Curtis Act, Sections 15-29

SEC. 15. That there shall be a commission in each town for each one of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee tribes, to consist of one member to be appointed by the executive of the tribe, who shall not be interested in town property, other than his home ; one person to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, and one member to be selected by the town. And if the executive of the tribe or the town fail to select members as aforesaid, they may be selected and appointed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Said commissions shall cause to be surveyed and laid out town sites where towns with a present population of two hundred or more are located, conform ing to the existing survey, so far as may be, with proper and necessary streets, alleys, and public grounds, including parks and cemeteries, giving to each town such territory as may be required for its present needs and reasonable prospective growth ; and shall prepare correct plats thereof, and file one with the Secretary of the Interior, one with the clerk of the United States court, one with the authorities of the tribe, and one with the town authorities. And town lots shall be appraised by said commission at their true value, excluding improvements ; and separate appraisements shall be made of all improvements thereon; and no such appraisement shall be effective until approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and in case of disagreement by the members of such com mission as to the value of any lot the Secretary may fix the value thereof.

The owner of the improvements upon any town lot, other than fencing, tillage, or temporary buildings, may deposit in the United States treasury, Saint Louis, Missouri, one-half of such appraised value ; ten per centum within two months and fifteen per centum more within six months after notice of appraisement, and the remainder in three equal annual installments thereafter, depositing with the Secretary of the Interior one receipt for each payment, and one with the authorities of the tribe, and such deposit shall be deemed a tender to the tribe of the purchase money for such lot.

If the owner of such improvements on any lot fails to make deposit of the purchase money as aforesaid, then such lot may be sold in the manner herein provided for the sale of unimproved lots; and when the purchaser thereof has complied with the requirements herein for the purchase of improved lots he may, by petition, apply to the United States court within whose jurisdiction the town is located for condemnation and appraisement of such improvements, find petitioner shall, after judgment, deposit the value so fixed with the clerk of the court; and thereupon the defendant shall be required to accept the same in full payment for his improvements or remove same from the lot within such time as may be fixed by the court.

All town lots not improved as aforesaid shall belong to the tribe, and shall be in like manner appraised, and, after approval by the Secretary of the Interior, and due notice, sold to the highest bidder at public auction by said commission, but not for less than their appraised value, unless ordered by the Secretary of the Interior ; and purchasers may in like manner make deposits of the purchase money with like effect, as in case of improved lots.

The inhabitants of any town may, within one year after the completion of the survey thereof, make such deposit of ten dollars per acre for parks, cemeteries, and other public grounds laid out by said commission with like effect as for improved lots ; and such parks and public grounds shall not be used for any purpose until such deposits are made.

The person authorized by the tribe or tribes may execute or deliver to any such purchaser, without expense to him, a deed conveying to him the title to such lands or town lots ; and thereafter the purchase money shall become the property of the tribe; and all such moneys shall, when titles to all the lots in the towns belonging to any tribe have been thus perfected, be paid per capita to the members of the tribe : Provided, however, That in those town sites designated and laid out under the provisions of this act where coal leases are now being operated and coal is being mined there shall be reserved from appraisement and sale all lots occupied by houses of miners actually engaged in mining, and only while they are so engaged, and in addition thereto a sufficient amount of land, to be determined by the appraisers, to furnish homes for the men actually engaged in working for the lessees operating said mines and a sufficient amount for all buildings and machinery for mining purposes: And provided further, That when the lessees shall cease to operate said mines, then, and in that event, the lots of land so reserved shall be disposed of as provided for in this act.

SEC. 16. That it shall be unlawful for any person, after the passage of this act, except as hereinafter provided, to claim, demand, or receive, for his own use or for the use of anyone else, any royalty on oil, coal, asphalt, or other mineral, or on any timber or lumber, or any other kind of property whatsoever, or any rents on any lands or property belonging to any one of said tribes or nations in said Territory, or for anyone to pay to any individual any such royalty or rents or any consideration there for whatsoever; and all royalties and rents hereafter payable to the tribe shall be paid, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, into the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the tribe to which they belong: Provided, That where any citizen shall be in possession of only such amount of agricultural or grazing lands as would be his just and reasonable share of the lands of his nation or tribe and that to which his wife and minor children are entitled, he may continue to use the same or receive the rents thereon until allotment has been made to him : Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall impair the rights of any member of a tribe to dispose of any timber contained on his, her, or their allotment

SEC. 17. That it shall be unlawful for any citizen of any one of said tribes to enclose or in any manner, by himself or through another, directly or indirectly, to hold possession of any greater amount of lands or other property belonging to any such nation or tribe than that which would be his approximate share of the lands belonging to such nation or tribe and that of his wife and his minor children as per allotment herein provided ; and any person found in such possession of lands or other property in excess of his share and that of his family, as afore said, or having the same in any manner enclosed, at the expiration of nine months after the passage of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

SEC. 18. That any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of sections sixteen and seventeen of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, and shall stand committed until such fine and costs are paid (such commitment not to exceed one day for every two dollars of said fine and costs), and shall forfeit possession of any property in question, and each day on which such offense is committed or continues to exist shall be deemed a separate offense. And the United States district attorneys in said Territory are required to see that the provisions of said sections are strictly enforced, and they shall at once proceed to dispossess all persons of such excessive holding of lands and to prosecute them for so unlawfully holding the same.

SEC. 19. That no payment of any moneys on any account whatever shall here after be made by the United States to any of the tribal governments or to any officer thereof for disbursement, but payments of all sums to members of said tribes shall be made under direction of the Secretary of the Interior by an officer appointed by him; and per capita payments shall be made direct to" each individual in lawful money of the United States, and the same shall not be liable to the payment of any previously contracted obligation.

SEC. 20. That the commission hereinbefore named shall have authority to employ, with approval of the Secretary of the Interior, all assistance necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of all duties herein imposed, including competent surveyors to make allotments, and to do any other needed work, and the Secretary of the Interior may detail competent clerks to aid them in the performance of their duties.

SEC. 21. That in making rolls of citizenship of the several tribes, as required by law, the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes is authorized and directed to take the roll of Cherokee citizens of eighteen hundred and eighty (not including freedmen) as the only roll intended to be confirmed by this and proceeding acts of Congress, and to enroll all persons now living whose names are found on said roll, and all descendants born since the date of said roll to persons whose names are found thereon ; and all persons who have been enrolled by the tribal authorities who have heretofore made permanent settlement in the Cherokee Nation whose parents, by reason of their Cherokee blood, have been lawfully admitted to citizenship by the tribal authorities, and who were minors when their parents were so admitted ; and they shall investigate the right of all other persons whose names are found on any other rolls and omit all such as may have been placed thereon by fraud or without authority of law, enrolling only such as may have lawful right thereto, and their descendants born since such rolls were made, with such intermarried white persons as may be entitled to citizenship under Cherokee laws.

It shall make a roll of Cherokee freedmen in strict compliance with the decree of the Court of Claims rendered the third day of February, eighteen hundred and ninety-six.

Said Commission is authorized and directed to make correct rolls of the citizens by blood of all the other tribes, eliminating from the tribal rolls such names as may have been placed thereon by fraud or without authority of law, enrolling such only as may have lawful right thereto, and their descendants born since such rolls were made, with such intermarried white persons as may be entitled to Choctaw and Chickasaw citizenship under the treaties and the laws of said tribes.

Said Commission shall have authority to determine the identity of Choctaw Indians claiming rights in the Choctaw lands under article fourteen of the treaty between the United States and the Choctaw Nation concluded September twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty, and to that end may administer oaths, examine witnesses, and perform all other acts necessary thereto and make report to the Secretary of the Interior.

The roll of Creek freedmen made by J. W. Dunn, under authority of the United States, prior to March fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, is hereby confirmed, and said Commission is directed to enroll all persons now living whose names are found on said rolls, and all descendants born since the date of said roll to persons whose names are found thereon, with such other persons of African descent as may have been rightfully admitted by the lawful authorities of the Creek Nation.

It shall make a correct roll of all Choctaw freedmen entitled to citizenship under the treaties and laws of the Choctaw Nation, and all their descendants born to them since the date of the treaty.

It shall make a correct roll of Chickasaw freedmen entitled to any rights or benefits under the treaty made in eighteen hundred and sixty-six between the United States and the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes and their descendants born to them since the date of said treaty, and forty acres of land, including their present residences and improvements, shall be allotted to each, to be selected, held, and used by them until their rights under said treaty shall be determined in such manner as shall be hereafter provided by Congress.

The several tribes may, by agreement, determine the right of persons who for any reason may claim citizenship in two or more tribes, and to allotment of lands and distribution of moneys belonging to each tribe; but if no such agreement be made, then such claimant shall be entitled to such rights in one tribe only, and may elect in which tribe he will take such right ; but if he fail or refuse to make such selection in due time, he shall be enrolled in the tribe with whom he has resided, and there be given such allotment and distributions, and not elsewhere.

No person shall be enrolled who has not heretofore removed to and in good faith settled in the nation in which he claims citizenship: Provided, however, That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to militate against any rights or privileges which the Mississippi Choctaws may have under the laws of or the treaties with the United States.

Said Commission shall make such rolls descriptive of the persons thereon, so that they may be thereby identified, and it is authorized to take a census of each of said tribes, or to adopt any other means by them deemed necessary to enable them to make such rolls. They shall have access to all rolls and records of the several tribes, and the United States court in Indian Territory shall have jurisdiction to compel the officers of the tribal governments and custodians of such rolls and records to deliver same to said Commission, and on their refusal or failure to do so to punish them as for contempt; as also to require all citizens of said tribes, and persons who should be so enrolled, to appear before said Commission for enrollment, at such times and places as may be fixed by said Commission, and to enforce obedience of all others concerned, so far as the same may be necessary, to enable said Commission to make rolls as herein required, and to punish anyone who may in any manner or by any means obstruct said work.

The rolls so made, when approved by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be final, and the persons whose names are found thereon, with their descendants thereafter born to them, with such persons as may intermarry according to tribal laws, shall alone constitute the several tribes which they represent.

The members of said Commission shall, in performing all duties required of them by law, have authority to administer oaths, examine witnesses, and send for persons and papers ; and any person who shall willfully and knowingly make any false affidavit or oath to any material fact or matter before any member of said Commission, or before any other officer authorized to administer oaths, to any affidavit or other paper to be filed or oath taken before said Commission, shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and on conviction thereof shall be punished as for such offense.

SEC. 22. That where members of one tribe, under intercourse laws, usages, or customs, have made homes within the limits and on the lands of another tribe they may retain and take allotment, embracing same under such agreement as may be made between such tribes respecting such settlers ; but if no such agreement be made, the improvements so made shall be appraised, and the value thereof, including all damages incurred by such settler incident to enforced removal, shall be paid to him immediately upon removal, out of any funds belonging to the tribe, or such settler, if he so desire, may make private sale of his improvements to any citizen of the tribe owning the lands : Provided, That he shall not be paid for improvements made on lands in excess of that to which he, his wife, and minor children are entitled to under this act.

SEC. 23. That all leases of agricultural or grazing land belonging to any tribe made after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, by the tribe or any member thereof shall be absolutely void, and all such grazing leases made prior to said date shall terminate on the first day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and all such agricultural leases shall terminate on January first, nineteen hundred; but this shall not prevent individuals from leasing their allotments when made to them as provided in this act, nor from occupying or renting their proportionate shares of the tribal lands until the allotments herein provided for are made.

SEC. 24. That all moneys paid into the United States treasury at Saint Louis, Missouri, under provisions of this act shall be placed to the credit of the tribe to which they belong; and the assistant United States treasurer shall give triplicate receipts there for to the depositor.

SEC. 25. That before any allotment shall be made of lands in the Cherokee Nation, there shall be segregated there from by the Commission heretofore mentioned, in separate allotments or otherwise, the one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred acres purchased by the Delaware tribe of Indians from the Cherokee Nation under agreement of April eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, subject to the judicial determination of the rights of said descendants and the Cherokee Nation under said agreement. That the Delaware Indians residing in the Cherokee Nation are hereby authorized and empowered to bring suit in the Court of Claims of the United States, within sixty days after the passage of this act, against the Cherokee Nation, for the purpose of determining the rights of said Delaware Indians in and to the lands and funds of said nation under their contract and agreement with the Cherokee Nation dated April eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven; or the Cherokee Nation may bring a like suit against said Delaware Indians ; and jurisdiction is conferred on said court to adjudicate and fully determine the same, with right of appeal to either party to the Supreme Court of the United States.

SEC. 26. That on and after the passage of this act the laws of the various tribes or nations of Indians shall not be enforced at law or in equity by the courts of the United States in the Indian Territory.

SEC. 27. That the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to locate one Indian inspector in Indian Territory, who may, under his authority and direction, per form any duties required of the Secretary of the Interior by law relating to affairs therein.

SEC. 28. That on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, all tribal courts in Indian Territory shall be abolished, and no officer of said courts shall thereafter have any authority whatever to do or perform any act thereto fore authorized by any law in connection with said courts, or to receive any pay for same; and all civil and criminal causes then pending in any such court shall be transferred to the United States court in said Territory by filing with the clerk of the court the original papers in the suit : Provided, That this sec tion shall not be in force as to the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek tribes or nations until the first day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight.

SEC. 29. That the agreement made by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes with commissions representing the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians on the twenty third day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, as herein amended, is hereby ratified and confirmed, and the same shall be of full force and effect if ratified before the first day of December, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, by a majority of the whole number of votes cast by the members of said tribes at an election held for that purpose; and the executives of said tribes are hereby authorized and directed to make public proclamation that said agreement shall be voted on at the next general election, or at any special election to be called by such executives for the purpose of voting on said agreement; and at the election held for such purpose all male members of each of said tribes qualified to vote under his tribal laws shall have the right to vote at the election precinct most convenient to his residence, whether the same be within the bounds of his tribe or not: Provided, That no person whose right to citizenship in either of said tribes or nations is now contested in original or appellate proceedings before any United States court shall be permitted to vote at said election : Provided further, That the votes cast in both said tribes or nations shall be forthwith returned duly certified by the precinct officers to the national secretaries of said tribes or nations, and shall be presented by said national secretaries to a board of commissioners consisting of the principal chief and national secretary of the Choctaw Nation, the governor and national secretary of the Chickasaw Nation, and a member of the Com mission to the Five Civilized Tribes, to be designated by the chairman of said

Commission; and said board shall meet without delay at Atoka, in the Indian Territory, and canvass and count said votes and make proclamation of the result; and if said agreement as amended be so ratified, the provisions of this act shall then only apply to said tribes where the same do not conflict with the provisions of said agreement; but the provisions of said agreement, if so ratified, shall not in any manner affect the provisions of section fourteen of this act, which said amended agreement is as follows:

This agreement, by and between the Government of the United States, of the first part, entered into in its behalf by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, Henry L. Dawes, Frank C. Armstrong, Archibald S. McKennon, Thomas B. Cabaniss, and Alexander B. Montgomery, duly appointed and authorized thereunto, and the governments of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes or nations of Indians in the Indian Territory, respectively, of the second part, entered into in behalf of such Choctaw and Chickasaw governments, duly appointed and authorized thereunto, viz, Green McCurtain, J. S. Standley, N. B. Ainsworth, Ben Hampton, Wesley Anderson, Amos Henry, D. C. Garland, and A. S. Williams, in behalf of the Choctaw Tribe or Nation, and It. M. Harris, I. O. Lewis, Holmes Colbert, P. S. Mosely, M. V. Cheadle. R. L. Murray, William Perry, A. H. Colbert, and R. L. Boyd, in behalf of the Chickasaw Tribe or Nation.

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Laws, Decisions and Regulations Affecting the work of the Commissioners to Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1906, Copyright 1906

Laws Affecting the Five Civilized Tribes

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