Opinion ID: 405945
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: 6 Under Section Four of the Act, 25 U.S.C. § 334, any Indian not residing on a reservation may apply for and is entitled to allotment of a parcel of public land not otherwise appropriated. 3 Heads of families may select allotment lands for their minor children. 25 U.S.C. § 332. 7 The original purpose behind the 1887 General Allotment Act was to alter tribal existence and lifestyle by allotting lands in severalty to individuals and family groups. See generally Hopkins v. United States, 414 F.2d at 467; U.S. Dep't of the Interior, Federal Indian Law 773-77 (1958) (hereinafter Federal Indian Law ). Section One of the Act authorized allotment of reservation lands to Indians residing thereon. 25 U.S.C. § 331. Section Four created a similar allotment system in unappropriated public lands for off-reservation Indians. 8 As enacted, the Allotment Act did not extend to the Five Civilized Tribes, 4 including the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes. 25 U.S.C. § 339. Allotment of the lands of these tribes was accomplished by agreements between the United States and the tribes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To facilitate negotiation and implementation of those agreements, Congress created the Dawes Commission and directed it to compile rolls of tribal membership. 5 Eligibility for allotment of tribal lands was limited to persons enrolled by the Commission. Although not clearly elucidated by the parties, an issue in this appeal is whether the Dawes Commission enrollments also limit eligibility for the allotments of public land sought by Witt and Jarman. 9 The Act does not define who is an Indian. Regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior require that an applicant for allotment show that he is a recognized member of an Indian tribe or is entitled to be so recognized, and that he do so by obtain(ing) from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs a certificate showing that he or she is an Indian and eligible for such allotment. 43 C.F.R. § 2531.1. 6 A person seeking allotment on behalf of a minor child must also be eligible for allotment. 43 C.F.R. § 2531.1(d). The Commissioner will issue an eligibility certificate to a Cherokee or Choctaw for a public land allotment only if the name of one of the person's ancestors is listed on the Dawes Commission rolls. III Requirement of a Certificate 10 Witt and Jarman challenge both the requirement of filing an eligibility certificate and the standards used. They contend that the requirement of filing a certificate deprives them of vested property rights and of the rights of national citizenship guaranteed by 8 U.S.C. § 1401. That section, however, is inapplicable to the right, if any, to an Indian land allotment. The statute assures citizenship to Indians born in the United States. Its purpose was to change the earlier rule that an Indian was a citizen only if naturalized. See Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94, 103, 5 S.Ct. 41, 46, 28 L.Ed. 643 (1884). See generally Totus v. United States, 39 F.Supp. 7, 11 (E.D.Wash.1941). The statute extends to Indians the rights of national citizenship, but expressly does not affect rights to tribal or other property. 11 Witt and Jarman's claim to a vested right to receive an allotment without first qualifying for an eligibility certificate is also incorrect. Congress may require proof of eligibility before allotting land. It has broad power over allotment procedures before a patent is issued. Northern Cheyenne Tribe v. Hollowbreast, 425 U.S. 649, 655-56, 96 S.Ct. 1793, 1796-1797, 48 L.Ed.2d 274 (1976). Appellants' reliance on Choate v. Trapp, 224 U.S. 665, 32 S.Ct. 565, 56 L.Ed. 941 (1912), is misplaced. In that case, the Supreme Court recognized that individual Indians had vested property rights in previously allotted land. Unlike the Indians in Choate, Witt and Jarman have not yet received land patents. The requirement of filing an eligibility certificate does not deprive them of any vested right. 7 See Sizemore v. Brady, 235 U.S. 441, 449-50, 35 S.Ct. 135, 136, 59 L.Ed. 308 (1914) (Congress may change conditions of entitlement to allotment because no vested rights created prior to selection). IV The Eligibility Standards 12 An eligibility certificate will be issued to a person claiming Cherokee or Choctaw descent only if the applicant can trace an ancestor to the Dawes Commission rolls. This standard is derived from the legislation governing the creation of the rolls. The numerous statutes governing the Dawes Commission set up an elaborate system of application, hearing, and judicial review to determine who was to be enrolled as a member of the Five Civilized Tribes. 8 Agreements with the tribes and other legislation made the rolls final and conclusive on eligibility for allotment of tribal lands. 9 13 Both Witt and Jarman sought allotments in public, not tribal lands. The effect of the eligibility standards is to extend the restrictions on tribal land allotments to applicants for public land. We have interpreted other restrictions on allotment of tribal lands to apply also to allotment of public lands. Pallin v. United States, 496 F.2d 27, 35 (9th Cir. 1974). The creation of the Dawes Commission rolls was prompted by the need for a conclusive determination of eligibility for allotment of tribal land. The similar need for a conclusive eligibility standard in public land allotments is persuasive evidence that Congress intended the rolls to determine eligibility for both types of land. Therefore, we believe that the Secretary of the Interior acted within his implied powers under the General Allotment Act in promulgating regulations requiring an eligibility certificate which was available only to persons who could trace an ancestor to the Dawes Commission rolls. 14 We conclude that this use of the rolls does not violate the United States Constitution. Congress, directly or by delegation, has the power to define who is an Indian for purposes of determining property rights. Simmons v. Seelatsee, 244 F.Supp. 808, 813-15 (E.D.Wash.1965), aff'd per curiam, 384 U.S. 209, 86 S.Ct. 1459, 16 L.Ed.2d 480 (1966). The Supreme Court has held that the acts creating the Dawes Commission and requiring preparation of conclusive rolls limiting eligibility for distribution of tribal lands did not deprive excluded Indians of vested rights. Stephens v. Cherokee Nation, 174 U.S. 445, 488, 19 S.Ct. 722, 738, 43 L.Ed. 1041 (1899) (interpreting and upholding the Curtis Act). 15 In Delaware Tribal Business Commission v. Weeks, 430 U.S. 73, 97 S.Ct. 911, 51 L.Ed.2d 173 (1977), the Court held that Congress' determination of who was an Indian for purposes of sharing in an appropriation provided equal protection because the eligibility classification was tied rationally to the fulfillment of Congress' unique obligation toward the Indians. Id. at 85, 97 S.Ct. at 919. In connection with the Dawes Commission, Congress set up an elaborate procedural system in order to compile final rolls of tribal membership and thereby ensure that benefits were not extended to non-Indians. This purpose is rationally tied to the fulfillment of Congress' unique obligation. Thus, the eligibility requirements do not violate equal protection. 16 Witt has no right to seek an allotment for his niece because he did not qualify under the valid requirements for an eligibility certificate. The summary judgment against him was proper. The question of Jarman's eligibility for a certificate was not decided by the district court because Jarman's action was dismissed at an early stage for procedural reasons. V 17 Jarman's Failure to File Memorandum of Points and Authorities 18 The district court's dismissal of Jarman's action for failure to file a memorandum of points and authorities is reviewable for abuse of discretion. See Tolbert v. Leighton, 623 F.2d 585, 586 (9th Cir. 1980). In Tolbert, a dismissal for failure to attend a pretrial conference was an abuse of discretion where the case was only seven months old, no warning had been given, there was no other evidence of dilatoriness, and the court failed to consider less drastic, alternative sanctions. In Raiford v. Pounds, 640 F.2d 944, 945 (9th Cir. 1981) (per curiam), we held that dismissal should be imposed only in extreme circumstances, and only after consideration of less drastic alternatives. 19 The Government filed its motion to dismiss on February 23, 1981, and the judge granted it by minute order in chambers March 20, 1981. The case had been filed only three months before. There is no indication in the record that the district judge considered the efficacy of alternative sanctions before dismissal, nor that Jarman, a pro se litigant, was given an express warning that he might suffer dismissal. Jarman's complaint reads like a brief and fully sets out his legal position and authorities. 20 Under these circumstances, we hold that the dismissal against Jarman for failure to file a memorandum of points and authorities opposing the Government's motion to dismiss was an abuse of discretion. On appeal, the Government does not attempt to defend the dismissal as a sanction but instead seeks affirmance on the grounds argued below: the constitutionality and propriety of the land classification system. Because the record below does not show whether Jarman had met or could have met the preconditions for an allotment, we decline to reach the issues of the constitutionality and propriety of the land classification. These issues will be decided by the district court, if necessary, 10 after the development of the facts. The issues open on remand will include whether Jarman has acquired an eligibility certificate and whether he has filed a petition for reclassification of the tracts applied for if they are not already classified for public disposal.