Fort Hall. The land committee of the tribal business council recommends acquisitions.

Nez Perce. The tribe has a committee relating to land sales. Yakima.-An extensive program for land acquisition was presented in regard to the tribal land program, with special emphasis on key

tracts.

In the Sacramento area Hoopa and Palm Springs indicated activity in land programing as related to acquisitions and disposal.

Hoopa. The tribal land and real-estate committee advises with and makes recommendations to the tribal council.

Palm Springs.-The tribal council is authority on real-estate

matters.

In the Minneapolis area the Minnesota Agency indicated some activity relating to tribal acquisition of certain lands, expressing this in the form of tribal council resolutions.

A summary of the results of the questionnaire as shown in the chart of tribal land activities follows.

(1) Tribal real-estate employees: There were 19 tribes having such employees and the total was 45 employees. The average per tribe was 1.4 such employees. Nine of these tribes were in the Aberdeen area, four in Gallup, two in Billings, two in Portland, and one each in Minneapolis and Phoenix.

(2) Agency real-estate employees paid for by tribes: There were 10 tribes reported as paying in whole or in part the salaries of 42 such employees. The average was 4.2 agency employees per tribe. Billings had 4 of the tribes, Gallup and Portland 2 each, and Phoenix and Minneapolis 1 each.

(3) Seven tribes were reported to have real-estate advisers or consultants regularly employed. Phoenix and Portland areas had 2 tribes each; Billings, Gallup, and Sacramento 1 each.

(4) There were 10 tribes reported to have real-estate committees with authority to approve tribal real-estate activities. Aberdeen, Billings, and Gallup areas had 3 tribes each, and Portland 1.

(5) There were 21 tribes reported to have real-estate committees which advised with the tribal council. Billings had 6 tribes, Aberdeen, Portland 5 each, Gallup 4, and Sacramento 1.

(6) There were 11 tribes reported as employing private consultants on land matters. Billings had 3 tribes, Aberdeen, Gallup, and Phoenix 2 each, and Anadarko and Portland 1 each.

(7) Tribal land enterprises were reported for 20 tribes. Aberdeen had 9 tribes, Billings 7, Portland 3, and Gallup 1.

(8) Three tribes were instructed to turn over real-estate activities to the Indian Bureau. Two of these were in Portland and one in Phoenix.

(9) The number of tribes for whom tribal council resolutions were submitted was 19. Six tribes were in Aberdeen area, five in Portland, four in Billings, two in Minneapolis, one each in Anadarko and Gallup.

(10) The number of tribes for whom land programs were submitted was 10. Three tribes each were from Aberdeen, Billings, and Portland, one from Gallup.

WILLIAM H. GILBERT.

30451-58- -8

GOVERNMENTAL ACTION ON INDIVIDUAL INDIAN TRUST LANDS AND THE HEIRSHIP PROBLEM

To: Hon. James E. Murray.
From: Indian Affairs.

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SERVICE, Washington, D. C., October 31, 1958.

Subject: (1) Action by Congress, the Indian Bureau, and the tribal councils relative to disposal of individual Indian lands from trust status and (2) the heirship problem.

The accompanying tabular chart was devised to summarize the answers to the questionnaire sent to 65 agencies (composed of 91 units) relative to the above subjects.

(1) Reports from 32 field jurisdictional units of the Indian Bureau out of the 91 canvassed indicated that some legislation-either general or special-affected the disposal of individual Indian trust land and related acquisition of tribal lands. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 was cited by some of the respondents and various special laws both private and public. Such laws were reported from 50 percent of the Billings area; over 75 percent of the Gallup area; 33 percent of the Minneapolis area; 75 percent of the Muskogee area; 11 percent of the Phoenix area; and 20 percent of the Portland area.

Three current studies of the cause and effects of individual Indian land disposal at the local agency level were reported. In the Aberdeen area 1 agency reported a study and 4 made comments regarding the individual land disposal situation. In the Anadarko area 1 agency reported a study being made and 3 had comments. In the Portland area 1 study was reported and 3 agencies had comment. A total of 11 agencies made comment on the causes and effects of the disposal of individual Indian land from trust status.

Thirteen of the local jurisdictions reported tribal resolutions on individual Indian land disposal from trust status. There were 26 local jurisdictions reporting on the attitudes of tribal councils concerning this type of land disposal. Most of the reports of tribal council resolutions and attitudes were from Aberdeen and Billings areas.

(2) In answer to the question as to what extent, if any, heirship or multiple-ownership problem has affected tribal acquisition and individual disposal of land, the existence of such interests was reported from all of the area offices of the Indian Bureau. Undivided interests owned by the tribe were reported for 7 out of 14 Aberdeen area units; undivided interests of non-Indian and alien Indians in all 14 units, and the undivided interests of minor or incompetent Indians in 10 out of the 14.

In the Anadarko area 1 out of 9 units reported a tribal undivided interest and 4 reported non-Indian or alien Indian undivided interest. For the Billings area 4 out of 8 units reported a tribal undivided

interest; all 8 reported non-Indian and alien Indian undivided i terest and 4 again reported undivided interests of minors and incon petent Indians.

In the Gallup area 1 unit reported a tribal undivided interest out o 8 reporting units, and 1 also reported an undivided interest of non Indian or alien Indians.

In the Minneapolis area 1 unit of 3 reported a tribal undivided in terest, 2 reported non-Indian or alien undivided interest and 1 reporte minor or incompetent Indian undivided interest.

For the Muskogee area 1 unit out of 4 showed a tribal undivided interest and 2 units showed non-Indian and alien Indian undivided interest.

In the Phoenix area 1 unit of 18 reporting showed a tribal undivided interest, 1 unit a non-Indian and alien Indian undivided interest, and 1 unit showed a minor or incompetent Indian undivided interest.

For the Portland area 1 unit of 27 reporting showed a tribal undivided interest; 5 showed a non-Indian and alien Indian undivided interest and 3 showed minor or incompetent Indian undivided interest For the Sacramento area one unit reported a minor or incompetent Indian undivided interest.

In sum, the distribution of the undivided interests in heirship lands encompasses all of the area offices but is most marked in Aberdeen, Billings, and Minneapolis area offices.

In the matter of the ability of heirs to reach satisfactory agreements relative to the use or disposal of heirship lands the practically universal complaint was as to the difficulty of contacting the heirs and getting them together. It was frequently stated that this was the primary reason for lack of agreement rather than the recalcitrance of any individual members.

Regarding the use of the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to sell heirship lands when the owners have died intestate and have left minor or incompetent heirs, the following may be said: Wide use of this authority seems to have been mainly restricted to the Aberdeen and Anadarko areas and prior to 1955. At Rosebud it was stated that the Solicitor has held that the Secretary has no such authority. Six of the fourteen Aberdeen units reported some use of this authority, 4 of the 9 Anadarko units, and 3 units out of the 8 at Billings. Also some use of this authority was reported for Sacramento (1 out of 3), Phoenix (2 out of 18 units), and Portland (1 out of 27 units). WILLIAM H. GILBERT.