Page 343 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 974

dence, who are living on September 5, 1962. He

shall provide a reasonable opportunity for any

person to protest against the inclusion or omission of any name on or from the roll and his decision on such protests shall be final and conclusive. After all protests are disposed of, the roll

shall be published in the Federal Register. The

Secretary shall thereupon give the adult members of the tribe whose names appear on the roll

an opportunity to indicate their agreement or

disagreement with a division of tribal assets in

accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. If a majority of those indicating agreement or disagreement are favorable to such division, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal

Register a notice of the fact and the roll prepared by him shall thereupon become final and

sections 972 to 980 of this title shall become effective.

(Pub. L. 87–629, §1, Sept. 5, 1962, 76 Stat. 429.)

§ 972. Personal property rights; restrictions

Each member whose name appears on the final

roll of the tribe as published in the Federal Register shall be entitled to receive in accordance

with the provisions of this subchapter an equal

share of the tribe’s assets that are held in trust

by the United States. This right shall constitute

personal property which may be inherited or bequeathed, but it shall not otherwise be subject

to alienation or encumbrance.

(Pub. L. 87–629, §2, Sept. 5, 1962, 76 Stat. 429.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 971 of this title.

§ 973. Distribution of assets

(a) Tribal assets; time limitation

All property of the United States used for the

benefit of the Ponca Tribe of Native Americans

of Nebraska is declared to be a part of the assets

of the tribe, and all of the tribe’s assets shall be

distributed in accordance with the provisions of

this section. The distribution shall be completed

within three years from September 5, 1962, or as

soon thereafter as practicable.

(b) Designation of property for church, park,

playground, or cemetery

The tribe shall designate any part of the

tribe’s property that is to be set aside for

church, park, playground, or cemetery purposes,

and the Secretary is authorized to convey such

property to trustees or agencies designated by

the tribe for that purpose and approved by the

Secretary.

(c) Homesites; market value; improvements

Each member may select for homesite purposes and receive title to not to exceed five

acres of tribal land that is being used for homesite purposes by such member. The member

shall pay the current market value of the homesite selection excluding any improvements or repairs constructed by such member, his wife,

children, or ancestor, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.

(d) Sale of assets not selected; bidding

All assets of the tribe that are not selected

and conveyed to members shall be sold by competitive bid at not less than the current market

value, and any member shall have the right to

purchase property offered for sale for a price not

less than the highest acceptable bid therefor. If

more than one member exercises such right, the

property shall be sold to the member exercising

the right who offers the highest price.

(e) Proceeds and tribal funds for payment of

tribal debts; distributive share; set off; member purchases of tribal property

The net proceeds of all sales of tribal property,

and all other tribal funds, shall be used to pay,

as authorized by the Secretary, any debts of the

tribe. The remainder of such proceeds and funds

shall be divided equally among the members

whose names are on the final roll, or their heirs

or legatees. Any debt owed by a member, heir, or

legatee to the tribe or to the United States may

be set off as authorized by the Secretary against

the distributive share of such person. Any member of the tribe who purchases tribal property in

accordance with this section may apply on the

purchase price his share of the proceeds of all

sales of tribal property, and the Secretary of the

Interior shall adopt sales procedures that permit

such action.

(Pub. L. 87–629, §3, Sept. 5, 1962, 76 Stat. 429.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 971 of this title.

§ 974. Sale of trust lands

(a) Requisite owners’ request; time limitation;

bidding; member purchases; reservation of

mineral rights; representation of minors, incompetents and missing owners

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to

partition or to sell the complete interest (including any unrestricted interest) in any land in

which an undivided interest is owned by a member of the Ponca Tribe of Native Americans of

Nebraska in a trust or restricted status, provided the partition or sale is requested by the

owners of a 25 per centum interest in the land,

and the partition or sale is made within three

years from September 5, 1962. Any such sale

shall be by competitive bid, except that with the

concurrence of the owners of a 25 per centum interest in the land any owner of an interest in

the land shall have the right to purchase the

land within a reasonable time fixed by the Secretary of the Interior prior to a competitive sale

at not less than its current market value. If

more than one preference right is exercised, the

sale shall be by competitive bid limited to the

persons entitled to a preference. If the owners of

a 25 per centum interest in the land so request,

mineral rights may be reserved to the owners in

an unrestricted status. The Secretary of the Interior may represent for the purposes of this

section any Indian owner who is a minor, or who

is non compos mentis, and, after giving reasonable notice of the proposed partition or sale by

publication, he may represent an Indian owner

who cannot be located.

(b) Removal of restrictions; title to lands

All restrictions on the alienation or taxation

of interests in land that are owned by members

of the Ponca Tribe of Native Americans of Ne-