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Show liv FIFTY-SEYESTH ANNUAL REPORT OF tqon any Indian reeervation, or lands belonging to or ooo&pied by any trae of Indiaae under anthority of the United Statee, shall pay a fine of not more than five hundred dol-lws, or be imprisoned not more than twelve months, or both, in the disn.etio~a of the COYl't, In a uommnnication dated July 9,1888, Indian Agent ~ e l l s ,o f the Puyallnp Agency, Wash., asked this office whether this act applied to lands for which Indians have received patents under provisions of trea-ties made between them and the Government. This qoe~tionw, ith specific references to the several articles of the treaties which authorize the Indians who are under the jurisdiction of Agent Fells to take lands in severalty, was submitted by the Depart-ment to the Department of Justice for its opinion, which mas given as follows: DEPARTXE'NT OF JUSTICE, lfashiibgton, Seylen~Ber 11, 1888. The S ~ c n z T a OnF~ . rile I s ~ ~ r t r o n : Sm: Yoor communication of the Pd August, 1888, asking an opinion as to whether the act of Congress enlitled "An act to amend section 5:IdB of the Revised Statutes of the United States in relation to timber depredations," approved 4th June, 1888, applies to hods for which iudividual Indians have received patents under treaties between the t~.ibesto wbioh they belonged when the treaties were reapect,ively made with the United States. As the question submitted hsa reference to landa in Washington Territory held by Indians under patents from the United States, I shall oonfioe lr~ysalfto those lands and the law regulating the tenure thereof. The act af Congress upon whioh the question snbmitted arises provides: timber stgnding con the land bf the Uiited'States which, in pursuince of ii*v;mai be reserved or norchased for militarv or other ournanm. or noon aus Indian reserva- ~ ~ , ~,~ ~, . ~~~. tiou. g,r Innale Geitrnging to or uc;~l;:~.alI ng any tribe out int<l~an,.ur tbder irutl,oriry of the ilnir*.<IJ latrs, rllilll ~ H IYI ti tto oiuot NOW tlnntl t i \ * : 11111,drt.d dullill'9 or l w itttpr~s-uued not robure l l ~ 1~ t ~~u ~tm~th$u. r~ 1~~111i1u. he~ a l i s~c~~l i~uuit ~th m ~:ourl."' The letter of the Acting Comnlibrrionerof 1ndi:m Affairs, which sccompanied yonr oomm~lnications, tates that the timber lands in queation are hold in severalty by In-dians under patents from the Unit,ed States. These patents were issued under the treaties referred to and quoted in presenting the question submitted for mp consider-ation. The effect of this aotion under these treaties and of the'act of ~ ' o ~ ~ g roefs tsh e 8th Fa'ebmars, 18H7 (14 Stat., 390), entitled "An sot to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty on the various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United States and the Territoriaa over tbe Indians, and for other pur-posea:': aas, no doubt, to sunder the tribal relationsof the Iudiau allottees and place t,hem under the protection of St,ate or Territorial law, as the case might be; and, where the allottee w.8 born within the Territorial limits of the United States, make him s citizen of the United States. Of this there can be no room for controversy under the eat of 8th Febmsry, 1887, to say nothing of the treaties already mentioned, with which the statute is largely concurreot. The sixth seotion of the act provides as follows: "That upon the completion of said allotments and the patenting of the lands to said allotteos, each and every member of the respective bands or tribes of Iudians to whom allotments have been m d e a hall h ~ s tehe benefit of and be snhject to the laws, both civil and orimiual, of the State or Turritory iu which they may reside; and no Territory shall pass or enforce any law denying any such lndian within its |