OCR Text |
Show I REPORT OF THE UOMb[ISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 65 I minor heirs their intermts shall be sold only by a guardian duly appinted by the proper court upon the order of such court, made upon petition filed by the guardian; hut all such conveyances shall he subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and when so approved shall convey a full title to the purchaser, the eame as if a final patent without restriction upon the alienation had been issued to th8 allottee. All allotted land so alienated by the heirs of an Indian allottee, and all lands so patented to a white allottee shall ther&~on he subject to taxation under the laws of the S@te or Territory where the =me is situate: Provided, That the sale herein provided for shall not apply to the homeatead during the life of the father, mother, or the minority of any child or children. Under this act all the landsthat have been allotted in severalty to Indians may after their death he sold and conveyed by their heirs. This removes the restrictions hitherto' existing as to the alienation of these lands, except such of them as are held as homesteads and those held by the Five Civilized Tribes, the latter exception being 'based upon a decision of the Department rendered August 11,1902. These inherited lands are now held in trust by the United States, but the approval by the Secretary of the Interior of such conveyances as may be made under this law is the fiiial administration of the trust, and the I purchaser takes a fee-simple title, clear, free, and unencumbered. The lands then became subject to taxation under the laws of the State or Territory in which they are situated. This law divides the heirs of deceased allottees into two classes, adults and minors, the former being given the privilege of selling or not sellingtheir inherited landi according to their own judgment, with-out any restriction other than that the sale must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. The minors must act through guardians aepointed by the courts, and, as in every case of guardianship, the interests of the minors should be protected, and their inherited lands should he sold or not, as will best promote their welfare. Any sale of such lands must bg upon petition of the guardian filed-in the court in which he iu appointed and before becoming effective must be approved J by the Secretary of the Interior. In every w e the heirs are the beneficiaries, and the mopey derived from salw of inherited lands will I be paid directly to them, if they are adults, or, if minors, to their guardians, to be administered in the proper court. The ides seems to prevail among the Indians, or has been purposely disseminated, that the enactment of this law was for the purpose of forcing the sale of the inherited lands, and it has been necessary fre-, quently to explain that such sales are not compulsory, but are in the nature of a privilege granted to the heirs-a privilege which will be of little or no benefit unless sound judgment and discretion are exercised; The well-known eagerness to' secure possession of Indln lands has been exemplified by the interest this law has created in and around |