Opinion ID: 581194
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: 1894 Certification Act

Text: 23 The trustees allege the SAH scrip was certified within the meaning of the Act of August 18, 1894, 43 U.S.C. § 276 (repealed 1976). The 1894 Act validated three categories of certificates issued prior to 1894: (1) those issued under rules and regulations of the General Land Office under 43 U.S.C. § 274; (2) those issued pursuant to decisions or instructions of the Secretary as of March 10, 1877; and (3) those pursuant to decision or instructions of the Secretary or the Commissioner after March 10, 1877. Cord v. Morton, 449 F.2d 327, 329 (9th Cir.1971). 24 To support their certification argument, the trustees rely on a computer-enhanced reconstruction of a 1905 document and the General Land Office's June 30, 1876 cancellation of Jones' entry. We reject their certification claim for two reasons. First, the trustees have not demonstrated any relation between the June 30, 1876, cancellation and the 1894 Act. They do not even attempt to discuss how a cancellation can be the equivalent of a certification under the Act. Without more, the mere assertion that a certificate was issued is meaningless. Second, even assuming the 1905 document constituted such a certificate, it is not immunized by the 1894 Act because it was issued after 1894. See Cord, 449 F.2d at 329. Proof of a valid assignment from Jones to Moses would still need to be produced by the trustees. The IBLA did not err in concluding no certificate was issued pursuant to the 1894 Act.