While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
An Act For the protection of the people of the Indian Territory, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all criminal prosecutions in the Indian Territory against officials for embezzlement, bribery, and embracery the word " officer," when the same appears in the criminal laws heretofore extended over and put in force in said Territory, shall include all officers of the several tribes or nations of Indians in said Territory.
SEC. 2. That when in the progress of any civil suit, either in law or equity, pending in the United States court, in any district in said Territory, it shall appear to the court that the property of any tribe is in any way affected by the issues being heard, said court is hereby authorized and required to make said tribe a party to said suit by service upon the chief or governor of the tribe, and the suit shall thereafter be
conducted and determined as if said tribe had been an original party to said action.
SEC. 3. That said courts are hereby given jurisdiction in their respective districts to try cases against those who may claim to hold as members of a tribe and whose membership is denied by the tribe, but who continue to hold said lands and tenements notwithstanding the objection of the tribe; and if it be found upon trial that the same are held unlawfully against the tribe by those claiming to be members thereof, and the membership
and right are disallowed by the Commission to the Five Tribes, or the United States court, and the judgment has become final, then said court shall cause the parties charged with unlawfully holding said possessions to be removed from the same and cause the lands and tenements to be restored to the person or persons or nation or tribe of Indians entitled to the possession of the same : Provided always, That any person being a noncitizen in
possession of lands, holding the possession thereof under an agreement, lease, or improvement contract with either of said nations or tribes, or any citizen thereof, executed prior to January first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, may, as to lands not exceeding in amount one hundred and sixty acres, in defense of any action for the possession of said lands show that he is and has been in peaceable possession of such lands, and that he
has while in such possession made lasting and valuable improvements thereon, and that he has not enjoyed the possession thereof a sufficient length of time to compensate him for such improvements. Thereupon the court or jury trying said cause shall determine the fair and reasonable value of such improvements and the fair and reasonable rental value of such lands for the time the same shall have been occupied by such person, and if the
improvements exceed in value the amount of rents with which such person should be charged, the court, in its judgment, shall specify such time as will, in the opinion of the court, compensate such person for the balance due, and award him possession for such time unless the amount be paid by claimant within such reasonable time as the court shall specify. If the finding be that the amount of rents exceed the value of the improvements,
judgment shall be rendered against the defendant for such sum, for which execution may issue.
SEC. 4. That all persons who have heretofore made improvements on lands belonging to any one of the said tribes of Indians, claiming rights of citizenship, whose claims have been decided adversely under the act of Congress approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, shall have possession thereof until and including December thirty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety -eight, and may, prior to that time, sell or dispose of the
same to any member of the tribe owning the land who desires to take the same in his allotment : Provided, That this sec tion shall not apply to improvements which have been appraised and paid for, or payment tendered by the Cherokee Nation under the agreement with the United States approved by Congress March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three.
SEC. 5. That before any action by any tribe or person shall be commenced under section three of this act it shall be the duty of the party bringing the same to notify the adverse party to leave the premises for the possession of which the action is about to be brought, which notice shall be served at least thirty days before commencing the action by leaving a written copy with the defendants, or, if he can not be found, by leaving
the same at his last known place of residence or business with any person occupying the premises over the age of twelve years, or, if his residence or business address can not be ascertained, by leaving the same with any person over the age of twelve years upon the premises sought to be recovered and described in said notice; and if there be no person with whom said notice can be left, then by posting same on the premises.
SEC. 6. That the summons shall not issue in such action until the chief or governor of the tribe, or person or persons bringing suit in his own behalf, shall have filed a sworn complaint, on behalf of the tribe or himself, with the court, which shall, as near as practicable, describe the premises so detaiyed, and shall set forth a detention without the consent of the person bringing said suit or the tribe, by one whose membership is
denied by it : Provided, That if the chief or governor refuse or fail to bring suit in behalf of the tribe, then any member of the tribe may make complaint and bring said suit.
SEC. 7. That the court in granting a continuance of any case, particularly under section three, may, in its discretion, require the party applying there for to give an undertaking to the adverse party, with good and sufficient securities, to be approved by the judge of the court, conditioned for the payment of all dam ages and costs and defraying the rent which may accrue if judgment be rendered against him.
SEC. 8. That when a judgment for restitution shall be entered by the court the clerk shall, at the request of the plaintiff or his attorney, issue a writ of execution thereon, which shall command the proper officer of the court to cause the defendant or defendants to be forthwith removed and ejected from the premises and the plaintiff given complete and undisturbed possession of the same. The writ shall also command the said officer
to levy upon the property of the defendant or defendants subject to execution, and also collect there from the costs of the action and all accruing costs in the service of the writ. Said writ shall be executed within thirty days.
SEC. 9. That the jurisdiction of the court and municipal authority of the city of Fort Smith for police purposes in the State of Arkansas is hereby extended over all that strip of land in the Indian Territory lying and being situate between the corporate limits of the said city of Fort Smith and the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, and extending up the said Poteau River to the mouth of Mill Creek; and all the laws and ordinances for the
preservation of the peace and health of said city, as far as the same are applicable, are hereby put in force therein: Provided, That no charge or tax shall ever be made or levied by said city against said laud or the tribe or nation to whom it belongs.
SEC. 10. That all actions for restitution of possession of real property under this act must be commenced by the service of a summons within two years after the passage of this act, where the wrongful detention or possession began prior to the date of its passage; and all actions which shall be commenced hereafter, based upon wrongful detention or possession committed since the passage of this act must be commenced within two years
after the cause of action accrued. And nothing in this act shall take away the right to maintain an action for unlawful and forcible entry and detainer given by the act of Congress passed May second, eighteen hundred and ninety (twenty-sixth United States Statutes, page ninety-five).
SEC. 11. That when the roll of citizenship of any one of said nations or tribes is fully completed as provided by law, and the survey of
the lands of said nation or tribe is also completed, the Commission heretofore appointed under acts of Congress, and known as the " Dawes Commission," shall proceed to allot the exclusive use and occupancy of the surface of all the lands of said nation or tribe susceptible of allotment among the citizens thereof, as shown by said roll, giving to each, so far as possible, his fair and equal share thereof, consider ing the nature and
fertility of the soil, location, and value of same ; but all oil, coal, asphalt, and mineral deposits in the lands of any tribe are reserved to such tribe, and no allotment of such lands shall carry the title to such oil, coal, asphalt, or mineral deposits ; and all town sites shall also be reserved to the several tribes, and shall be set apart by the Commission heretofore mentioned as incapable of allotment. There shall also be reserved
from allotment a sufficient amount of lands now occupied by churches, schools, parsonages, charitable institutions, and other public buildings for their present actual and necessary use, and no more, not to exceed five acres for each school and one acre for each church and each parsonage, and for such new schools as may be needed ; also sufficient land for burial grounds where necessary. When such allotment of the lands of any tribe has
been by them completed, said Commission shall make full report thereof to the Secretary of the Interior for his approval : Provided, That nothing herein contained shall in any way affect any vested legal rights which may have been heretofore granted by act of Congress, nor be so construed as to confer any additional rights upon any parties claiming under any such act of Congress : Provided further. That whenever it shall appear that any
member of a tribe is in possession of lands, his allotment may be made out of the lands in his possession, including his home if the holder so desires : Provided further, That if the person to whom an allotment shall have been made shall be declared, upon appeal as herein provided for, by any of the courts of the United States in or for the aforesaid Territory, to have been illegally accorded rights of citizenship, and for that or any other
reason declared to be not entitled to any allotment, he shall be ousted and ejected from said lands; that all persons known as intruders who have been paid for their improvements under existing laws and have not surrendered possession thereof who may be found under the provisions of this act to be entitled to citizenship shall, within ninety days thereafter, refund the amount so paid them, with six per centum interest, to the tribe
entitled, thereto ; and upon their failure so to do said amount shall become a lien upon all improvements owned by such person in such Territory, and may be enforced by such tribe ; and unless such person makes such restitution no allotments shall be made to him : Provided further, That the lands allotted shall be nontransferable until after full title is acquired and shall be liable for no obligations contracted prior thereto by the
allottee, and shall be nontaxable while so held: Provided further, That all towns and cities here to fore incorporated or incorporated under the provisions of this act are hereby authorized to secure, by condemnation or otherwise, all the lands actually necessary for public improvements, regardless of tribal lines; and when the same can not be secured otherwise than by condemnation, then the same may be acquired as provided in sections nine
hundred and seven and nine hundred and twelve, inclusive, of Mansfield s Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas.
SEC. 12. That when report of allotments of lands of any tribe shall be made to the Secretary of the Interior, as hereinbefore provided, he shall make a record thereof, and when he shall confirm such allotments the allottees shall remain in peaceable and undisturbed possession thereof, subject to the provisions of this act.
SEC. 13. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed from time to time to provide rules and regulations in regard to the leasing of oil, coal, asphalt, and other minerals in said Territory, and all such leases shall be made by the Secretary of the Interior ; and any lease for any such minerals otherwise made shall be absolutely void. No lease shall he made or renewed for a longer period than fifteen years,
nor cover the mineral in more than six hundred and forty acres of land, which shall conform as nearly as possible to the surveys. Lessees shall pay on each oil, coal, asphalt, or other mineral claim at the rate of one hundred dollars per annum, in advance, for the first and second years ; two hundred dollars per annum, in advance, for the third and fourth years, and five hundred dollars, in advance, for each succeeding year thereafter, as
advanced royalty on the mine or claim on which they are made. All such payments shall be a credit on royalty when each said mine is developed and operated and its production is in excess of such guaranteed annual advanced payments; and all lessees must pay said annual advanced payments on each claim, whether developed or undeveloped ; and should any lessee neglect or refuse to pay such advanced annual royalty for the period of sixty days
after the same becomes due and payable on any lease, the lease on which default is made shall become null and void, and the royalties paid in advance shall then become and be the money and property of the tribe. Where any oil, coal, asphalt, or other mineral is hereafter opened on land allotted, sold, or reserved, the value of the use of the necessary surface for prospecting or mining, and the damage done to the other land and improvements,
shall be ascertained under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior and paid to the allottee or owner of the land, by the lessee or party operating the same, before operations begin: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall impair the rights of any holder or owner of a leasehold interest in any oil, coal rights, asphalt, or mineral which have been assented to by act of Congress, but all such interest shall continue unimpaired
hereby, and shall be assured to such holders or owners by leases from the Secretary of the Interior for the term not exceeding fifteen years, but subject to payment of advance royalties as herein provided, when such leases are not operated, to the rate of royalty on coal mined, and the rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and preference shall be given to such parties in renewals of such leases: And
provided further, That when, under the customs and laws heretofore existing and prevailing in the Indian Territory, leases have been made of different groups or parcels of oil, coal, asphalt, or other mineral deposits, and possession has been taken there under and improvements made for the development of such oil, coal, asphalt, or other mineral deposits, by lessees or their assigns, which have resulted in the production of oil, coal,
asphalt, or other mineral in commercial quantities by such lessees or their assigns, then such parties in possession shall be given preference in the making of new leases, in compliance with the directions of the Secretary of the Interior; and in making new leases due consideration shall be made for the improvements of such lessees, and in all cases of the leasing or renewal of leases of oil, coal, asphalt, and other mineral deposits
preference shall be given to parties in possession who have made improvements. The rate of royalty to be paid by all lessees shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 14. That the inhabitants of any city or town in said Territory having two hundred or more residents therein may proceed, by petition to the United States court in the district in which such city or town is located, to have the same incorporated as provided in chapter twenty-nine of Mansfield s Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas, if not already incorporated there under; and the clerk of said court shall record all papers and
perform all the acts required of the recorder of the county, or the clerk of the county court, or the secretary of state, necessary for the incorporation of any city or town, as provided in Mans field s Digest, and such city or town government, when so authorized and organized, shall possess all the powers and exercise all the rights of similar municipalities in said State of Arkansas. All male inhabitants of such cities and towns over the
age of twenty-one years, who are citizens of the United States or of either of said tribes, who have resided therein more than six months next before any election held under this act, shall be qualified voters at such election. That mayors of such cities and towns, in addition to their other powers, shall have the same jurisdiction in all civil and criminal cases arising within the corporate limits of such cities and towns as, and
coextensive with, United States commissioners in the Indian Territory, and may charge, collect, and retain the same fees as such commissioners now collect and account for to the United States ; and the marshal or other executive officer of such city or town may execute all processes issued in the exercise of the jurisdiction hereby conferred, and charge and collect the same fees for similar services as are allowed to constables under the
laws now in force in said Territory.
All elections shall be conducted under the provisions of chapter fifty-six of said digest, entitled " Elections," so far as the same may be applicable ; and all inhabitants of such cities and towns, without regard to race, shall be subject to all laws and ordinances of such city or town governments, and shall have equal rights, privileges, and protection therein. Such city or town governments shall in no case have any authority to impose
upon or levy any tax against any lands in said cities or towns until after title is secured from the tribe; but all other property, including all improvements on town lots, which for the purposes of this act shall be deemed and considered personal property, together with all occupations and privileges, shall be subject to taxation. And the councils of such cities and towns, for the support of the same and for school and other public
purposes, may provide by ordinance for the assessment, levy, and collection annually of a tax upon such property, not to exceed in the aggregate two per centum of the assessed value thereof, in manner provided in chapter one hundred and twenty-nine of said digest, entitled " Revenue," and for such purposes may also impose a tax upon occupations and privileges.
Such councils may also establish and maintain free schools in such cities and towns, under the provisions of sections sixty-two hundred and fifty-eight to sixty-two hundred and seventy-six, inclusive, of said digest, and may exercise all the powers conferred upon special school districts in cities and towns in the State of Arkansas by the laws of said State when the same are not in conflict with the provisions of this act.
For the purposes of this section all the laws of said State of Arkansas herein referred to, so far as applicable, are hereby put in force in said Territory ; and the United States court therein shall have jurisdiction to enforce the same, and to punish any violation thereof, and the city or town councils shall pass such ordinances as may be necessary for the purpose of making the laws extended over them applicable to them and for carrying
the same into effect: Provided, That nothing in this act, or in the laws of the State of Arkansas, shall authorize or permit the sale, or exposure for sale, of any intoxicating liquor in said Territory, or the introduction thereof into said Territory ; and it shall be the duty of the district attorneys in said Territory and the officers of such municipalities to prosecute all violators of the laws of the United States relating to the
introduction of intoxicating liquors into said Territory, or to their sale, or exposure for sale, therein: Provided further, That owners and holders of teases or improvements in any city or town shall be privileged to transfer the same.
This site
includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These
items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes
implied .
Laws, Decisions and Regulations Affecting the work of the Commissioners to Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1906, Copyright 1906
