§ 745 TITLE 25—INDIANS Page 304

title, the rights or beneficial interests in tribal

property of each person whose name appears on

the roll shall constitute personal property which

may be inherited or bequeathed, but shall not

otherwise be subject to alienation or encumbrance before the transfer of title to such tribal

property as provided in section 745 of this title

without the approval of the Secretary. Any contract made in violation of this section shall be

null and void.

(Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1207, §4, 68 Stat. 1100.)

§ 745. Tribal property

(a) Procedure for transfer; compensation of

agents or attorneys

The Secretary shall, within six months after

the publication of each final membership roll,

notify the tribe of the period of time during

which the tribe may study means of disposition

of tribal property, real and personal, under supervision of the United States. Such period shall

not be less than three months and not more

than two years, including any authorized extension of the original periods. The Secretary is authorized to provide such reasonable assistance

as may be requested by the tribe in the formulation of a plan for the disposition or future control and management of the property, including

necessary consultations with representatives of

Federal departments and agencies, officials of

the State of Utah and political subdivisions

thereof, and members of the tribe. During such

period, the tribe may elect—

(1) to apply to the Secretary for the transfer

to a corporation or other legal entity organized by the tribe in a form satisfactory to the

Secretary of title to all or any part of the tribal property, and the Secretary is authorized to

make such transfer: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall not approve any

form of organization that provides for the

transfer of stock or an undivided share in corporate assets as compensation for services of

agents or attorneys unless such transfer is

based upon an appraisal of tribal assets that is

satisfactory to the Secretary;

(2) to apply to the Secretary for the transfer

to one or more trustees designated by the

tribe of title to all or any part of the tribal

property, real and personal, the title to be

held by such trustee for management or liquidation purposes under terms and conditions

prescribed by the tribe, and the Secretary is

authorized to make such transfer if he approves the trustees and the terms and conditions of the trust;

(3) to apply to the Secretary for the sale of

all or any part of the tribal property, and for

the pro rata distribution among the members

of the tribe of all or any part of the proceeds

of sale or of any other tribal funds, and the

Secretary is authorized and directed to sell

such property upon such terms and conditions

as he deems proper and to make such distribution among the members of the tribe after deducting, in his discretion, reasonable costs of

sale and distribution; and

(4) to apply to the Secretary for a division of

all or any part of the tribal land into parcels

for members and for public purposes, together

with a general plan for the subdivision showing the approximate size, location, and number of parcels, and the Secretary is authorized

to issue patents for that purpose.

(b) Property not transferred in accordance with

recognized procedure

Title to any tribal property that is not transferred in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be transferred by

the Secretary either to all members of the tribe

as tenants in common or to one or more trustees

designated by him for the liquidation and distribution of assets among the members of the

tribe under such terms and conditions as the

Secretary may prescribe: Provided, That the

trust agreement shall provide for the termination of the trust not more than three years

from the date of such transfer unless the term of

the trust is extended by order of a judge of a

court of record designated in the trust agreement.

(c) Selection of trustees; approval by Secretary;

election to retain property

When approving or disapproving the selection

of trustees in accordance with the provisions of

subsection (a) of this section, and when designating trustees pursuant to subsection (b) of

this section, the Secretary shall give due regard

to the laws of the State of Utah that relate to

the selection of trustees: Provided further, That

the trust agreement shall provide that at any

time before the sale of tribal property by the

trustees the tribe may notify the trustees that

it elects to retain such property and to transfer

title thereto to a corporation, other legal entity, or trustee in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a)

of this section, and that the trustees shall transfer title to such property in accordance with the

notice from the tribe if it is approved by the

Secretary.

(d) Reservation of subsurface rights

Notwithstanding any other provision of this

section, the Secretary is directed to reserve subsurface rights in tribal property from any sale

or division of such property, and to require any

trustee or trustees to whom title to tribal property is transferred to retain title to the subsurface rights in such property for not less than

10 years.

(Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1207, §5, 68 Stat. 1100.)

DISCONTINUANCE OF IRRIGATION WORKS; TRANSFER OF

TITLE

Section 22 of act Sept. 1, 1954, provided that not later

than two years after Sept. 1, 1954, the management and

operation of irrigation works for Indian lands of the

tribe by the Bureau of Indian Affairs was to be discontinued, and that, upon such discontinuance, the Secretary was to cancel the unpaid irrigation operation

and maintenance assessments and reimbursable irrigation construction charges against such lands and transfer the title to such irrigation works to water users,

water user’s associations organized for such purpose, or

to corporations organized, or trustees designated, as

provided in this section.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 744 of this title.
Page 305 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 750

§ 746. Individual property

(a) Transfer of unrestricted control

The Secretary is authorized and directed to

transfer within two years after September 1, 1954

to each member of each tribe unrestricted control of funds or other personal property held in

trust for such member by the United States.

(b) Removal of restrictions on sales or encumbrances; fee simple title

All restrictions on the sale or encumbrance of

trust or restricted land owned by members of

the tribe (including allottees, heirs, and devisees, either adult or minor) are removed two

years after September 1, 1954, and the patents or

deeds under which titles are then held shall pass

the titles in fee simple, subject to any valid encumbrance: Provided, That the provisions of this

subsection shall not apply to subsurface rights

in such lands, and the Secretary is directed to

transfer such subsurface rights to one or more

trustees designated by him for management for

a period not less than 10 years. The title to all

interests in trust or restricted land acquired by

members of the tribe by devise or inheritance

two years or more after September 1, 1954 shall

vest in such members in fee simple, subject to

any valid encumbrance.

(c) Multiple land ownership; partition; sale; election to purchase; unlocated owner

Prior to the time provided in subsection (b) of

this section for the removal of restrictions on

land owned by more than one member of a tribe,

the Secretary may—

(1) upon request of any of the owners, partition the land and issue to each owner a patent

or deed for his individual share that shall become unrestricted two years from September

1, 1954;

(2) upon request of any of the owners and a

finding by the Secretary that partition of all

or any part of the land is not practicable,

cause all or any part of the land to be sold at

not less than the appraised value thereof and

distribute the proceeds of sale to the owners:

Provided, That any one or more of the owners

may elect before a sale to purchase the other

interests in the land at not less than the appraised value thereof, and the purchaser shall

receive an unrestricted patent or deed to the

land; and

(3) if the whereabouts of none of the owners

can be ascertained, cause such lands to be sold

and deposit the proceeds of sale in the Treasury of the United States for safekeeping.

(Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1207, §6, 68 Stat. 1101.)

§ 747. Property of deceased members

(a) Federal laws inapplicable to probate

The Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 855), the Act

of February 14, 1913 (37 Stat. 678), and other Acts

amendatory thereto shall not apply to the probate of the trust and restricted property of the

members of a tribe who die six months or more

after September 1, 1954.

(b) State, etc., laws applicable to probate

The laws of the several States, Territories,

possessions, and the District of Columbia with

respect to the probate of wills, the determination of heirs, and the administration of decedents’ estates shall apply to the individual property of members of the tribe who die six months

after September 1, 1954.

(Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1207, §7, 68 Stat. 1102.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Act of June 25, 1910, referred to in subsec. (a), is act

June 25, 1910, ch. 431, 36 Stat. 855, as amended, which

enacted sections 47, 93, 151, 202, 337, 344a, 351, 352, 353,

372, 403, 406, 407, and 408 of this title, sections 6a–1 and

16a of Title 41, Public Contracts, and section 148 of

Title 43, Public Lands, and amended sections 191, 312,

331, 333, and 336 of this title and sections 104 and 107 of

former Title 18, Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure.

Sections 104 and 107 of former title 18 were repealed and

reenacted as sections 1853 and 1856 of Title 18, Crimes

and Criminal Procedure, by act June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62

Stat. 683. For complete classification of this Act to the

Code, see Tables.

Act of February 14, 1913, referred to in subsec. (a), is

act Feb. 14, 1913, ch. 55, 37 Stat. 678, which amended section 373 of this title. For complete classification of this

Act to the Code, see Tables.

§ 748. Transfer of federally owned property

The Secretary is authorized, in his discretion,

to transfer to a tribe or any member or group of

members thereof any federally owned property

acquired, withdrawn, or used for the administration of the affairs of the tribe which he deems

necessary for Indian use, or to transfer to a public or nonprofit body any such property which he

deems necessary to public use and from which

members of the tribes will derive benefit.

(Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1207, §8, 68 Stat. 1102.)

KANOSH INDIANS, UTAH

Act July 11, 1956, ch. 569, 70 Stat. 528, provided: ‘‘That

the following-described public domain is hereby declared to be held by the United States in trust for the

Kanosh Bank of the Paiute Indian Tribe in Utah, subject to the provisions of the Act of September 1, 1954 (68

Stat. 1099) [this subchapter], with respect to the termination of Federal supervision over all property of such

Indians: The southeast quarter, east half northeast

quarter, and the northwest quarter northeast quarter,

section 35, township 22 south, range 5 west; the west

half west half, section 14, and the east half east half,

section 15, township 23 south, range 5 west, Salt Lake

meridian, Utah, containing 600 acres.’’

§ 749. Taxes; initial exemption; taxes following

distribution; valuation for capital gains and

losses

No property distributed under the provisions

of this subchapter shall at the time of distribution be subject to Federal or State income tax.

Following any distribution of property made

under the provisions of this subchapter, such

property and any income derived therefrom by

the individual, corporation, or other legal entity

shall be subject to the same taxes, State and

Federal, as in the case of non-Indians: Provided,

That for the purpose of capital gains or losses

the base value of the property shall be the value

of the property when distributed to the individual, corporation, or other legal entity.

(Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1207, §9, 68 Stat. 1102.)

§ 750. Indian claims unaffected

Nothing contained in this subchapter shall deprive any Indian tribe, band, or other identifi-