§ 321. Rights-of-way for pipe lines. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and empowered to grant a right-of-way in the nature of an easement for the construction, operation, and maintenance of pipe lines for the conveyance of oil and gas through any Indian reservation, through any lands held by an Indian tribe or nation in the former Indian Territory, through any lands reserved for an Indian agency or Indian school, or for other purpose in connection with the Indian Service, or through any lands which have been allotted in severalty to any individual Indian under any law or treaty, but which have not been conveyed to the allottee with full power of alienation upon the terms and conditions herein expressed. Before title to rights of way applied for hereunder shall vest, maps of definite location shall be filed with and approved by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That before such approval the Secretary of the Interior may, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, grant temporary permits revocable in his discretion for the construction of such lines: Provided, That the construction of lateral lines from the main pipe line establishing connection with oil and gas wells on the individual allotments of citizens may be constructed without securing authority from the Secretary of the Interior and without filing maps of definite location, when the consent of the allottee upon whose lands oil or gas wells may be located and of all other allottees through whose lands said lateral pipe lines may pass has been obtained by the pipe-line company: Provided further, That in case it is desired to run a pipe line under the line of any railroad, and satisfactory arrangements cannot be made with the railroad company, then the question shall be referred to the Secretary of the Interior, who shall prescribe the terms and conditions under which the pipe-line company shall be permitted to lay its lines under said railroad. The compensation to be paid the tribes in their tribal capacity and the individual allottees for such right of way through their lands shall be determined in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior may direct, and shall be subject to his final approval. And where such lines are not subject to State or Territorial taxation the company or owner of the line shall pay to the Secretary of the Interior, for the use and benefit of the Indians, such annual tax as he may designate, not exceeding $5 for each ten miles of line so constructed and maintained under such rules and regulations as said Secretary may prescribe. But nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to exempt the owners of such lines from the payment of any tax that may be lawfully assessed against them by either State, Territorial, or municipal authority. And incorporated cities and towns into and through which such pipe lines may be constructed shall have the power to regulate the manner of construction therein, and nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to deny the right of municipal taxation in such towns and cities, and nothing herein shall authorize the use of such right of way except for pipe line, and then only so far as may be necessary for its construction, maintenance, and care: Provided, That the rights herein granted shall not extend beyond a period of twenty years: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior, at the expiration of said twenty years, may extend the right to maintain any pipe line constructed under this section for another period not to exceed twenty years from the expiration of the first right, upon such terms and conditions as he may deem proper. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this section is expressly reserved. (Mar. 11, 1904, ch. 505, §§ 1, 2, 33 Stat. 65; Mar. 2, 1917, ch. 146, § 1, 39 Stat. 973.) CROSS REFERENCES Acquisition of lands. see section 465 of this title. Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, application of section, see section 322 of this title. § 322. Application of certain sections to Pueblo Indians. The provisions of the Statutes of the United States governing the acquisition of rights-of-way through Indian lands, to wit, sections 311-315, 317, 318, 319, and 321 of this title and section 935 of Title 43, and the basic Acts of Congress cited in such sections are extended over and made applicable to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and their lands, under such rules, regulations, and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. (Apr. 21, 1928, ch. 400, 45 Stat. 442.) § 323. Rights-of-way for all purposes across any Indian lands. The Secretary of the Interior be, and he is empowered to grant rights-of-way for all purposes, subject to such conditions as he may prescribe, over and across any lands now or hereafter held in trust by the United States for individual Indians or Indian tribes, communities, bands, or nations, or any lands now or hereafter owned, subject to restrictions against alienation, by individual Indians or Indian tribes, communities, bands, or nations, including the lands belonging to the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico, and any other lands heretofore or hereafter acquired or set aside for the use and benefit of the Indians. (Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 45, § 1, 62 Stat. 17.) EFFECTIVE DATE Section 7 of act Feb. 5, 1948, provided that sections 323-328 should not become operative until 30 days after Feb. 5, 1948. § 324. Same; consent of certain tribes; consent of individual Indians. No grant of a right-of-way over and across any lands belonging to a tribe organized under sections 461-473 and 474-479 of this title; section 473a of this title and sections 358a and 362 of Title 48; and sections 501-509 of this title, shall be made without the consent of the proper tribal officials. Rights-ofway over and across lands of individual Indians may be granted without the consent of the individual Indian owners if (1) the land is owned by more than one person, and the owners or owner of a majority of the interests therein consent to the grant; (2) the whereabouts of the owner of the land or an interest therein are unknown, and the owners or owner of any interests therein whose whereabouts are known, or a majority thereof, consent to the grant; (3) the heirs or devisees of a deceased owner of the land or an interest therein have not been determined, and the Secretary of the Interior finds that the grant will cause no substantial injury to the land or any owner thereof; or (4) the owners of interests in the land are so numerous that the Secretary finds it would be impracticable to obtain their consent, and also finds that the grant will cause no substantial injury to the land or any owner thereof. (Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 45, § 2, 62 Stat. 18.) §325. Same; payment and disposition of compensation. No grant of a right-of-way shall be made without the payment of such compensation as the Secretary of the Interior shall determine to be just. The compensation received on behalf of the Indian owners shall be disposed of under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. 1948, ch. 45, § 3, 62 Stat. 18.) § 326. Same; laws unaffected. Sec. 348. 348a. 349. 350. 351. 352. 352a. Patents to be held in trust; descent and partition. Surrender of patent, and selection of other land. Cancellation of trust patents within power or reser- Cancellation of patents in fee simple for allotments held in trust. 352b. Same; partial cancellation; issuance of new trust patents. 352c. Reimbursement of allottees or heirs for taxes paid on lands patented in fee before end of trust. Sections inapplicable to certain tribes. (Feb. 5, 353. 354. 355. 356. Rights-of-way for the use of the United States may be granted under sections 323-328 of this title upon application by the department or agency having jurisdiction over the activity for which the right-of-way is to be used. (Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 45, § 5, 62 Stat. 18.) § 328. Same; rules and regulations. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe any necessary regulations for the purpose of administering the provisions of sections 323-327 of this title. (Feb. 5, 1948, ch. 45, § 6, 62 Stat. 18.) 357. 358. Lands not liable for debts prior to final patent. Laws applicable to lands of full-blooded members of Five Civilized Tribes. Allowance of undisputed claims of restricted allottees of Five Civilized Tribes. Condemnation of lands under laws of States. Repeal of statutory provisions relating to survey, classification, and allotments which provide for repayment out of Indian moneys. § 331. Allotments on reservations; irrigable and nonirrigable lands. In all cases where any tribe or band of Indians has been or shall be located upon any reservation created for their use by treaty stipulation, Act of Congress, or Executive order, the President shall be authorized to cause the same or any part thereof to be surveyed or resurveyed whenever in his opinion such reservation or any part may be advantageously utilized for agricultural or grazing purposes by such Indians, and to cause allotment to each Indian located thereon to be made in such areas as in his opinion may be for their best interest not to exceed eighty acres of agricultural or one hundred and sixty acres of grazing land to any one Indian. And whenever it shall appear to the President that lands on any Indian reservation subject to allotment by authority of law have been or may be brought within any irrigation project, he may cause allotments of such irrigable lands to be made to the Indians entitled thereto in such areas as may be for their best interest, not to exceed, however, forty acres to any one Indian, and such irrigable land shall be held to be equal in quantity to twice the number of acres of nonirrigable agricultural land and four times the number of acres of nonirrigable grazing land: Provided, That the remaining area to which any Indian may be entitled under existing law after he shall have received his proportion of irrigable land on the basis of equalization herein established may be allotted to him from nonirrigable agricultural or grazing lands: Provided further, That where a treaty or Act of Congress setting apart such reservation provides for allotments in severalty in quantity greater or less than that herein authorized, the President shall cause allotments on such reservations to be made in quantity as specified in such treaty or Act, subject, however, to the basis of equalization between irrigable and nonirrigable lands established herein, but in such cases allotments may be made in quantity as specified herein, with the consent of the Indians expressed in such manner as the President in his discretion may require. (Feb. 8, 1887, ch. 119, § 1, 24 Stat. 388; Feb. 28, 1891, ch. 383, § 1, 26 Stat. 794; June 25, 1910, ch. 431, § 17, 36 Stat. 859.) PRIOR LAW This section was derived from section 1 of act of 1887 as amended by act of 1891 as amended by act of 1910. The act of 1887 was entitled "An act to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians on the various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United States and the Territories over the Indians, and for other purposes" and the derivative section, as originally enacted, provided for allotments of different quantities of land to various classes of Indians, viz., heads of families, single persons over 18 years of age, orphan children under 18 years of age, and other single persons under that age. It was amended by section 1 of the act of 1891, by substituting for those provisions a clause providing for allotment to each Indian of one-eighth of a section of land, and besides some minor changes, by inserting a proviso for making allotments in the quantity specified, where existing agreements or laws provided for allotments in accordance with the original act. act was thereafter Section 1 of the amendatory amended by section 17 of the act of 1910, by making numerous verbal changes, by changing the provision as to the quantity of land to be allotted to each Indian so that it should not exceed 80 acres of agricultural land or 160 acres of grazing land, by inserting the provisions as to allotment of irrigable and nonirrigable lands which are contained in the Code section and the two provisos set forth here, and by omitting other provisos of the original and first amendatory acts. The first amendatory act Feb. 28, 1891, ch. 383, 26 Stat. 794, was entitled "An act to amend and further extend the benefits of" said General Allotment Act of Feb. 8, 1887. Section 2 of amendatory act Feb. 28, 1891, ch. 383, provided that where allotments had been made upon any reservation under the original act, and the quantity of land in that reservation was sufficient to give each member of the tribe 80 acres, those allotments should be revised and equalized under the provisions of the amendatory act. Said section is omitted as temporary merely, and executed. The other sections of the amendatory act of Feb. 28, 1891, ch. 383, being sections 3-5 thereof, so far as they remain in force, are set forth under sections 336, 371 and 397 of this title. Act Mar. 2, 1917, ch. 146, § 18, 39 Stat. 986, provided in part as follows: "Hereafter no allotments of land shall be made to members of the Creek Nation". Act Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 87, 41 Stat. 452, provides for allotments on the Flathead Reservation, Montana, to all unallotted, living children, enrolled with the tribe, enrolled or entitled to enrollment. Provisions for the allotment of lands of the Crow Tribe of Indians within the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and for the distribution of tribal funds, were made by act June 4, 1920, ch. 224, 41 Stat. 751. The time for making allotments on the Crow Reservation, Montana, as provided by this act was extended for a period of two years from Dec. 4, 1921, by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 367, 42 Stat. 994. Act Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 135, 41 Stat. 1355, provides for the enrollment of the Indians of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes in the Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana, and for the allotment among such enrolled Indians of the unreserved and undisposed of lands on the reservation; declares the Indians to whom trust patents for such allotted lands shall be issued to be citizens of the United States; provides for reservation from allotment of lands chiefly valuable for the development of water power, and for Indian agency, school, religious, cemetery and administrative purposes; provides for the reservation of certain of the lands for park purposes and for a site for a sanatorium for the benefit of the Indians; provides for the issue of patents for a certain limited number of acres of the lands to missionary, religious and educational purposes; provides for the examination of the lands, prior to their allotment, to determine the mineral character thereof; provides for the reservation of coal on the lands for certain purposes; provides that the timber lands shall remain tribal property and for the use of the timber thereon by the Indians; provides for the reservation and disposition of town-sites on the lands; provides for the construction of irrigation projects on the lands; provides for the grant of certain of the lands to the State of Montana for school lands and makes an appropriation to carry out the purposes of the act. Act Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 297, 42 Stat. 1561, reads as follows: "That the period of restriction against alienation on surplus lands allotted to minor members of the Kansas or Kaw Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma, under the provisions of the agreement with said tribe of Indians as ratified and confirmed by the Act of Congress of July 1, 1902 (Thirty-second Statutes at Large, page 636), be, and is hereby, extended for a period of twenty-five years from the date of the approval of this Act in all cases where the allottees have not reached the age of majority." Act Apr. 12, 1924, ch. 95. 43 Stat. 94, provides that any right to an interest in lands, money, or mineral interests, as provided in act June 28, 1906, ch. 3572, 34 Stat. 539 (Osage Indians), and in the amendatory and supplemental acts, vested in, determined, or adjudged to be the right or property of any person not an Indian by blood, may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and not otherwise, be sold, assigned, and transferred under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. Act May 19, 1924, ch. 158, 43 Stat. 132, provides for the enrollment and allotment of members of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewas, in Wisconsin. Act June 4, 1924, ch. 253, 43 Stat. 376, reads as follows: "That the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina is hereby authorized, pursuant to the resolution of its council adopted the 6th day of November 1919, to convey to the United States of America, in trust, all land, money, and other property of said band for final disposition thereof as hereinafter provided; and the United States will accept such conveyance when approved by the Secretary of the Interior. "2. That upon approval of such conveyance the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be prepared a roll of the members of said band, to contain the names of all living on the date of this Act, and no person born after that date shall be entitled to enrollment. "The roll shall show the name, age, sex, and degree of Cherokee Indian blood, and separately of that derived from any other Indian ancestor, of each member. The day of the month indicating the birthday of each member shall also be shown upon said roll: Provided, That if such date is unknown and cannot be ascertained, the date of the entry of the name on the schedule shall be taken for the purposes of this Act to be the birth date of the member to whom the entry applies. "Said roll when approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall be final and conclusive as to the membership of said band, and as to the ages and degree of Indian blood of the members, but clerical changes relating to the names of such members or to sex designations may be made at any time thereafter. "3. That in the preparation of said roll due consideration shall be given to all rolls and lists heretofore made of the membership of said band, together with any evidence elicited in the course of any investigations, and to all documents and records on file in the Interior Department or any of its bureaus or offices. "The fact that the name of any person appears on any such roll or list shall not be accepted to establish, conclusively, his right or that of his descendants to enrollment. Nor shall the absence of his name from such former rolls conclusively bar any person or his descendants from enrollment. "That in the preparation of said roll the act of the State of North Carolina of March 8, 1895, chapter 166, entitled 'An Act to amend chapter 211, laws of 1889, relating to the charter of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' shall be disregarded. "Applications for enrollment may be presented in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of the Interior, but lack of application shall not prevent consideration of the right to enrollment of any person whose name appears on any former roll and his descendants or of any name brought in any manner to the attention of those in charge of the enrollment work, including the names of those persons of Cherokee Indian blood living July 27, 1868, in any of the counties of North Carolina, in which the common lands of said band are located, or in any of the contiguous counties of that State or of the States of Georgia and Tennessee, and of their descendants. "4. That the lands so conveyed shall be surveyed, where found necessary, and divided into appropriate tracts or parcels and appraised at their true value as of the date of such appraisement, without consideration being given to the location thereof or to any mineral deposits therein or to improvements thereon, but such appraisement shall include all merchantable timber on all allottable lands. "5. That reservations from allotment may be made, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, of lands for cemeteries, schools, water-power sites, rights of way, and for other public purposes, with proper safeguards, however, for compensation to individuals who may suffer losses by reason of such reservations. "There may also be reserved any tract chiefly valuable because of the timber or of stone, marble, or other quarries thereon, or which by reason of location or topographical features may be unsuitable for allotment purposes. "Any land or other property reserved from allotment as above provided and lands not needed for allotments may be sold at such time, in such manner, and upon such terms as the Secretary may direct, and the proceeds of such sale shall be added to the funds of the band: Provided, That in the sale of timberlands the timber and the land may be sold separately. "Conveyances under such sales shall be made as provided in the case of conveyances to allottees. "6. That all oil, gas, coal, and other mineral deposits on said lands are hereby reserved to said band for a period of twenty-five years from the date of this Act, and during such period said deposits may be leased for prospecting and mining purposes by the Secretary of the Interior, for such periods (not exceeding the period for which such minerals are reserved) and upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe: Provided, That at the end of such twenty-five year period all such deposits shall become the property of the individual owner of the surface of such land, unless Congress shall otherwise provide. "7. That all improvements on the lands of said band of a permanent and substantial character shall be appraised separately from the lands upon which the same may be, and shall be listed in the names of the members of the band prima facie entitled thereto, but the designation of ownership shall be tentative only until the true ownership thereof is ascertained and declared, after due notice and hearing. The right to have such improvements appraised, and to make disposition thereof, shall extend to all members, except tenants, owning such improvements at the date of this Act. "Any person held to be the owner of improvements may remove the same, where found to be practicable, within ninety days from the date they are declared to belong to him, or may, within that period, dispose of the same at not more than the appraised value to any member of the band entitled to receive an allotment, under regulations to be prescribed: Provided, That the vendor shall have a lien upon the rents and profits accruing from the tract on which such improvements may be located until the purchase price thereof is fully paid. "8. That the lands and money of said band shall be allotted and divided among the members thereof so as to give each an equal share of the whole in value, as nearly as may be, and to accomplish that the value of the standard allotment share shall be determined by dividing the total appraised value of all allotted and allottable lands by the total number of enrolled members. "If any member shall fail to receive his full share of the tribal lands, he shall be entitled to the payment of money so as to adjust the difference as nearly as possible. If any member shall receive an allotment exceeding in value his full share of the tribal lands, the difference shall be adjusted by deduction from his distributive share of the tribal funds. "9. That when the tracts available for allotments are ascertained, each member of the said band may apply for a tract or tracts of land to the extent of thirty acres, as nearly as practicable, to include his home and improvements, if he so desires, and the selection so made shall be final as to the right to occupy and use the land so applied for as against all other members if no contest is filed against such selection within ninety days from and after formal application is made therefor: Provided, That any person claiming the right to select any given tract of land by reason of the purchase of improvements thereon shall have ninety days to make application therefor from and after the date of approval of any sale conveying to him said improvements, and such application shall become final as in other cases, subject to the right of any other member to contest such selection, ninety days from and after the same is duly made. All contests shall be instituted and heard pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Interior Department applicable thereto. Any allotment selection may be modified or limited, in the discretion of those in charge of the work, so as to give the selector of adjacent or contiguous lands access to firewood and drinking water. "10. That adults may select their own allotments, where mentally capable of so doing, but allotments for minors may be selected by their father or mother, in the order named, or by the officers in charge of the allotment work. The said officers may also select allotments for prisoners, convicts, aged, infirm, and insane or otherwise mentally incompetent members and for the estates of deceased members and, if necessary to complete any allotments or to bring the allotment work to a close, may make arbitrary selections for and on behalf of any member of said band. "11. That allotments may be selected for the members of any family, wherever practicable, from contiguous lands or other lands held by the head of the family, including both adult and minor children and such other relatives as are members of the household: Provided, That if any adult child shall claim the benefit of this section, he shall not be entitled as a matter of right to have his selection made from the lands desired by his father or mother or from lands needed by any minor member of the family for allotment purposes, but this shall not prevent selection of lands outside the family holdings if desired. "12. That where annuity or other payments to individuals have heretofore been suspended because their enrollment status has been questioned, the amounts involved in such suspended payments shall be paid to individuals found entitled to enrollment or to their heirs, and all funds of said band, after making such payments and after payments needed for equalizing allotments as herein before provided and all other payments herein directed to be made, shall be distributed per capita among the enrolled members of said band and the heirs of those who shall die before distribution is completed, and shall be paid to the distributees or conserved and used for their benefit, according to whether they belong to the restricted or unrestricted class, at such time and in such manner as shall be deemed advisable. "13. That any member of said band whose degree of Indian blood is less than one-sixteenth may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be paid a cash equivalent in lieu of an allotment of land. Any person desiring to avail himself of this provision may make application to the officers in charge of the allotment work at any time within ninety days after the date of the approval of the final roll, and preference shall be given in the order of application. The said officers shall have the power to add to the register of such names the names of any other members of the same class, including minors for whom no application is made for such time as may be allowed for the purpose by the regulations. Applications should be made in person by adults and for minors by their fathers or mothers, in the order named. "14. That if any member shall claim that he is the owner of a so-called private land claim, for the reason that money was advanced by him or his ancestor to pay in whole or in part for any land the title to which is now in the band, such claim may be submitted to and equitably adjusted by the Secretary of the Interior, whose decision thereon shall be final and not subject to review by the courts. In such adjustment due consideration shall be given to matters presented by the band in the way of offsets or counterclaims. "15. That a certificate of allotment shall be issued to each allottee upon the expiration of the contest period, if no contest is then pending, or, if a contest is then pending, upon final disposition thereof, but shall be dated as of the date of selection. Each certificate shall contain the name and roll number of the allottee, and the legal effect thereof shall be to give the allottee the right to occupy and use the surface of the land described therein, as against each and every other member of the band, but not as against the band itself, or against the United States: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior may cancel any certificate of allotment at any time before title to the land described therein is conveyed to the allottee, if in his judgment said land should be reserved for allotment for any purpose herein authorized or for any other good and sufficient reason, but before such action is taken the allottee shall have due notice and opportunity to be heard. If any such certificate shall be revoked, the allottee may select other lands as if no certificate had been issued to him. "16. That as soon as practicable after a certificate of allotment is issued there shall be issued to the allottee a deed conveying all right, title, and interest of the United States, as trustee, and of the band, and of every other member thereof, in and to the land described in said certificate. Each deed shall recite the roll number and degree of Indian blood of the grantee and shall be executed by or in the name of the Secretary of the Interior, who is hereby authorized to designate any clerk or employee of the department to sign his name for him to all such deeds. "Each deed, when so issued, shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county in which the land conveyed thereby is located. When so recorded title to the land shall vest in the allottee subject to the conditions, limitations, and restrictions herein imposed. Upon the recording of any deed it shall be the duty of the officers representing the Government of the United States to deliver it to the allottee named therein. "17. That if any member enrolled as provided in this Act shall die before receiving his distributive share of the band or tribal property, the land and moneys to which he would be entitled, if living, shall descend to his heirs according to the laws of the State of North Carolina and be distributed to them accordingly, but in all such cases the allotment and deed therefor shall be made in the name of the deceased ancestor and shall be given the same force and effect as if made during his lifetime: Provided. That the provisions of the Act of Congress approved June 25, 1910 (Thirty-sixth Statutes, page 855), as amended by the Act of Congress of February 14, 1913 (Thirty-seventh Statutes, page 678), relating to the determination of heirs and approval of wills by the Secretary of the Interior, and to other matters, are hereby made applicable to the persons and estates of the members of the said band, and in the construction of said Acts no distinction shall be made between restricted lands and moneys and those conveyed or held in trust. "18. That leases of lands allotted under this Act may be made during the restricted period for any purpose and for any term of years, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That such leases shall be executed on behalf of minors and other incompetents, including any Indian deemed to be incapable, mentally or physically, of managing his business affairs properly and with benefit to himself and in their names, by a duly authorized representative of the Indian Service designated by said Secretary for the purpose: Provided further, That all leases of unpartioned estates shall be so made and approved unless all of the Indian heirs or owners are of the unrestricted class, and shall be subject to supervision during the restricted period the same as leases made on other restricted lands, but all rents and royalties accruing therefrom to unrestricted owners shall be paid, by the proper officers of the Indian Service, to such owners at the earliest date practicable after the collection thereof. "Parents may use the lands allotted to their children and receive the rents and profits arising herefrom during the minority of such children: Provided, That this privilege may be revoked by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at any time while said lands are restricted for such cause as may by him be deemed good and sufficient. "19. That lands allotted under this Act shall not be alienable, either by voluntary or enforced sale by the allottee or his heirs or otherwise, for a period of twentyfive years from and after the date when the deed conveying such land to the allottee is recorded as directed herein: Provided, That upon the completion of the allotments and the recording of the deeds as herein directed each allottee shall become a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the particular State wherein he (or she) may reside, with all the rights, privileges, and immunities of such citizens: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, at any time after a deed is recorded remove the restrictions on the lands described therein, either with or without application by the owner or owners, under such rules and regulations or special orders governing the terms of sale and the disposition of the proceeds as he shall prescribe. "20. That lands allotted under this Act shall not be subjected or held liable to any form of personal claim, or demand, against the allottee, arising or existing prior to the removal of restrictions; and any attempted alienation or incumbrance of restricted land by deed, mortgage, contract to sell, power of attorney, or other method of incumbering real estate, except leases specifically authorized by law, made before or after the approval of this Act and prior to removal of restrictions therefrom, shall be absolutely null and void. "21. That all lands, and other property, of the band, or the members thereof, except funds held in trust by the United States, may be taxed by the State of North Carolina, to and including the tax year following the date of this Act. Such taxes shall be paid from the common funds of said band for such period, except upon such tracts as shall have been lawfully sold prior to the date when tax assessments can be made thereon under the State law. All tax assessments made pursuant to this Act on restricted allotments or undivided tribal property held in trust by the United States shall be subject to revision by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for a period of one year following the date when such assessments are spread on the local tax rolls, but if he shall take no action thereon during said year, such assessments shall be final, but this shall not be construed to deprive any allottee of any remedy to which he would be entitled under the State law: Provided. That such restricted and undivided property shall be exempt from sale for unpaid taxes for two years from the date when such taxes become due and payable, and no penalty for delinquency in the payment of such taxes shall be charged or collected for or during said period, so that Congress may have an opportunity to make provision for the payment of such taxes if the band, or tribal, funds are found insufficient for the purpose. "After the expiration of the tax year following that in which this Act is approved all lands allotted to members of said band, from which restrictions shall have been removed, shall be subject to taxation the same as other lands. But from and after the expiration of said tax year all restricted allotments and undivided property shall be exempt from taxation until the restrictions on the alienation of such allotments are removed or the title of the band to such undivided property is extinguished. "22. That the removal of restrictions upon allotted lands shall not deprive the United States of the duty or authority to institute and prosecute such action in its own name, in the courts of the United States, as may be necessary to protect the rights of the allottees, or of their heirs, until the said band shall be dissolved by congressional action, unless the order removing such restrictions is based upon an express finding that the Indian to whom it relates is fully competent and capable of managing his own affairs. "23. That the authority of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina to execute conveyances of lands owned by said band, or any interest therein, is recognized, and any such conveyance heretofore made, whether to the United States or to others, shall not be questioned in any case where the title conveyed or the instrument of conveyance has been or shall be accepted or approved by the Secretary of the Interior. "24. That the reinvestment of the proceeds arising from the sale of surplus and unallotted lands of said band in other lands in the vicinity of the Indian school at Chero |