OCR Text |
Show PUBLIC ROADS OVER INDIAN LANDS. Section 4 of the Indian appropriation act approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat., p. 1058), provides for the opening of public roads over Indian lands, allotted and tribal, by the State or local authorities, as foIlows: That the Secretary of the Interior ia hereby authorized to grant permission, upon compliance with such requirements ae he may deem necessary, to the proper State or local authorities for the opening and establishment of public highways, in accord-ance with the laws of the State or Territory in wbich the lands are sitnated, through any indian reservation or through any lands which have been allotted in severalty to any individual Indians under any laws or treaties, but which have not been con-veyed to the allottees with full power of alienation. In pursuance of the foregoing provision of law the following regu-lations were approved by this Office on June 3,1903, and by the Depart-ment June 11: Tile laws of the R e ~ ~ ~Sr tnslt wand Territories reepectingrh~eatablishmr~notf p u . ~ lic nds, anal the eonclirious aurroundiue rhedifftrent rest.rvations and allotted land8 likely to'be crossed by public mads, areso widely at variance thzt it is not deemed advisable to formulate other than general rules governing the manner of presenting the application for the grant of the permission and the showing made in support thereof. In order to secnre the grant of permission to open pubilc highways through any Indian reservation or over lands allotted in severalty to and held in trust by the United States for individual Indians, local road authorities will he required tomake formal application, addressed to the Secretary of the Interior, and accompany the same by a mtisfactory showing as to the necessity for the proposed road or highway, and a map or plat thereof showing its exact location in connection with the lines of the public survey where surveyed, also its width and length within the reservation orsllotted lands. Where the landnds trrwersed havebeen surveyed the proposed road * or highway muat follow section lines as far as practicable, and satisfactory showing must be made for any departure therefrom. These applications must be filed with the Indian agent in charge of the reservation desired to be cmssed, and in ease of allotted lands, where attached to an agency, with the agent in charge, and where not attached, directly with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. It shall be the duty of the Indian agent to bring the matter to the attention of the individual Indians or tribeaffected and to examine fully into the matter and mzke report thereon in forwarding the application to the Commissioner of Indian Affaira, who, in turn, will submit the application with his recommendation thereon to the Becretary of the Interior for approval or dieapproval. Copies of these redations were sent July 1, 1903, to all Indian agents and superintendents of schools, with instructions to furnish copies to all county or local road authorities and to thoroughly famil-iarize themselves with the local road laws and see that the same are strictly complied with where roads are sought to be opened over Indian allotments; also to see that the rights of the Indians are properly pro-tected and that they receive adequate compensation for any damsge done. 9423-03-5 |