Opinion ID: 741730
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Legislative Treatment of Reservation Lands

Text: 11 In 1902, Congress passed legislation directing the Secretary of the Interior to make individual allotments out of the Uintah Valley Reservation by October 1, 1903, provided that a majority of the adult male members of the Ute Indians consented. Act of May 27, 1902, ch. 888, 32 Stat. 263, 263-64 (1902 Act). The 1902 Act stated that after October 1, 1903, all the unallotted lands within said reservation shall be restored to the public domain  and subject to entry by non-Indians under the homestead laws. Id. (emphasis added). Congress delayed the allotment process, however, and extended the opening date in 1903 and again in 1904. Act of Mar. 3, 1903, ch. 994, 32 Stat. 982, 997-98; Act of Apr. 21, 1904, ch. 1402, 33 Stat. 189, 207-08. In 1905, Congress extended the opening date a third time--to September 1, 1905--and directed the Secretary to allot the Reservation unilaterally if the Tribe's consent was not obtained. Act of Mar. 3, 1905, ch. 1479, 33 Stat. 1048, 1069-70 (1905 Act). The 1905 Act did not contain the same language restoring the unallotted and unreserved lands to the public domain, but provided that such lands shall be disposed of under the general provisions of the homestead and townsite laws of the United States. Id. (emphasis added).
12 In addition to extending the time of entry under the 1902 Act and describing the entry process, the 1905 Act authorized the President to set apart and reserve lands in the Reservation as a forest reserve prior to opening. 33 Stat. 1070. Pursuant to this power, on July 14, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a proclamation designating some 1,010,000 acres within the Uintah Valley Reservation as an addition to the Uintah National Forest Reserve. Proclamation of July 14, 1905, 34 Stat. 3113, 3116. The proclamation also declared that the unallotted lands in the Uintah Valley Reservation, which were not otherwise reserved, would be opened to entry, settlement and disposition under the general provisions of the homestead and townsite laws. Id. at 3120.
13 In 1894, Congress passed legislation providing for the allotment of the Uncompahgre Reservation to individual members of the Tribe. The legislation stated that all unallotted lands shall ... be restored to the public domain and made subject to entry under the homestead and mineral laws. Act of Aug. 15, 1894, ch. 290, 28 Stat. 286, 337-38 (emphasis added). The allotment process, however, was delayed, and in 1897, Congress passed legislation mandating the allotment of the Uncompahgre Reservation and opening the unallotted lands to entry. Act of June 7, 1897, ch. 3, 30 Stat. 62, 87. 14