§ 331. Repealed. [Pub. L. 106–462, title I, § 106(a)(1)](/us/pl/106/462/tI/s106/a/1), Nov. 7, 2000, [114 Stat. 2007](/us/stat/114/2007)

Act June 7, 1924, ch. 331, 43 Stat. 636, as amended by act May 31, 1933, ch. 45, § 7, 48 Stat. 111; Pub. L. 109–133, § 1, Dec. 20, 2005, 119 Stat. 2573, provided: “That in order to quiet title to various lots, parcels, and tracts of land in the State of New Mexico for which claim shall be made by or on behalf of the Pueblo Indians of said State as hereinafter provided, the United States of America, in its sovereign capacity as guardian of said Pueblo Indians shall, by its Attorney General, file in the District Court of the United States for the District of New Mexico, its bill or bills of complaint with a prayer for discovery of the nature of any claim or claims of any kind whatsoever adverse to the claim of said Pueblo Indians, as hereinafter determined. “Sec. 2. That there shall be, and hereby is, established a board to be known as ‘Pueblo Lands Board’ to consist of the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, each of whom may act through an assistant in all hearings, investigations, and deliberations in New Mexico, and a third member to be appointed by the President of the United States. The board shall be provided with suitable quarters in the city of Santa Fé, New Mexico, and shall have power to require the presence of witnesses and the production of documents by subpoena, to employ a clerk who shall be empowered to administer oaths and take acknowledgments, shall employ such clerical assistance, interpreters, and stenographers with such compensation as the Attorney General shall deem adequate, and it shall be provided with such necessary supplies and equipment as it may require on requisitions to the Department of Justice. The compensation and allowance for travel and expenses of the member appointed by the President shall be fixed by the Attorney General.“It shall be the duty of said board to investigate, determine, and report and set forth by metes and bounds, illustrated where necessary by field notes and plats, the lands within the exterior boundaries of any land granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico by any authority of the United States of America, or any prior sovereignty, or acquired by said Indians as a community by purchase or otherwise, title to which the said board shall find not to have been extinguished in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the board shall not include in their report any claims of non-Indian claimants who, in the opinion of said board after investigation, hold and occupy such claims of which they have had adverse possession, in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of this Act: Provided, however, That the board shall be unanimous in all decisions whereby it shall be determined that the Indian title has been extinguished. “The board shall report upon each pueblo as a separate unit and upon the completion of each report one copy shall be filed with the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, one with the Attorney General of the United States, one with the Secretary of the Interior, and one with the Board of Indian Commissioners. “Sec. 3. That upon the filing of each report by the said board, the Attorney General shall forthwith cause to be filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, as provided in section 1 of this Act, a suit to quiet title to the lands described in said report as Indian lands the Indian title to which is determined by said report not to have been extinguished. “Sec. 4. That all persons claiming title to, or ownership of, any lands involved in any such suit, or suits, may in addition to any other legal or equitable defenses which they may have or have had under the laws of the Territory and State of New Mexico, plead limitation of action, as follows, to wit:“(a) That in themselves, their ancestors, grantors, privies, or predecessors in interest or claim of interest, they have had open, notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, adverse possession of the premises claimed, under color of title from the 6th day of January, 1902, to the date of the passage of this Act, and have paid the taxes lawfully assessed and levied thereon to the extent required by the statutes of limitation, or adverse possession of the Territory or of the State of New Mexico, since the 6th day of January, 1902, to the date of the passage of this Act, except where the claimant was exempted or entitled to be exempted from such tax payment. “(b) That in themselves, their ancestors, grantors, privies, or predecessors in interest or claim of interest, they have had open, notorious, actual, exclusive, continuous, adverse possession of the premises claimed with claim of ownership, but without color of title from the 16th day of March, 1889, to the date of the passage of this Act, and have paid the taxes lawfully assessed and levied thereon to the extent required by the statutes of limitation or adverse possession of the Territory or of the State of New Mexico, from the 16th day of March, 1899, to the date of the passage of this Act, except where the claimant was exempted or entitled to be exempted from such tax payment.“Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed to impair or destroy any existing right of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to assert and maintain unaffected by the provisions of this Act their title and right to any land by original proceedings, either in law or equity, in any court of competent jurisdiction and any such right may be asserted at any time prior to the filing of the field notes and plats as provided in section 13 hereof, and jurisdiction with respect to any such original proceedings is hereby conferred upon the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico with right of review as in other cases: Provided, however, That any contract entered into with any attorney or attorneys by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, to carry on such litigation shall be subject to and in accordance with existing laws of the United States. “Sec. 5. The plea of such limitations, successfully maintained, shall entitle the claimants so pleading to a decree in favor of them, their heirs, executors, successors, and assigns for the premises so claimed by them, respectively, or so much thereof as may be established, which shall have the effect of a deed of quitclaim as against the United States and said Indians, and a decree in favor of claimants upon any other ground shall have a like effect.“The United States may plead in favor of the pueblo, or any individual Indian thereof, as the case might be, the said limitations hereinbefore defined. “Sec. 6. It shall be the further duty of the board to separately report in respect of each such pueblo—“(a) The area and character of any tract or tracts of land within the exterior boundaries of any land granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and the extent, source, and character of any water right appurtenant thereto in possession of non-Indian claimants at the time of filing such report, which are not claimed for said Indians by any report of the board. “(b) Whether or not such tract or tracts of land or such water rights could be or could have been at any time recovered for said Indians by the United States by seasonable prosecution of any right of the United States or of said Indians. Seasonable prosecution is defined to mean prosecution by the United States within the same period of time as that within which suits to recover real property could have been brought under the limitation statutes of the Territory and State of New Mexico. “(c) The fair market value of said water rights and of said tract or tracts of land (exclusive of any improvements made therein or placed thereon by non-Indian claimants) whenever the board shall determine that such tract or tracts of land or such water rights could be or could have been at any time recovered for said Indians by the United States by seasonable prosecution of any right of the United States or of said Indians, and the amount of loss, if any, suffered by said Indians through failure of the United States seasonably to prosecute any such right.“The United States shall be liable, and the board shall award compensation, to the pueblo within the exterior boundaries of whose lands such tract or tracts of land shall be situated or to which such water rights shall have been appurtenant to the extent of any loss suffered by said Indians through failure of the United States seasonably to prosecute any right of the United States or of said Indians, subject to review as herein provided. Such report and award shall have the force and effect of a judicial finding and final judgment upon the question and amount of compensation due to the Pueblo Indians from the United States for such losses. Such report shall be filed simultaneously with and in like manner as the reports hereinbefore provided to be made and filed in section 2 of this Act. “At any time within sixty days after the filing of said report with the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico as herein provided the United States or any pueblo or Indians concerned therein or affected thereby may, in respect of any report upon liability or of any finding of amount or award of compensation set forth in such report, petition said court for judicial review of said report, specifying the portions thereof in which review is desired. Said court shall thereupon have jurisdiction to review, and shall review, such report, finding, or award in like manner as in the case of proceedings in equity. In any such proceeding the report of the board shall be prima facie evidence of the facts, the values, and the liability therein set forth, subject, however, to be rebutted by competent evidence. Any party in interest may offer evidence in support or in opposition to the findings in said report in any respect. Said court shall after hearing render its decision so soon as practicable, confirming, modifying, or rejecting said report or any part thereof. At any time within thirty days after such decision is rendered said court shall, upon petition of any party aggrieved, certify the portions of such report, review of which has been sought, together with the record in connection therewith, to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which shall have jurisdiction to consider, review, and decide all questions arising upon such report and record in like manner as in the case of appeals in equity, and its decision thereon shall be final. “Petition for review of any specific finding or award of compensation in any report shall not affect the finality of any findings nor delay the payment of any award set forth in such report, review of which shall not have been so sought, nor in any proceeding for review in any court under the provisions of this section shall costs be awarded against any party. “Sec. 7. It shall be the further duty of the board to investigate, ascertain, and report to the Secretary of the Interior who shall report to the Congress of the United States, together with his recommendation, the fair market value of lands, improvements appurtenant thereto, and water rights of non-Indian claimants who, in person or through their predecessors in title prior to January 6, 1912, in good faith and for a valuable consideration purchased and entered upon Indian lands under a claim of right based upon a deed or document purporting to convey title to the land claimed or upon a grant, or license from the governing body of a pueblo to said land, but fail to sustain such claim under the provisions of this Act, together with a statement of the loss in money value thereby suffered by such non-Indian claimants. Any lands lying within the exterior boundaries of the pueblo of Nambe land grant, which were conveyed to any holder or occupant thereof or his predecessor or predecessors in interest by the governing authorities of said pueblo, in writing, prior to January 6, 1912, shall unless found by said board to have been obtained through fraud or deception, be recognized as constituting valid claims by said board and by said courts, and disposed of in such manner as lands the Indian title to which has been determined to have been extinguished pursuant to the provisions of this Act: Provided, That nothing in this section contained with reference to the said Nambe Pueblo Indians shall be construed as depriving the said Indians of the right to impeach any such deed or conveyance for fraud or to have mistakes therein corrected through a suit in behalf of said pueblo or of an individual Indian under the provisions of this Act. “Sec. 8. It shall be the further duty of the board to investigate, ascertain, and report to the Secretary of the Interior the area and the value of the lands and improvements appurtenant thereto of non-Indian claimants within or adjacent to Pueblo Indian settlements or towns in New Mexico, title to which in such non-Indian claimants is valid and indefeasible, said report to include a finding as to the benefit to the Indians in anywise of the removal of such non-Indian claimants by purchase of their lands and improvements and the transfer of the same to the Indians, and the Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress the facts with his recommendations in the premises. “Sec. 9. That all lands, the title to which is determined in said suit or suits, shall, where necessary, be surveyed and mapped under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, at the expense of the United States, but such survey shall be subject to the approval of the judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, and if approved by said judge shall be filed in said court and become a part of the decree or decrees entered in said district court. “Sec. 10. That necessary costs in all original proceedings under this Act, to be determined by the court, shall be taxed against the United States and any party aggrieved by any final judgment or decree shall have the right to a review thereof by appeal or writ of error or other process, as in other cases, but upon such appeal being taken each party shall pay his own costs. “Sec. 11. That in the sense in which used in this Act the word ‘purchase’ shall be taken to mean the acquisition of community lands by the Indians other than by grant or donation from a sovereign. “Sec. 12. That any person claiming any interest in the premises involved but not impleaded in any such action may be made a party defendant thereto or may intervene in such action, setting up his claim in usual form. “Sec. 13. That as to all lands within the exterior boundaries of any lands granted or confirmed to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, by any authority of the United States of America or any prior sovereignty, or acquired by said Indians as a community by purchase or otherwise and which have not been claimed for said Indians by court proceedings then pending or the findings and report of the board as herein provided, the Secretary of the Interior at any time after two years after the filing of said reports of the board shall file field notes and plat for each pueblo in the office of the surveyor general of New Mexico at Santa Fé, New Mexico, showing the lands to which the Indian title has been extinguished as in said report set out, but excluding therefrom lands claimed by or for the Indians in court proceedings then pending, and copies of said plat and field notes certified by the surveyor general of New Mexico as true and correct copies shall be accepted in any court as competent and conclusive evidence of the extinguishment of all the right, title, and interest of the Indians in and to the lands so described in said plat and field notes and of any claim of the United States in or to the same. And the Secretary of the Interior within thirty days after the Indians’ right to bring independent suits under this Act shall have expired, shall cause notice to be published in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation issued, if any there be, in the county wherein lie such lands claimed by non-Indian claimants, respectively, or wherein some part of such lands are situated, otherwise in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation published nearest to such lands, once a week for five consecutive weeks, setting forth as nearly as may be the names of such non-Indian claimants of land holdings not claimed by or for the Indians as herein provided, with a description of such several holdings, as shown by a survey of Pueblo Indian lands heretofore made under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior and commonly known as the ‘Joy Survey,’ or as may be otherwise shown or defined by authority of the Secretary of the Interior, and requiring that any person or persons claiming such described parcel or parcels of land or any part thereof, adversely to the apparent claimant or claimants so named as aforesaid, or their heirs of assigns, shall, on or before the thirtieth day after the last publication of such notice, file his or their adverse claim in the United States Land Office in the land district wherein such parcel or parcels of land are situate, in the nature of a contest, stating the character and basis of such adverse claim, and notice of such contest shall be served upon the claimant or claimants named in the said notice, in the same manner as in cases of contest of homestead entries. If no such contest is instituted as aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue to the claimant or claimants, or their heirs or assigns, a patent or other certificate of title for the parcel or parcels of land so described in said notice; but if a contest be filed it shall proceed and be heard and decided as contests of homestead entries are heard and decided under the rules and regulations of the General Land Office pertinent thereto. Upon such contest either party may claim the benefit of the provisions of section 4 of this Act to the same extent as if he were a party to a suit to quiet title brought under the provisions of this Act, and the successful party shall receive a patent or certificate of title for the land as to which he is successful in such proceeding. Any patent or certificate of title issued under the provisions of this Act shall have the effect only of a relinquishment by the United States of America and the said Indians.“If after such notice more than one person or group of persons united in interest makes claim in such land office adverse to the claimant or claimants named in the said notice, or to any other person or group of persons who may have filed such contest, each contestant shall be required to set forth the basis and nature of his respective claim, and thereupon the said claims shall be heard and decided as upon an original contest or intervention. “And in all cases any person or persons whose right to a given parcel or parcels of land has become fixed either by the action of the said board or the said court or in such contest may apply to the Commissioner of the General Land Office for a patent or certificate of title and receive the same without cost or charge. “Sec. 14. That if any non-Indian party to any such suit shall assert against the Indian title a claim based upon a Spanish or Mexican grant, and if the court should finally find that such claim by the non-Indian is superior to that of the Indian claim, no final decree or judgment of ouster of the said Indians shall be entered or writ of possession or assistance shall be allowed against said Indians, or any of them, or against the United States of America acting in their behalf. In such case the court shall ascertain the area and value of the land thus held by any non-Indian claimant under such superior title, excluding therefrom the area and value of lots or parcels of land the title to which has been found to be in other persons under the provisions of this Act: Provided, however, That any findings by the court under the provisions of this section may be reviewed on appeal or writ of error at the instance of any party aggrieved thereby, in the same manner, to the same extent, and with like effect as if such findings were a final judgment or decree. When such finding adverse to the Indian claim has become final, the Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress the facts, including the area and value of the land so adjudged against the Indian claim, with his recommendations in the premises. “Sec. 15. That when any claimant, other than the United States for said Indians not covered by the report provided for in section 7 of this Act, fails to sustain his claim to any parcel of land within any Pueblo Indian grant, purchase, or donation under provisions of this Act, but has held and occupied any such parcel in good faith, claiming the same as his own, and the same has been improved, the value of the improvements upon the said parcel of land shall be found by the court and reported by the Secretary of the Interior to Congress, with his recommendations in the premises. “Sec. 16. That if the Secretary of the Interior deems it to be for the best interest of the Indians that any land adjudged by the court or said Lands Board against any claimant be sold, he may, with the consent of the governing authorities of the pueblo, order the sale thereof, under such regulations as he may make, to the highest bidder for cash; and if the buyer thereof be other than the losing claimant, the purchase price shall be used in paying to such losing claimant the adjudicated value of the improvements aforesaid, if found under the provisions of section 15 hereof, and the balance thereof, if any, shall be paid over to the proper officer, or officers, of the Indian community, but if the buyer be the losing claimant, and the value of his improvements has been adjudicated as aforesaid, such buyer shall be entitled to have credit upon his bid for the value of such improvements so adjudicated. “Sec. 17. No right, title, or interest in or to the lands of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to which their title has not been extinguished as hereinbefore determined shall hereafter be acquired or initiated by virtue of the laws of the State of New Mexico, or in any other manner except as may hereafter be provided by Congress, and no sale, grant, lease of any character, or other conveyance of lands, or any title or claim thereto, made by any pueblo as a community, or any Pueblo Indian living in a community of Pueblo Indians, in the State of New Mexico, shall be of any validity in law or in equity unless the same be first approved by the Secretary of the Interior. “Sec. 18. That the pleading, practice, procedure, and rules of evidence shall be the same in all causes arising under this Act as in other civil causes in the Federal courts, except as otherwise herein provided. “Sec. 19. That all sums of money which may hereafter be appropriated by the Congress of the United States for the purpose of paying in whole or in part any liability found or decreed under this Act from the United States to any pueblo or to any of the Indians of any pueblo, shall be paid over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which Bureau, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, shall use such moneys at such times and in such amounts as may seem wise and proper for the purpose of the purchase of lands and water rights to replace those which have been lost to said pueblo or to said Indians, or for purchase or construction of reservoirs, irrigation works, or the making of other permanent improvements upon, or for the benefit of lands held by said pueblo or said Indians. “SEC. 20. CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.“(a) In General.—Except as otherwise provided by Congress, jurisdiction over offenses committed anywhere within the exterior boundaries of any grant from a prior sovereign, as confirmed by Congress or the Court of Private Land Claims to a Pueblo Indian tribe of New Mexico, shall be as provided in this section. “(b) Jurisdiction of the Pueblo.—The Pueblo has jurisdiction, as an act of the Pueblos’ inherent power as an Indian tribe, over any offense committed by a member of the Pueblo or an Indian as defined in title 25 [United States Code], sections 1301(2) and 1301(4), or by any other Indian-owned entity. “(c) Jurisdiction of the United States.—The United States has jurisdiction over any offense described in chapter 53 of title 18, United States Code, committed by or against an Indian as defined in title 25 [United States Code], sections 1301(2) and 1301(4) or any Indian-owned entity, or that involves any Indian property or interest. “(d) Jurisdiction of the State of New Mexico.—The State of New Mexico shall have jurisdiction over any offense committed by a person who is not a member of a Pueblo or an Indian as defined in title 25 [United States Code], sections 1301(2) and 1301(4), which offense is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.”

White Earth Reservation Land Settlement

Pub. L. 99–264, Mar. 24, 1986, 100 Stat. 61, as amended by Pub. L. 100–153, § 6(a), (b), Nov. 5, 1987, 101 Stat. 887; Pub. L. 100–212, § 4, Dec. 24, 1987, 101 Stat. 1443; Pub. L. 101–301, § 8, May 24, 1990, 104 Stat. 210; Pub. L. 102–572, title IX, § 902(b)(2), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516; Pub. L. 103–263, § 4, May 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 708, provided: “That this Act may be cited as the ‘White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of 1985’. “Sec. 2. The Congress finds that—“(1) claims on behalf of Indian allottees or heirs and the White Earth Band involving substantial amounts of land within the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota are the subject of existing and potential lawsuits involving many and diverse interests in Minnesota, and are creating great hardship and uncertainty for government, Indian communities, and non-Indian communities; “(2) the lawsuits and uncertainty will result in great expense and expenditure of time, and could have a profound negative impact on the social and well-being of everyone on the reservation; “(3) the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians, State of Minnesota, along with its political subdivisions, and other interested parties have made diligent efforts to fashion a settlement to these claims, and the Federal Government, by providing the assistance specified in this Act, will make possible the implementation of a permanent settlement with regard to these claims; “(4) past United States laws and policies have contributed to the uncertainty surrounding the claims; “(5) it is in the long-term interest of the United States, State of Minnesota, White Earth Band, Indians, and non-Indians for the United States to assist in the implementation of a fair and equitable settlement of these claims; and “(6) this Act will settle unresolved legal uncertainties relating to these claims. “Sec. 3. For purposes of this Act:“(a) ‘Allotment’ shall mean an allocation of land on the White Earth Reservation, Minnesota, granted, pursuant to the Act of January 14, 1889 (25 Stat. 642), and the Act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 388) [see Short Title note above], to a Chippewa Indian. “(b) ‘Allottee’ shall mean the recipient of an allotment. “(c) ‘Full blood’ shall mean a Chippewa Indian of the White Earth Reservation, Minnesota, who was designated as a full blood Indian on the roll approved by the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on October 1, 1920, or who was so designated by a decree of a Federal court of competent jurisdiction; it shall also refer to an individual who is not designated on said roll but who is the biological child of two full blood parents so designated on the roll or of one full blood parent so designated on the roll and one parent who was an Indian enrolled in any other federally recognized Indian tribe, band, or community. “(d) ‘Inherited’ shall mean received as a result of testate or intestate succession or any combination of testate or intestate succession, which succession shall be determined by the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative. “(e) ‘Mixed blood’ shall mean a Chippewa Indian of the White Earth Reservation, Minnesota, who was designated as a mixed blood Indian on the roll approved by the United States District Court of Minnesota on October 1, 1920, unless designated a full blood by decree of a Federal court of competent jurisdiction; it shall also refer to any descendants of an individual who was listed on said roll providing the descendant was not a full blood under the definition in subsection (c) of this section. The term ‘mixed blood’ shall not include an Indian enrolled in any federally recognized Indian tribe, band, or community other than the White Earth Band. “(f) ‘Tax forfeited’ shall mean an allotment which, pursuant to State law, was declared forfeited for nonpayment of real property taxes and purportedly transferred directly to the State of Minnesota or to private parties or governmental entities. “(g) ‘Majority’ shall mean the age of twenty-one years or older. “(h) ‘Secretary’ shall mean the Secretary of the Interior or his/or her authorized representative. “(i) ‘Trust period’ shall mean the period during which the United States held an allotment in trust for the allottee or the allottee’s heirs. For the purpose of this Act, the Executive Order Numbered 4642 of May 5, 1927, Executive Order Numbered 5768 of December 10, 1931, and Executive Order Numbered 5953 of November 23, 1932, shall be deemed to have extended trust periods on all allotments or interests therein the trust periods for which would otherwise have expired in 1927, 1932, or 1933, notwithstanding the issuance of any fee patents for which there were no applications, and if such allotments were not specifically exempted from the Executive orders; and the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 [see Short Title note set out under section 5101 of this title], shall be deemed to have extended indefinitely trust periods on all allotments or interests therein the trust periods for which would otherwise have expired on June 18, 1934, or at any time thereafter. Said Executive orders and Act shall be deemed not to have extended the trust period for allotments or interests which were sold or mortgaged by adult mixed bloods, by non-Indians, or with the approval of the Secretary, or for allotments or interests which were sold or mortgaged by anyone where such sale or mortgage was the subject of litigation in Federal court which proceeded to a judgment on the merits and where the outcome of such litigation did not vacate or void said sale or mortgage. “(j) ‘Interest’, except where such item is used in conjunction with ‘compound’, shall mean a fractional holding, less than the whole, held in an allotment. “(k) ‘Adult’ shall mean having attained the age of majority. “(l) ‘Heir’ means a person who received or was entitled to receive an allotment or interest as a result of testate or intestate succession under applicable Federal or Minnesota law, or one who is determined under section 9, by the application of the inheritance laws of Minnesota in effect on March 26, 1986 (not including laws relating to spousal allowance and maintenance payments), to be entitled to receive compensation payable under section 8. “(m) ‘Transfer’ includes but is not limited to any voluntary or involuntary sale, mortgage, tax forfeiture or conveyance pursuant to State law; any transaction the purpose of which was to effect a sale, mortgage, tax forfeiture or conveyance pursuant to State law; any Act, event, or circumstance that resulted in a change of title to, possession of, dominion over, or control of an allotment or interest therein. “Sec. 4. (a) The provisions of this Act shall apply to the following allotments:“(1) allotments which were never sold or mortgaged by the allottees or by their heirs and which were tax forfeited during the trust period; “(2) allotments which were sold or mortgaged during the trust period, without the approval of the Secretary, by the allottees prior to having attained majority, and were never again sold or mortgaged either by the allottees upon their having attained majority or by heirs of the allottees; “(3) allotments which were sold or mortgaged during the trust period by full blood allottees without the approval of the Secretary, and were never again the subject of a sale or mortgage by heirs of the allottees; and “(4) allotments which were never sold or mortgaged by the allottees, but which subsequent to the deaths of the allottees, purportedly were sold or mortgaged, during the trust period, by administrators, executors, or representatives, operating under authority from State courts, and were never again the subject of a sale or mortgage by heirs of the allottees. “(b) The provisions of this Act shall also apply to the following allotments or interests in allotments:“(1) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or interests or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, or communities who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or interests, where the allotments or interests were tax forfeited during the trust period; “(2) allotments or interests which were inherited by mixed bloods under the age of majority and which were sold or mortgaged during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary prior to such mixed bloods having attained majority, but which were never again sold or mortgaged by them upon having attained majority or by their heirs; “(3) allotments or interests which were inherited by full bloods or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, or communities, who sold or mortgaged such allotments or interests during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary; “(4) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or interests, but which, subsequent to the deaths of such heirs, were sold or mortgaged during the trust period by administrators, operating under authority from State courts; “(5) allotments or interests which were owned by allottees or which were inherited by full or mixed bloods for whom guardians were appointed by State courts, which guardians sold or mortgaged the allotments or interests during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary; “(6) interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their interests during the trust period, even though other interests in the same allotment were sold by other heirs where the land comprising the allotment has been claimed in full by other parties adversely to the full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their interests; and “(7) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, or communities which were never sold or mortgaged during the trust period but which were purportedly distributed by State court probate proceedings to other individuals. “(c) This Act shall not apply to—“(1) any allotment or interest the sale or mortgage of which was the subject of litigation which proceeded to a judgment on the merits in Federal courts and where the outcome of such litigation was other than vacating and voiding such sale or mortgage; “(2) any allotment or interest which was tax forfeited subsequent to the date on which the tax exemption was declared by a Federal court to have expired; “(3) any allotment or interest which was sold, mortgaged, or tax forfeited after the expiration of the trust period; or “(4) any allotment or interest which was sold or mortgaged at any time by an adult mixed blood Indian. Nothing in this Act is intended to question the validity of the transactions relating to allotments or interests as described in section 4(c), and such allotments and interests are declared to be outside the scope of this Act. “Sec. 5. (a) Any determination of the heirs of any person holding an allotment or interest, made by the courts of the State of Minnesota, which is filed with the proper county recording officer prior to May 9, 1979, shall be deemed to have effectively transferred the title of the decedent in the allotment or interest to the heirs so determined unless a separate determination of heirs has been made by the Secretary before the effective date of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986] and such determination has been filed with the proper county recording officer within six months after the effective date of this Act. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to remove any allotment described in section 4 from the compensation provided for in the Act. “(b) The ‘proper county recording officer’, as that term is used in subsection (a) of this section, shall be a county recorder, registrar of titles, or probate court in Becker, Clearwater, or Mahnomen Counties, Minne­sota. “(c) As to any allotment which was granted to an allottee who had died prior to the selection date of the allotment, the granting of such allotment is hereby ratified and confirmed, and shall be of the same effect as if the allotment had been selected by the allottee before the allottee’s death: Provided, That the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians shall be compensated for such allotments in the manner provided in sections 6, 7, and 8. “(d) As to any allotment that was made under the provisions of the Treaty of March 19, 1867 (16 Stat. 719), and which was reallotted under the provisions of the Act of January 14, 1889 (25 Stat. 642), such reallotment is hereby ratified and confirmed. “Sec. 6. (a) As soon as the conditions set forth in section 10 of this Act have been met, the Secretary shall publish a certification in the Federal Register that such conditions have been met. After such publication, any allotment or interest which the Secretary, in accordance with this Act, determines falls within the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), the tax forfeiture, sale, mortgage, or other transfer, as described therein, shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with the Constitution and all laws of the United States specifically applicable to transfers of allotments or interests held by the United States in trust for Indians, and Congress hereby does approve and ratify any such transfer effective as of the date of said transfer, subject to the provisions of section 6(c). Compensation for loss of allotments or interests resulting from this approval and ratification shall be determined and processed according to the provisions of section 8. “(b) By virtue of the approval and ratification of transfers of allotments or interests therein effected by this section, all claims against the United States, the State of Minnesota or any subdivisions thereof, or any other person or entity, by the White Earth Band, its members, or by any other Indian tribe or Indian, or any successors in interest thereof, arising out of, and at the time of or subsequent to, the transfers described in section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c) and based on any interest in or nontreaty rights involving such allotments or interests therein, shall be deemed never to have existed as of the date of the transfer, subject to the provisions of this Act. “(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law other than the provisions of this section, any action in any court to recover title or damages relating to transactions described in section 4(a), 4(b), 5(a) or 5(c), shall be forever barred unless the complaint is filed not later than one hundred and eighty days following enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986], or prior to the publication required by section 6(a) whichever occurs later in time: Provided, That immediately upon the date of enactment of this Act any such action on behalf of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians shall be forever barred, unless the publication required by section 6(a) does not take place within two years of the date of enactment of this Act in which case the bar of any such action on behalf of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians shall be deemed lifted and nullified: Provided further, That the Secretary shall not issue to the White Earth Band any report rejecting litigation nor submit to Congress any legislation report pursuant to section 2415 of title 28, United States Code, relating to transactions described in section 4(a), 4(b), 5(a) or 5(c) of this Act, until and unless the bar against actions on behalf of the White Earth Band is lifted and nullified. Any such action filed within the time period allowed by this subsection shall not be barred; however, the filing of any such action by an allottee, heir, or others entitled to compensation under this Act shall bar such allottee, heir, or others from receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions of section 8. The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any such action otherwise properly filed within the time allowed by this subsection. “(d) This section shall not bar an heir, allottee, or any other person entitled to compensation under this Act from maintaining an action, based on the transactions described in section 4(a), 4(b), 5(a), or 5(c), against the United States in the Court of Federal Claims pursuant to the Tucker Act, section 1491 of title 28, United States Code, challenging the constitutional adequacy of the compensation provisions of section 8(a) as they apply to a particular allotment or interest: Provided, That such action shall be filed with the Court of Federal Claims not later than one hundred and eighty days after the issuance of the notice of the Secretary’s compensation determination as provided in section 8(c). If such an action is not filed within the one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, it shall be forever barred. The United States hereby waives any sovereign immunity defense it may have to such an action but does not waive any other defenses it may have to such action. The filing of an action by any heir, allottee, or any other person under the provisions of this section shall bar such person forever from receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions of section 8. “Sec. 7. (a) The Secretary is hereby authorized to and shall diligently investigate to the maximum extent practicable all White Earth allotments and shall determine which allotments or interest fall within any of the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c). As to all such allotments or interests determined to be within the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), the Secretary shall prepare lists of such allotments or interests, which shall include allotment number, land description, and allottee’s name, in English and Ojibway where available. A first list shall be published within one hundred and eighty days after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986] in the Federal Register; in a newspaper of general circulation in Mahnomen County, Minnesota; in a newspaper of general circulation in Becker County, Minnesota; in a newspaper of general circulation in Clearwater County, Minnesota; in one newspaper of general circulation in metropolitan Minneapolis-Saint Paul; and, in the Secretary’s discretion, in any appropriate band or tribal newspaper. Publication in the required newspapers shall take place no later than thirty days after publication in the Federal Register. “(b) Any tribe, band, or group of Indians, or any individual shall have one year after the date of publication in the Federal Register to submit to the Secretary any additional allotments or interests which the tribe, band, group, or individual believes should fall within any of the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c). The Secretary, without such submissions, may also independently determine that additional allotments or interests fall within such provisions. Any additional allotments or interests submitted to the Secretary shall be accompanied by a statement identifying the allotment or interest and its land description and summarizing the reasons why it should be added to the list required by this section. “(c) The Secretary shall determine which additional allotments or interests fall within the provisions of section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), and not later than March 12, 1989, the Secretary shall publish a second list in the Federal Register and previously required newspapers of the allotments or interests the Secretary has determined should be corrected or added to the first published list. “(d) Any determination made by the Secretary under this section to include an allotment or interest on the first list required by the section to be published in the Federal Register may be judicially reviewed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.] not later than ninety days of the publication date of the first list of the Federal Register. Any such action not filed within such ninety-day period shall be forever barred. Any determination made by the Secretary to include an allotment or interest on the second list required by this section to be published in the Federal Register, or any determination made by the Secretary not to include an allotment or interest on such list, may be judicially reviewed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act within ninety days of the publication date of the second list in the Federal Register. Any such action not filed within such ninety-day period shall be forever barred. Exclusive jurisdiction over actions under this subdivision is hereby vested in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. “(e)(1) After publication of the second list under subsection (c), the Secretary may, at any time, add allotments or interests to that second list if the Secretary determines that the additional allotment or interest falls within the provisions of section 5(c) or subsection (a) or (b) of section 4. “(2) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of any additions made under paragraph (1) to the second list published under subsection (c). “(3) Any determination made by the Secretary to add an allotment or interest under paragraph (1) to the second list published under subsection (c) may be judicially reviewed in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, within 90 days after the date on which notice of such determination is published in the Federal Register under paragraph (2). Any legal action challenging such a determination that is not filed within such 90-day period shall be forever barred. Exclusive jurisdiction over any legal action challenging such a determination is vested in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. “(f)(1) The Secretary is authorized to make a one-time deletion from the second list published under subsection (c) or any subsequent list published under subsection (e) of any allotments or interests which the Secretary has determined do not fall within the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of section 4, or subsection (c) of section 5, or which the Secretary has determined were erroneously included in such list by reason of misdescription or typographical error. “(2) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of deletions made from the second list published under subsection (c) or any subsequent list published under subsection (e). “(3) The determination made by the Secretary to delete an allotment or interest under paragraph (1) may be judicially reviewed in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, within 90 days after the date on which notice of such determination is published in the Federal Register under paragraph (2). Any legal action challenging such a determination that is not filed within such 90-day period shall be forever barred. Exclusive jurisdiction over any legal action challenging such a determination is vested in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. “Sec. 8. (a) Compensation for a loss of an allotment or interest shall be the fair market value of the land interest therein as of the date of tax forfeiture, sale, allotment, mortgage, or other transfer described in section 4(a), 4(b), or 5(c), less any compensation actually received, plus interest compounded annually at 5 per centum from the date of said loss of an allotment or interest until the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986], and at the general rate of interest earned by United States Department of the Interior funds thereafter. A determination of compensation actually received shall be supported by Federal, State, or local public documents filed contemporaneously with the transaction or by clear and convincing evidence. Compensation actually received shall not be subtracted from the fair market value in any instance where an allotment or interest was sold or mortgaged by a full or mixed blood, under the age of eighteen years, or in any instance where there is prima facie evidence that fraud occurred in a sale or mortgage. No compensation for loss of an allotment or interest relating to transfers described in section 4(b) shall be granted to any person or the heirs of such person where such allotment or interest was received pursuant to State court probate proceedings and where also it has been or is determined by the Secretary that such person or heirs were not entitled to inherit the allotment or interest. “(b) For the purpose of this section, the date of transfer applicable to interests described in section 4(b)(6) shall be the last date on which any interest in the subject allotment was transferred by document of record by any other heir of the allottee; and the date of transfer applicable to allotments described in section 5(c) shall be the selection date. For purposes of this section, the Secretary shall establish the fair market value of various types of land for various years, which shall govern the compensation payable under this section unless a claimant demonstrates that a particular allotment or interest had a value materially different from the value established by the Secretary. “(c) The Secretary shall provide written notice of the Secretary’s compensation determination to the allottees or heirs entitled thereto. Such notice shall describe the basis for the Secretary’s determination, the applicable time limits for judicial review of the determination, and the process whereby such compensation will be distributed. The Secretary shall proceed to make such heirship determinations as may be necessary to provide the notice required by this section: Provided, That the Secretary shall accept as conclusive evidence of heirship any determination of the courts of the State of Minnesota as provided in section 5(a) of this Act: Provided further, That the Secretary shall give written notice only to those allottees or heirs whose addresses can be ascertained by reasonable and diligent efforts; otherwise such notice shall be given by publication in the Federal Register. “(d) The Secretary’s administrative determination of the appropriate amount of compensation computed pursuant to the provisions of this Act may be judicially reviewed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.] not later than one hundred and eighty days after the issuance of notice as aforesaid; after such time the Secretary’s determination shall be conclusive and all judicial review shall be barred. Exclusive jurisdiction over any such action is hereby vested in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. “(e) Once a compensation determination has become conclusive according to the provisions of subsection (d), the Secretary shall certify such determination to the Secretary of the Treasury and such conclusive determination shall be treated as a final judgment, award or, compromise settlement under the provisions of title 31, United States Code, section 1304. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay out of the funds in the Treasury into a separate interest bearing White Earth Settlement Fund account the amount certified by the Secretary of the Interior in each case. The Secretary of the Interior shall then make a diligent effort to locate each allottee or heir; however, if, after two years from the date on which a determination becomes conclusive an allottee or heir cannot be located, the Secretary of the Interior shall declare the amount owing to such allottee or heir forfeited. “(f) Any and all amounts forfeited pursuant to subsection (e) together with the interest accumulated thereon, pursuant to section 8 shall be transferred annually to the fund established under section 12 for the White Earth Band. “Sec. 9. The Secretary shall determine the heirs, if heretofore undetermined, or modify the inventory of an existing heirship determination of any full or mixed blood or Indian enrolled in any other federally recognized Indian tribe, band, or community, where appropriate for the purposes of this Act: Provided, That the Secretary shall accept any determination of heirship by the courts of the State of Minnesota as provided in section 5(a) of this Act. “Sec. 10. (a) The provisions of section 6 of this Act shall take effect upon the publication in the Federal Register by the Secretary of certification that the following conditions have been satisfied:“(1) The State of Minnesota, in accordance with Laws of Minnesota 1984, chapter 539, has entered into an agreement with the Secretary providing for the transfer of ten thousand acres of land within the exterior boundaries of the White Earth Reservation to the United States to hold in trust for the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians as the State’s contribution to the settlement provided for by this Act. The Secretary shall not enter into such an agreement until the Secretary determines, or the authorized governing body of the band certifies to the Secretary in writing, that the agreement will result in the transfer of ten thousand acres which possess reasonable value for the White Earth Band, including but not limited to value for agricultural, recreational, forestry, commercial, residential, industrial, or general land consolidation purposes. The land transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be accepted by the United States subject to all existing accesses, roads, easements, rights of way, or similar uses unless the Governor and Attorney General of the State of Minnesota certify in writing to the Secretary the State’s intent to abandon such uses on a particular parcel. “(2) The State, in accordance with the Laws of Minnesota 1984, chapter 539, has appropriated $500,000 for the purpose of providing the United States with technical and computer assistance for implementing the settlement provided for in this Act. “(3) The United States has appropriated $6,600,000 for economic development for the benefit of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians. “(b) Upon final acceptance by the Secretary, the land referred to in subsection (a)(1) shall be deemed to have been reserved as of the date of the establishment of the White Earth Reservation and to be part of the trust land of the White Earth Reservation for all purposes. “Sec. 11. Nothing in this Act is intended to alter the jurisdiction currently possessed by the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians, the State of Minnesota, or the United States over Indians or non-Indians within the exterior boundaries of the White Earth Reservation. “Sec. 12. (a) There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the White Earth Economic Development and Tribal Government Fund. Money in this Fund shall be held in trust by the United States for the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians, and shall be invested and managed by the Secretary in the same manner as tribal trust funds pursuant to the Act of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a). “(b) The White Earth Economic Development and Tribal Government Fund shall consist of—“(1) money received by the White Earth Band as compensation pursuant to section 8; and “(2) money received by the White Earth Band as a result of amounts forfeited pursuant to section 8(f); and “(3) money received as an appropriation pursuant to section 15; and “(4) income accruing on such sums. Income accruing to the White Earth Economic Development and Tribal Government Fund shall, without further appropriation, be available for expenditure as provided in subsection (c). “(c) Income from the fund may be used by the authorized governing body of the band for band administration. Principal and income may be used by the authorized governing body of the band for economic development, land acquisition, and investments: Provided, however, That under no circumstances shall any portion of the moneys described in subsection (b) be used for per capita payments to any members of the band: Provided further, That none of the funds described in subsection (b) shall be expended by the governing body of the band until—“(1) such body has adopted a band financial ordinance and investment plan for the use of such funds; and “(2) such body has submitted to the Secretary a waiver of liability on the part of the United States for any loss resulting from the use of such funds; and “(3) the Secretary has approved the band financial ordinance and investment plan. The Secretary shall approve or reject in writing such ordinance and plan within sixty days of the date it is mailed or otherwise submitted to him: Provided, That such ordinance and plan shall be deemed approved if, sixty days after submission, the Secretary has not so approved or rejected it. The Secretary shall approve the ordinance and plan if it adequately contains the element specified in this subsection. “Sec. 13. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the United States grants its permission to the State of Minnesota to transfer land to the White Earth Band as described in section 10(a)(1) which prior to the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986] may have been obtained by the State pursuant to other Federal law or with Federal assistance. Any restrictions or conditions imposed by any other Federal law or regulation on the transfer of such land are hereby waived and removed. “Sec. 14. Not later than five years, or as soon as possible, after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 24, 1986], the Secretary shall make all determinations, provide all notices, and complete the administrative work necessary to accomplish the objectives of this Act. The Secretary shall give priority in making compensation determinations and payments under this Act to original allottees and elderly heirs. The Secretary shall submit a report by January 1 of each year to the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs [now Committee on Natural Resources] and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which report shall summarize the administrative progress to date and shall estimate the amount and nature of work left to be done. “Sec. 15. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the White Earth Band $6,600,000 as a grant to be expended as provided in section 12. “Sec. 16. None of the moneys which are distributed under this Act shall be subject to Federal or State income taxes or be considered as income or resources in determining eligibility for or the amount of assistance under the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.] or any other federally assisted program. “Sec. 17. The Secretary is authorized, if so requested by the authorized governing body of the White Earth Band, to exchange any of the land which is transferred to the United States as described in section 10(a)(1) for any other land within the exterior boundaries of the White Earth Reservation which is owned by the United States, the State of Minnesota, or any of the State’s political subdivisions. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require an exchange not agreed to by all parties to the exchange. “Sec. 18. Any lands acquired by the White Earth Band within the exterior boundaries of the White Earth Reservation with funds referred to in section 12, or by the Secretary pursuant to section 17, shall be held in trust by the United States. Such lands shall be deemed to have been reserved from the date of the establishment of said reservation and to be part of the trust land of the White Earth Band for all purposes.”

Winnebago Reservation, Nebraska

Act Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 431, 43 Stat. 1114, provided: “That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized in his discretion, to cancel any restricted fee patents that have been issued to Indians of the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, under the provisions of the Act of Congress of February 21, 1863 (Twelfth Statutes at Large, page 658), and to issue in lieu thereof, to the original allottees, or heirs, trust patents of the form and subject to all the provisions set out in the general allotment act of February 8, 1887 (Twenty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 388), as amended: Provided, That the trust period shall be ten years from the date of issuance of the lieu trust patents.”