§ 152.29 Rejection of bids; disapproval of sale.

The Secretary reserves the right to reject any and all bids before the award, after the award, or at any time prior to the issuance of a patent or delivery of a deed, when he shall have determined such rejection to be in the best interests of the Indian owner.

§ 152.30 Bidding by employees.

Except as authorized by the provisions of Part 140 of this chapter, no person employed in Indian Affairs shall directly or indirectly bid, make, or prepare any bid, or assist any bidder in preparing his bid. Sales between Indians, either of whom is an employee of the U.S. Government, are governed by the provisions of Part 140 of this chapter (see 25 U.S.C. 68 and 441).

§ 152.31 Cost of conveyance; payment.

Pursuant to the Act of February 14, 1920 (41 Stat. 415), as amended by the Act of March 1, 1933 (47 Stat. 1417; 25 U.S.C. 413), the Secretary may in his discretion collect from a purchaser reasonable fees for work performed or expense incurred in the transaction. The amount so collected shall be deposited to the credit of the United States as general fund receipts, except as stated in paragraph (b) of this section.

(a)(1) The amount of the fee shall be $22.50 for each transaction.

(2) The fee may be reduced to a lesser amount or may be waived, if the Secretary determines circumstances justify such action.

(b)(1) If any or all of the costs of the work performed or expenses incurred are paid with tribal funds, an alternate schedule of fees may be established, subject to approval of the Secretary, and that part of such fees deemed appropriate may be credited to the tribe.

(2) When the purchaser is the tribe which bears all or any part of such costs, the collection of the proportionate share from the tribe may be waived.

§ 152.32 Irrigation fee; payment.

Collection of all construction costs against any Indian-owned lands within

Indian irrigation projects is deferred as long as Indian title has not been extinguished. (Act of July 1, 1932 (47 Stat. 564; 25 U.S.C. 386a).) This statute is interpreted to apply only where such land is owned by Indians either in trust or restricted status.

(a) When any person whether Indian or non-Indian acquires Indian lands in a fee simple status that are part of an Indian irrigation project he must enter into an agreement, (1) to pay the pro rata share of the construction of the project chargeable to the land, (2) to pay all construction costs that accrue in the future, and (3) to pay all future charges assessable to the land which are based on the annual cost of operation and maintenance of the irrigation system.

(b) Any operation and maintenance charges that are delinquent when Indian land is sold will be deducted from the proceeds of sale unless other acceptable arrangements are made to provide for their payment prior to the approval of the sale.

(c) A lien clause covering all unpaid irrigation construction costs, past and future, will be inserted in the patent or other instrument of conveyance issued to all purchasers of restricted or trust lands that are under an Indian irrigation project.

CROSS-REFERENCE: See Part 159 and Part 160 and cross-references thereunder in this chapter for further regulations regarding sale of irrigable lands.

(a) Partition without application. If the Secretary of the Interior shall find that any inherited trust allotment or allotments (as distinguished from lands held in a restricted fee status or authorized to be sold under the Act of May 14, 1948 (62 Stat. 236; 25 U.S.C. 483)), are capable of partition in kind to the advantage of the heirs, he may cause such lands to be partitioned among them, regardless of their competency, patents in fee to be issued to the competent heirs for their shares and trust patents to be issued to the incompetent heirs for the lands respectively or jointly set apart to them,

the trust period to terminate in accordance with the terms of the original patent or order of extension of the trust period set out in said patent. (Act of May 18, 1916 (39 Stat. 127; 25 U.S.C. 378).) The authority contained in the Act of May 18, 1916, is not applicable to lands authorized to be sold by the Act of May 14, 1948, nor to land held in restricted fee status.

(b) Application for partition. Heirs of a deceased allottee may make written application, in the form approved by the Secretary, for partition of their trust or restricted land. If the Secretary finds the trust lands susceptible of partition, he may issue new patents or deeds to the heirs for the portions set aside to them. If the allotment is held under a restricted fee title (as distinguished from a trust title), partition may be accomplished by the heirs executing deeds approved by the Secretary, to the other heirs for their respective portions.

MORTGAGES AND DEEDS OF TRUST TO
SECURE LOANS TO INDIANS

§ 152.34 Approval of mortgages and deeds of trust.

Any individual Indian owner of trust or restricted lands, may with the approval of the Secretary execute a mortgage or deed of trust to his land. Prior to approval of such mortgage or deed of trust, the Secretary shall secure appraisal information as he deems advisable. Such lands shall be subject to foreclosure or sale pursuant to the terms of the mortgage or deed of trust in accordance with the laws of the State in which the lands are located. For the purpose of foreclosure or sale proceedings under this section, the Indian owners shall be regarded as vested with unrestricted fee simple title to the lands (Act of March 29, 1956.

(70 Stat. 62; 25 U.S.C. 483a)

§ 152.35 Deferred payment sales.

When the Indian owner and purchaser desire, a sale may be made or approved on the deferred payment plan. The terms of the sale will be incorporated in a memorandum of sale which shall constitute a contract for delivery of title upon payment in full

of the amount of the agreed consideration. The deed executed by the grantor or grantors will be held by the Superintendent and will be delivered only upon full compliance with the terms of sale. If conveyance of title is to be made by fee patent, request therefor will be made only upon full compliance with the terms of the sale. The terms of the sale shall require that the purchaser pay not less than 10 percent of the purchase price in advance as required by the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 855), as amended (25 U.S.C. 372); terms for the payment of the remaining installments plus interest shall be those acceptable to the Secretary and the Indian owner. If the purchaser on any deferred payment plan makes default in the first or subsequent payments, all payments, including interest, previously made will be forfeited to the Indian owner.

Sec.

PART 153-DETERMINATION OF COMPETENCY: CROW INDIANS

153.1 Purpose of regulations.
153.2 Application and examination.
153.3 Application form.

153.4 Factors determining competency.
153.5 Children of competent Indians.
153.6 Appeals.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 12, 41 Stat. 755, 46 Stat. 1495, as amended.

SOURCE: 22 FR 10563, Dec. 24, 1957, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982.

§ 153.1 Purpose of regulations.

The regulations in this part govern the procedures in determining the competency of Crow Indians under Public Law 303, 81st Congress, approved September 8, 1949.

§ 153.2 Application and examination.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs or his duly authorized representative, upon the application of any unenrolled adult member of the Crow Tribe, shall classify him by placing his name to the competent or incompetent rolls established pursuant to the act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 751), and upon application shall determine whether those persons whose names

now or hereafter appear on the incompetent roll shall be reclassified as competent and their names placed on the competent roll.

§ 153.3 Application form.

The application form shall include, among other things: (a) The name of the applicant; (b) his age, residence, degree of Indian blood, and education; (c) his experience in farming, cattle raising, business, or other occupation (including home-making); (d) present occupation, if any; (e) a statement concerning the applicant's financial status, including his average

his

earned and unearned income for the last two years from restricted leases and from other sources, and his outstanding indebtedness to the United States, to the tribe, or to others; (f) a description of his property and its value, including his allotted and inherited lands; and (g) the name of the applicant's spouse, if any, and the names of his minor children, if any, and their ages, together with a statement regarding the land, allotted and inherited, held by each.

§ 153.4 Factors determining competency. Among the matters to be considered by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in determining competency are the amount of the applicant's indebtedness to the tribe, to the United States Government, and to others; whether he is a public charge or a charge on friends and relatives, or will become such a charge, by reason of being classed as competent; and whether the applicant has demonstrated that he possesses the ability to take care of himself and his property, to protect the interests of himself and his family, to lease his land and collect the rentals therefrom, to lease the land of his minor children, to prescribe in lease agreements those provisions which will protect the land from deterioration through over-grazing and other improper practices, and to assume full responsibility for obtaining compliance with the terms of any lease.

§ 153.5 Children of competent Indians.

Children of competent Indians who have attained or upon attaining their majority shall automatically become

40-083 0-90--13

§ 154.3 Determination of age and quantum of Indian blood.

(a) The date of birth as shown by the census records of the Osage Agency shall be accepted as prima facie evidence in determining the age of a person.

(b) The total quantum of Indian blood of a person shall be computed and determined as follows:

(1) When the parents of a person are enrolled members, or when one parent is an enrolled member and the other parent is a descendant of an enrolled member, or when both parents are descendants of enrolled members, or when one parent is an enrolled member of descendant of an enrolled member of the Osage Tribe, and the other parent is of non-Indian blood, the Osage Agency register of Indian families for the year ending December 31, 1901, shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the quantum of Indian blood.

(2) When one parent of a person is an enrolled member, or the descendant of an enrolled member of the Osage Tribe, and the other parent is of non-Osage blood, the Osage Agency register of Indian families for the year ending December 31, 1901 shall be accepted as prima facie evidence in determining the quantum of Osage Indian blood.

(3) When one parent of a person is of non-Osage Indian blood, the certification of the superintendent or other officer in charge of the Indian Agency having jurisdiction over the affairs of the tribe of which the non-Osage Indian parent is a member or descendant of a member, as to such parent's quantum of Indian blood, shall be accepted as prima facie evidence in determining the quantum of non-Osage Indian blood.

(4) When the non-Osage parent of a person is alleged to be of Indian blood, and the superintendent or other officer in charge of the Indian agency having jurisdiction over the affairs of the tribe of which such parent is an alleged member or descendant of a member thereof, is unable to certify as to the quantum of Indian blood of

such parent, affidavits as to such parent's quantum of Indian blood, when properly executed by two qualified individuals, may be accepted.

§ 154.4 Notification; disagreement and decision.

When the superintendent shall have determined that a person, 21 years or over, is of less than one-half Indian blood, he shall notify such person of his finding and inform him that if objection is not received within 20 days from the date of notification, a certificate of competency will be issued. If the person claims to be of one-half or more Indian blood and that a certificate of competency should not be issued, he should submit to the superintendent two affidavits or other evidence in support of his claim. The claim, affidavits or other evidence of the person as to his quantum of blood shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for a ruling before the certificate of competency is issued. § 154.5 Issuance of certificate of competency.

A certificate of competency shall be issued by the superintendent on Form 5-182 to each person heretofore or hereafter attaining the age of 21 years and who has been determined to be of less than one-half Indian blood. Such certificate shall be recorded with the county clerk of Osage County, Oklahoma, before delivering the same to the person entitled thereto.

§ 154.6 Costs of recording certificates of competency.

The superintendent may expend the surplus funds of a person to make direct payments of the cost of recording a certificate of competency. If the person to whom a certificate of competency is issued has no surplus funds, the cost of recording the same shall be paid from Osage tribal funds.

1 Filed with the original document. Copies may be obtained upon request at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

§ 154.7 Delivery of cash and securities.

After issuance and recordation of a certificate of competency as authorized by the regulations in this part, the superintendent shall deliver to the individual named therein, or the legal guardian thereof, the original copy of the certificate of competency, together with all cash, stocks and bonds credited to the account of such individual upon the books of the Osage Agency, and obtain a receipt therefor.

PART 156-REALLOTMENT OF LANDS TO UNALLOTTED INDIAN CHILDREN 2

Sec.

156.1 Relinquishment of original patent. 156.2 Relinquishment when original patent has been lost or destroyed.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 3, 36 Stat. 856; 25 U.S.C.

408.

CROSS REFERENCES: For Bureau of Land Management regulations pertaining to allotments to Indians and Eskimos, see 43 CFR Parts 2530 and 2560. For Bureau of Land Management regulations pertaining to restored and ceded Indian lands, see 43 CFR Part 1400.

§ 156.1 Relinquishment of original patent. To effect a reallotment under section 3 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 856; 25 U.S.C. 408), the Indian owner shall endorse on the original patent a relinquishment of all lands described therein and explain the purpose of the relinquishment. The relinquishment shall name the child or children to be reallotted and follow with descriptions by legal subdivisions of the land. If a part of the allotment is being retained by the Indian owner, the relinquishment and application for reallotment may describe only the tract to be reallotted. The relinquishment must be signed by the original allottee or owner of the land involved and be acknowledged before a superintendent of an Indian agency or an officer authorized to administer oaths. The signatures of those who cannot

2 The reallotment provisions herein dealt with are not applicable on reservations subject to the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984, as amended; 25 U.S.C. 461-479).

158.52 Application for change in designation of homestead.

158.53 Order to change designation of homestead.

158.54 Exchanges of restrictive lands. 158.55 Institution of partition proceedings. 158.56 Partition records.

158.57 Approval of deeds or other instruments vesting title on partition and payment of costs.

158.58 Disposition of proceeds of partition sales.

AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301. Interpret or apply 62 Stat. 18; 25 U.S.C. 331 note.

SOURCE: 22 FR 10565, Dec. 24, 1957, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982.

§ 158.51 Definitions.

When used in this part:

(a) "Homestead" means the restricted nontaxable lands, not exceeding 160 acres, allotted to an enrolled member of the Osage Tribe pursuant to the act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539), or the restricted surplus lands designated in lieu thereof pursuant to the act of May 25, 1918 (40 Stat. 578).

(b) "Surplus land" means those restricted lands, other than the homestead, allotted to an enrolled member of the Osage Tribe pursuant to the act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539).