The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1919-04-24

IA, 1889 (25 Stat, 642), the matter
has been referred to me for "a
opinion on the legal points in
1vOlved. 1. q 58 :.S ID s
Said act must be constr ued on
the same principles as deed 81
trust. which in legal effect it is, 50
far as concerns The questions herein
discussed The Chippewa Indians
of Minnesota, as . tribe Or aggre-
CATION Of tribes, are the settlers
Of the trust. The acceptance by
those Indians Of the provisions 81
the statute is shown BY the repore
of the negotiators (H. r.. Ex. Dec
247 51st Cong, 1st Sess.) By
their acceptance Of the statutory
provisions the tribe, AS 4 TRIBE.
became the settlers Of the trust;
and the trustee is the q United States,
to which the settlers transferred
the legal title to their lands,
charged with the Z trust specified.
(The trust for allotment il distinct
from thatatouching the funds, pro
ceeds Of the unallotted and unre-
served lands thrownsopen 70 sale
TIE trust touching the \ funds has
as its benefi ciaries, not the Indians
AS a TRIBE (the settlers), but the
INDIANS AS INDIVIDUALS: In con
STRUNG the act hitherto, it may
have. been too hastily assumed that
the bene6ciaries Of the trust we're
identical with the settlers thereof.
Such an identity is found only il
the case Of trusts created BY =
settler for his own benefit, 3 class
By no means em0racive Of all trusts.
n The Indians, considered as old
reservation units, and the tribe Is
4 whole, considered with reference
to the Red Lake Reservation, sur
rendered their. lands, the consent
az individual indians lteads hnla-
ing aliotments also being required
to. the surrender Of those previous
,allotments The surrendered lands
were to be sold; as part Of the pub.
lie domain, and the proceeds Of
such sales were constituted trust
fund, oDe-half the interest accru-
ing from which was to be paid as
annuities in equal shares to the
heads of families and guardians Of
orphan minors for their use, and
one fourth Of which interest was
to be paid ( in eanal shares per
capita to all other classes OF said
Indians 1.-The remaining one
fourth being devoted to Indian
education; and the whole principle
|of said fund was to be distributed
ut the expiration of fifty years to
sil said & Chippewa Indians and their
- IA. ID . . :
issue then living, in cash, in equal
shares Congress might divert not
more than FIVE per cent Of the
principal fund to other Indian uses,
during the fifty years.
Thus it appears that Indian
blood membership among the In.
dividual Indians originally enrolled
Is together constituting the tribe
that created the trust and conveyed
the surplus lands giving rise to the
trust fund. or descent from those
Indiansis made the essential and
sole basis Of the right to participate
in the current interest securing
from the fund and in it's final dis.
tribution. Participation in the
current interest 1.-THE 'annuities')
and in the principal differ some
what from one another-the one
being las 10 one half of the interest
by heads Of families and BY guard
laps Of orphan minors for their
use, and (as TO one fourth of the
INTEREST," BY all other classes Of
| said Indians. '-adults not heads Of
families. and minors not members