Opinion ID: 2595374
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Federal Acts Applicable to Kaul's Chain of Title

Text: Kaul's chain of title dates back to 1893 when To-pen-i-be, a Potawatomi Indian, was issued an allotment pursuant to the GAA. 25 U.S.C. § 331 et seq. (1994). To-pen-i-be's allotment was subject to the restrictions of § 5 of the GAA. Section 5 of the GAA provided that parcels of tribal land would be patented to individual Indians and held in trust by the United States for a 25-year period, after which the federal government would convey title to the individual allottees in fee, discharged of the trust and free of all charge or incumbrance. At To-pen-i-be's death in 1894, 24 years prior to the expiration of the 25-year trust period, To-pen-i-be's son, We-zo acquired the allotment as heir. We-zo's conveyance of the land to James Cooney, a non-Indian, resulted in the issuance of a fee simple patent to Cooney filed in Jackson County on June 13, 1911. The letter written by the Second Assistant Commissioner recommending to the Secretary of Interior that the sale to Cooney be approved included the following note: The sale of the land described herein is approved pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress of May 27, 1902 (32 Stat. L., 245-275), and the act of Congress of May 29, 1908 (35 Stat. L., 444), as modified by the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. L., 555-556), and the regulations of the Department promulgated October 12, 1910. The reference to 36 Stat. L., 555-556 is a typographical error, referring to a 1910 amendment to an act to regulate commerce, and concerns matters unrelated to Indian affairs. Clearly, the statute intended to be referenced in the previously quoted paragraph is 36 Stat. 855-56, which amended 35 Stat. 444. Relative to the disposition of allotted lands where the allottee dies prior to the expiration of the trust period, Congress in 1902 enacted 32 Stat. 275, 25 U.S.C. 379 (1994). Section 7 of that enactment provides: That the adult heirs of any deceased Indian to whom a trust or other patent containing restrictions upon alienation has been or shall be issued for lands allotted to him may sell and convey the lands inherited from such decedent ... but all such conveyances shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Interior, and when so approved shall convey a full title to the purchaser, the same as if a final patent without restriction upon the alienation had been issued to the allottee. All allotted land so alienated by the heirs of an Indian allottee and all land so patented to a white allottee shall thereupon be subject to taxation under the laws of the State or Territory where the same is situated.... In 1906, Congress further amended the GAA by the Burke Act, 34 Stat. 182, 25 U.S.C. § 349 (1994). The Burke Act, entitled Patents in fee to allottees, contains a proviso that the Secretary of Interior can, if satisfied that any Indian allottee is competent and capable of managing his or her affairs, authorize issuance of a fee simple patent to the land before the end of the usual trust period, and thereafter all restrictions as to sale, incumbrance, or taxation of said land shall be removed.... In 1908, 35 Stat. 444 was enacted and provided that any parcel allotted to any Indian, or any inherited interest in land which could be sold under existing law by the authority of the Secretary of the Interior may be sold on the petition of the allottee or his heirs on the terms and conditions the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. The statute further provided: When any Indian who has heretofore received or who may hereafter receive, an allotment of land dies before the expiration of the trust period, the Secretary of the Interior shall ascertain the legal heirs of such Indian, and if satisfied of their ability to manage their own affairs shall cause to be issued in their names a patent in fee simple for said lands; but if he finds them incapable of managing their own affairs, the land may be sold as herein before provided.... 25 U.S.C. § 404 (1994). The final statute applicable to this case is a 1910 enactment, 36 Stat. 855-56, which amended the 1908 Act. That statute provided, in part: When any Indian to whom an allotment of land has been made, or may hereafter be made, dies before the expiration of the trust period and before the issuance of a fee simple patent, without having made a will disposing of said allotment as hereinafter provided, the Secretary of the Interior, upon notice and hearing, under such rules as he may prescribe, shall ascertain the legal heirs of such decedent, and his decision thereon shall be final and conclusive. If the Secretary of the Interior decides the heir or heirs of such decedent competent to manage their own affairs, he shall issue to such heir or heirs a patent in fee for the allotment of such decedent; if he shall decide one or more of the heirs to be incompetent he may, in his discretion, cause such lands to be sold.... 25 U.S.C. § 372 (1994). Kaul contends that We-zo did not convey a fee simple interest to Cooney because there is no evidence that We-zo had obtained a fee simple interest prior to the conveyance. As Kaul points out, the record does not indicate that We-zo was determined competent to manage his affairs, as required by 35 Stat. 444 and 36 Stat. 855-56. Kaul acknowledges that the statutes referenced in the approval letter refer to 32 Stat. 245-75, which provides that an adult heir of an allottee may convey full title to a purchaser, the same as if a final patent without restriction upon the alienation had been issued to the allottee and that all allotted land so alienated and so patented to a white allottee is subject to taxation under the laws of the State where the land was situated. Clearly, the applicable federal statutes and the documents of record establish that in 1911, Kaul's land was titled in fee simple when it was conveyed to Cooney. Moreover, Kaul stipulates that she owns the property in fee simple. At this time, Kansas has no impediment to the taxation of that land. Freely alienable land within the state is subject to ad valorem taxation. Therefore, BOTA was correct in finding that the congressional enactment under which Kaul's parcel was patented in fee removed all federal restrictions on alienation and taxation. Affirmed.