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Show REPORT OF THE COXMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAES. XXI "INDIAN COUNTRY?' During the last session of Congress the me,auiug of the words 'LIn-dian Country," as used in the Revised Statutes and other laws of the United States, was made a subject of inquiry by the Senate Committee on the Revision of the Laws. The attention of the Senate was called to the matter by a letter froill Judge McCrsry, addressed to Hon. G. F. Hoar, United States Senator, in which he stated that lie had recently had ocoasion to decide that sectiou 1 of the act of June 50,1834, known as the "trade and intercourse act" (4 Stat., 729), was repealed hx the Revised Statutes, and that if he was correct in this ruling there was no act of Oongress in force defining the meani~ig of the words "Indian Country," or the 1ocalit.y or bomidaries of the 'lludia~i Country." The committee concurred with Judge McCrary, and requested the views of the department and the preparation of a bill drawn to meet the reqnire-ments of the publio service. A report wa.%prepared by this office reciting the various acts of Con-gress relating to the ~11nilianC ountry," and the decisions of the courts thereon. The conclusion reached in the report was in accord with the decision rendered by Judge Hillyer, of the United States district court of Nevada, in the case of the United States vs. Leathers (6 Sawyer, 17), in which he held that section 1 of the intercourse law of 1834 was re-pealed by the Revised Statutes, and that the words "Indian Country" referred to t,he portions of the public land allotted to the use and oocu-pation of the Indians. There seemed, therefore, to be no occasion to anticipate the difficulties feared by Judge McOrary. A bill was prepared, however, for the use of the committee, if they re-garded any legislation as necessary, which provided that- The words "Iudirsn Countrg," as naed in eltaptor four of title twenty-cigl~to f the Revised Statutes and other laws of the United States, shall be oonstrlled to apply to and include the following classes of Iudian reservations, viz: Lands to which the original Iudian title has never been oxtiognished, but which have not bean apeoifioally reserved hy treaty, act of Caugress, or otherwise, for the use of tho Indians; lenda ex-pressly reserved by treaty or act of Cougress, or set npsrt tifor the use of the Indians by exeontine orderof the Presidbnt of the Uuited States; lands patented to Indian tribes; and lands which have been purehasod by or ceded to the United States for the por- Dove of settling friendly Indims t.hereon. This bill was favorably reported by the committee as Senate bill2100, with the following words stricken out: "lands to which the original Indian title has never been extinguished, but which have not been specifically reserved by treaty, act of Congress, or otherwise, for the use of the Indians, or for other purposes," for tlie reason, as stated in the report, that they believe that there are no such lands in the United States. (See Senate Report No. 773, Forty-seventh Congress, first ses-sion.) This claose was intended to cover the lands in Dakota occupied and claimed by the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewas. No further action appears to have been taken upon the subject. |
