will upon final approval be confirmed to the heirs of the deceased allottee.
(2) In disposing of pending applications in which the death of the applicant has been reported, the heirs of an applicant who was otherwise qualified at the date of application should be notified that they will be allowed 90 days from receipt of notice within which to submit proof that the applicant personally settled on the land applied for during his or her lifetime, and while the land was open to settlement, and upon failure to submit such proof within the time allowed the application will be finally rejected.
(3) When it is sufficiently shown that an applicant was at the time of death occupying in good faith the land settled on, patent will be issued to his or her heirs without further use or occupancy on the part of such heirs being shown.
(d) Minor children. An Indian settler on public lands under the fourth section of the Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, is also eligible upon application for allotments made thereunder to his minor children, stepchildren, or other children to whom he stands in loco parentis, provided the natural children are in being at the date of the parent's application, or the other relationship referred to exist at such date. The law only permits one eligible himself under the fourth section to take allotments thereunder on behalf of his minor children or of those to whom he stands in loco parentis. Orphan children (those who have lost both parents) are not eligible for allotments on the public domain unless they come within the last-mentioned class. No actual settlement is required in case of allotments to minor children under the fourth section, but the actual settlement of the parent or of a person standing in loco parentis on his own public-land allotment will be regarded as the settlement of the minor children.
(e) Indian wives. (1) Where an Indian woman is married to non-Indian not eligible for an allotment under the fourth section of the Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, and not a settler or entryman under the general homestead law, her right, and that of the minor children born of such marriage, to allotments on the public domain will be determined without reference to the quantum of Indian blood possessed by such women and her children but solely with reference as to whether they are recognized members of an Indian tribe or are entitled to such membership.
(2) An Indian woman married to an Indian man who has himself received an allotment on the public domain or is entitled to one, or has earned the equitable right to patent on any form of homestead or small holding claim, is not thereby deprived of the right to file an application for herself, provided she is otherwise eligible, and also for her minor children where her husband is for any reason disqualified.
(3) An Indian woman who is separated from her husband who has not received an allotment under the fourth section will be regarded as the head of a family and may file applications for herself and for the minor children under her care.
(4) In every case where an Indian woman files applications for her minor children it must appear that she has not only applied for herself under the fourth section but has used the land in her own application in some beneficial manner.
(f) Citizenship. (1) Under section 6 of the Act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 390; 25 U.S.C. 349), every Indian born within the territorial limits of the United States, to whom allotments were made under that Act, and every Indian who voluntarily takes up his residence separate and apart from any tribe of Indians and adopts the habits of civilized life is declared to be a citizen of the United States.
(2) The Act of May 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 182; 8 U.S.C. 3), changed the time when an Indian became a citizen by virtue of the allotment made to him to the time when patent in fee should be issued on such an allotment.
(3) The Act of June 2, 1924 (43 Stat. 253, 8 U.S.C. 3), conferred citizenship on all noncitizen Indians born within the Territorial limits of the United States, but expressly reserved to them all rights to tribal or other property. These rights include that of allotment on the public land, if qualified.
§ 2531.2   Petition and applications.
(a) Any person desiring to receive an Indian allotment (other than those seeking allotments in national forests, for which see subpart 2533 of this part) must file with the authorized officer, an application, together with a petition on forms approved by the Director, properly executed, together with a certificate from the authorized officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the person is Indian and eligible for allotment, as specified in § 2531.1(b). However, if the lands described in the application have been already classified and opened for disposition under the provisions of this part, no petition is required. The documents must be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 1821.2 of this chapter.
(b) Blank forms for petitions and applications may be had from any office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or from land offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
§ 2531.3   Effect of application.
(a) Where an allotment application under the fourth section of the Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, 25 U.S.C. 334 (is not accompanied by the requisite certificate from the Bureau of Indian Affairs showing the applicant to be eligible for an allotment, and the applicant is given time to furnish such certificate, the application does not segregate the land, and other applications therefor may be received and held to await final action on the allotment application.
(b) Where an allotment application is approved by the authorized officer, it operates as a segregation of the land, and subsequent application for the same land will be rejected.
§ 2532.1   Certificate of allotment.
(a) When the authorizing officer approves an application for allotment, he will issue to the applicant a certificate of allotment, on a prescribed form, showing the name in full of the applicant, post office address, name of the tribe in which membership is claimed, serial number of the certificate issued by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and a description of the land allotted.
(b) Where the application under investigation is that of a single person over 21 years of age, or of the head of a family, report will also be made as to the character of the applicant's settlement and improvements. A similar report will be made on applications filed in behalf of minor children as to the character of the settlement and improvements made by the parent, or the person standing in loco parentis, on his or her own allotment under the fourth section.
§ 2532.2   Trust patent.
(a) To enable an Indian allottee to demonstrate his good faith and intention, the issuance of trust patent will be suspended for a period of 2 years from date of settlement; but in those cases where that period has already elapsed at the time of adjudicating the allotment application, and when the evidence either by the record or upon further investigation in the field, shows the allottee's good faith and intention in the matter of his settlement, trust patents will issue in regular course. Trust patents in the suspended class, when issued will run from the date of suspension.
(b) In the matter of fourth-section applications filed prior to the regulations in this part, where, by the record or upon further investigation in the field, it appears that such settlement has not been made as is contemplated by the regulations, such applications will not be immediately rejected, but the applicant will be informed that 2 years will be allowed within which to perfect his settlement and to furnish proof thereof, whereupon his application will be adjudicated as in other cases.
§ 2533.0-3   Authority.
By the terms of section 31 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 863; 25 U.S.C. 337), allotments under the fourth section of the Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, may be made within national forests.
§ 2533.0-8   Land subject to allotment.
An allotment under this section may be made for lands containing coal and oil and gas with reservation of the mineral contents to the United States, but not for lands valuable for metalliferous minerals. The rules governing the conduct of fourth-section applications under the Act of February 8, 1887 as amended, apply equally to applications under said section 31.
§ 2533.1   Application.
An Indian who desires to apply for an allotment within a national forest under this act must submit the application to the supervisor of the particular forest affected, by whom it will be forwarded with appropriate report, through the district forester and Chief, Forest Service, to the Secretary of Agriculture, in order that he may determine whether the land applied for is more valuable for agriculture or grazing than for the timber found thereon.
§ 2533.2   Approval.
(a) Should the Secretary of Agriculture decide that the land applied for, or any part of it, is chiefly valuable for the timber found thereon, he will transmit the application to the Secretary of the Interior and inform him of his decision in the matter. The Secretary of the Interior will cause the applicant to be informed of the action of the Secretary of Agriculture.
(b) In case the land is found to be chiefly valuable for agriculture or grazing, the Secretary of Agriculture will note that fact on the application and forward it to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
(c) If the Commissioner of Indian Affairs approves the application, he will transmit it to the Bureau of Land Management for issuance of a trust patent.