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II. ANADARKO AREA OFFICE

1. CHEYENNE ARAPAHO AREA FIELD OFFICE

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
Concho, Okla., June 12, 1958.

Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY,

Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,
United States Senate, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: In compliance with your request dated April 17, 1958, find enclosed completed tabular forms with statistical information involving the disposition and acquisition of Indian land during the period from July 1, 1947, to December 31, 1957, as shown by the records of this office.

The information requested in part I of the questionnaire attached to letter of April 17, 1958, is as follows:

PART I-CHEYENNE-ARAPAHO

1. There were 5,873 acres held in trust for the Cheyenne-Arapaho tribes in July 1, 1947. According to the records of this office, the Cheyenne-Arapaho tribes do not own any real property in fee simple. 2. As of July 1, 1947, 171,485.353 acres were in a trust or restricted status for the benefit of individual Indian owners.

3. No tribal land has been disposed of during the 10-year period since July 1, 1947. The number of transactions by fiscal years by which individually owned lands were disposed of is as follows:

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4. The number of acres of individually owned Indian land that was disposed of or removed from Bureau jurisdiction during each fiscal

year since July 1, 1947, is as follows:

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5. The number and type of transactions for each year shown in answer No. 3 above is as follows:

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6. The acreage and type of transaction by which individually owned trust or restricted property was disposed of as shown in answer No. 4 is as follows:

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7. There have been no acquisitions of trust or restricted Indian lands for either the tribe or individuals since July 1, 1947, except purchase of town lots in a restricted status as homes for Indians, and the questionnaire does not appear concerned with such purchases.

8. No acres of land were acquired since July 1, 1947.

9. There were no transactions to be shown.

10. There were no acreages acquired.

11. As of December 31, 1957, there were 5,873 acres owned in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes. The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes have not acquired any real property in fee simple.

12. As of December 31, 1957, 136,908.59 acres of individually owned Indian land in a trust or restricted status was under the supervision of the Cheyenne-Arapaho area field office.

13. The only special acts of Congress which have affected the acquisition or disposal of Indian lands under the supervision of the Cheyenne-Arapaho area field office are to wit:

Act of April 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 213) which conveyed to the tribes in trust certain lands in what was known as Seger Reserve.

Act of January 29, 1942 (56 Stat. 21) which conveyed in trust to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes certain lands in the Hammon and Cantonment Reserves.

Public Law No. 715, approved August 10, 1946, which conveyed to the tribes an additional 537 acres remaining of the former Seger Reserve.

The above-cited acts conveyed to the tribes the acreage shown as held in trust as of December 31, 1957, and is the only tribal-owned real property.

No official study is being made of the cause and effect of land sales at this time by the area field office or the Cheyenne-Arapaho governing body. The tribal governing body has not passed any resolutions as to the study of the cause and effect of the land sales and has not informed the area field office of any such resolutions that are being considered on the subject.

14. (a) The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes have not in the past nor at the present owned any undivided interest in individually allotted lands

or other land.

(b) There are approximately 50 tracts of individually allotted or restricted property in which non-Indians own an interest. This has cause difficulty in disposing of the trust or restricted interest in the property for the fair-market value as prospective bidders have hesitated in offering the full value because of anticipated difficulty in gaining the control of the unrestricted interest from the non-Indian owners, often necessitating legal action to partition the property. Approximately 70 tracts have heirs who are Indians alien to this reservation. In most cases it has been difficult to keep up with their whereabouts and obtaining copies of probates where they have died, so as to keep our ownership of these tracts current.

(c) The Indian Reorganization Act is not applicable to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

80451-58-17

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