the lease has been returned and the whereabouts of the person is unknown or they have left no forwarding address. We will continue to have this problem until we have legislation permitting the execution of a lease with the consent of heirs owning 51 percent interest.

(e) Secretary's authority has been used wherever it can be applied. The Crow Tribe is permitted to purchase land as well as any individual Indian permitted to purchase land.

PART II-CROW

The Crow Tribal Council has not indicated that they consider any tracts being sold as being key tracts. The tribe has never classified their lands or allotted lands into key tracts nor designated lands that should be held in trust. The individual owners have cooperated with this office and endeavor to select lands that are not key tracts and, therefore, applications involve lands that have been isolated or located in areas where the Indian landowners interests would not be affected. Also the owners have made an effort to keep the key tracts and have refrained from applying for sale of the land. Applications are screened carefully by this office and with the cooperation of the individual owners the sale of lands considered to be key tracts is generally avoided.

We acquired land in trust from fee status on several occasions; as a result the individual was able to consolidate his or her holdings or establish a home base adjoining the original allotment.

PART III-CROW

The Crow Tribe has not employed any real-estate employees nor have they carried on real-estate activities. The land-purchase program was organized under Public Law No. 870, approved July 1, 1948, which provided for the sale to the Crow Tribe, of interests in estates of deceased Crow Indian allottees. The development of the program was delayed pending establishing procedures for purchase and resale to other Indians. A satisfactory sales contract agreement to be used in the resale of the land needed to be developed and other forms necessary to carry out the program. The tribe due to the pressing demands of other items of business has not passed the necessary resolutions to initiate the program. In October 1957, all the necessary details were developed essential to the land-purchase program and are now ready to be presented to the council for final action. The central office solicitor is reviewing the necessary forms.

The Crow Tribal Leasing Service Enterprise was organized and approved by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs on August 26, 1947. June 8, 1951, the Crow Tribal Council approved a modification of the enterprise, and the name was changed to "Crow Tribe Land Enterprise." The purpose of the original enterprise was limited in its program to clerical details involved in leasing of lands. The modified enterprise was set up to take over clerical and ministerial details involved in the leasing, permitting, and land-adjustment transactions of tribal and individual trust or restricted lands under the jurisdiction of the Crow Indian Agency. The present enterprise includes all instruments issued for the development of natural resources and

for the collection of fees. The enterprise was given the responsibility for the performance of clerical and ministerial work of a land-purchase program for the Crow Tribe and any sales to members of the Crow Tribe. The Tribal Enterprise employees carried the full load of work required in the branch of realty with the exception of the department head during the time when the enterprise was first organized and have continued to carry the full workload until 1956. At that time civil-service positions were established and the key positions or section heads were placed under civil service. Clerical positions have been maintained under the enterprise and in consideration of the limited gratuity funds it is necessary to continue limited operation of the enterprise to supplement the funds and needed personnel.

RESOLUTION No. 77

A resolution of the Crow Tribe repealing certain provisions of section 2 of the act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 751), as amended by the act of June 8, 1940 (54 Stat. 252), and with certain exceptions

Be it resolved, That the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States Congress be requested to enact a law providing as follows:

"The first paragraph of section 2 of the Act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 751), as amended by the Act of June 8, 1940 (54 Stat. 252), is hereby repealed. All conveyances heretofore made in violation of the acreage limitations contained in such paragraph are hereby validated, ratified, and confirmed insofar as such acreage limitations are concerned, but the right to challenge such conveyances for any other cause recognized by law shall not be affected by this Act."

Be it further resolved, That the tribal attorney and tribal delegates be, and they hereby are, authorized to proceed to have bills introduced into both Houses of the Congress of the United States, and to otherwise promote the passage of such acts in order that the same may be enacted into law, and, if it becomes necessary, to appear before the committees of Congress for hearings thereon. Passed, adopted, and approved by the Crow Indian Tribal Council this 14th day of April 1956 by majority votes for adoption.

RESOLUTION NO. 132

To authorize the chairman and secretary of the Crow Tribal Council to enter into a contract with an attorney or attorneys to associate with the tribal attorney to oppose any legislation or litigation relating to the repeal of section 2 of the act of June 4, 1920, and for other purposes

Whereas that it is the sense of this meeting that many land titles held or claimed by non-Indians on the Crow Reservation are known to have been acquired in violation of section 2 of the Allotment Act of 1920; and

Whereas that great concentrations of landownership by non-Indians were forbidden by the 1920 act because Congress recognized such to be detrimental to the interest of the Crow Tribe as a whole; that the Crow Tribe here goes on record as declaring that it is concerned as a tribe to consistently oppose any legislation or litigation designed to deprive allottees or heirs of allottees of their right to recover possession of land illegally lost to large white landowners; and

Whereas that therefore the Crow Tribe will give every assistance in its power to such allottees and heirs in their effort to recover such lands; and

Whereas there has been introduced in the House of Representatives a bill entitled "H. R. 2381" and a bill in the Senate entitled "S. 332"; both bills were introduced to validate the illegal titles acquired in the face of the prohibition of section 2 of the act of 1920; and

Whereas, in view of the importance and interests of the members of the Crow Tribe, we approve the employment of a special attorney or attorneys to represent the Crow Tribe before the Congress and committees thereof and other governmental bureaus and agencies having responsibilities in connection with this proposed legislation: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the chairman and secretary of the Crow Tribal Council are authorized to enter into a contract with an attorney or firm of attorneys to associate with the tribal attorney for such representation, upon such conditions as they determine to be in the best interest of the Crow Tribe, provided that the amount for compensation and expenses under any such contract shall not exceed $5,000; be it further

Resolved, That in the event such proposed legislation is defeated the chairman and secretary are further authorized to enter into a contract with such attorney or other attorneys to associate with the tribal attorney in representing the Crow Tribe in court proceedings to restore such lands to the rightful legal owners, upon such conditions as they determine to be in the best interests of the Crow Tribe, provided that the amount for compensation and expenses under any such contract shall not exceed $10,000 per contract year.

Passed, approved, and adopted this 8th day of June 1957 by the Crow Tribal Council at a duly assembled meeting of said council by 169 votes for the adoption of this resolution and 100 votes against the adoption of this resolution.

3. FLATHEAD AGENCY

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS,
Dixon, Mont., June 6, 1958.

Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY,

Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,

United States Senate, Washington, D. C.

DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: The comprehensive 10-year record of all transactions involving the disposition and the acquisition of Indian land requested by your letter of April 17, 1958, with enclosures, so that current proposals in the Congress concerning Indian lands may be effectively considered, is submitted.

PART I-FLATHEAD

1. The Flathead Indian Reservation was established by the Hellgate Treaty of July 16, 1955 (12 Stat. 975). There were 1,240,000 acres reserved by this treaty. By Presidential proclamation of May 22, 1909 (3 Kapp. 655), the reservation was opened to homesteading and a large acreage of the reservation was alienated. On July 1, 1947, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes had 414,835 acres in trust ownership. The tribes had no fee lands in their ownership on July 1, 1947.

2. Individual members of the tribes were allotted land in severalty in accordance with the act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 388), as amended by the act of May 8, 1906 (36 Stat. 182), and the act of February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 452), as amended by the act of June 16, 1950 (64 Stat. 229). On July 1, 1947, individual Indians owned 226,998 acres of trust or restricted land.

3. The number of transactions, by years, by which trust lands were transferred to fee status are:

4. The number of acres lost from trust status to fee status as a result of the various transactions in item 3, above, are:

5. The number of transactions shown in item 3 above which allowed the transfer of land from a trust status to a fee status by type of transaction are:

6. The acreage, by year, on which trust status was removed by breakdown of the type of transactions are:

7. The number of consummated transactions on lands not previously in Indian ownership, by years, are:

8. The acreage of previously non-Indian owned lands that were acquired in a trust status:

9. The types of transactions by which previously non-Indian owned lands were acquired in a trust status are: