[House Report 115-902]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-902
======================================================================
STIGLER ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2018
_______
August 21, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2606]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2606) to amend the Act of August 4, 1947
(commonly known as the Stigler Act), with respect to
restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes
of Oklahoma, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend
that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stigler Act Amendments of 2018''.
SEC. 2. IN GENERAL.
The first section of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter
458), is amended--
(1) in the matter before subsection (a), by striking ``That
all restrictions'' and all that follows through subsection (a)
and inserting the following:
``Sec. 1. (a) All restrictions against alienation, conveyance, lease,
mortgage, creation of liens, or other encumbrances upon all lands,
including oil and gas or other mineral interests, in Oklahoma belonging
to a lineal descendant by blood of an original enrollee whose name
appears on the Final Indian Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes in
Indian Territory, whether acquired by allotment, inheritance, devise,
gift, purchase, exchange, partition, partition sale, or by purchase
with restricted funds, of whatever degree of Indian blood, and whether
enrolled or unenrolled, shall be and are hereby, extended until an Act
of Congress determines otherwise.
``(b) The extension of restrictions described in subsection (a) shall
include without limitation, those interests in the estate of a decedent
Indian who died before the date of enactment of the Stigler Act
Amendments of 2018--
``(1) if such interests were acquired by an heir or devisee
of one-half or more degree of Indian blood, as computed from
the nearest enrolled lineal ancestors of Indian blood enrolled
on the Final Rolls described in subsection (a), by final order
issued by an Oklahoma district court or a United States
district court determining the decedent's heirs or devisees or
otherwise determining the ownership of said interests before
said date; or
``(2) if such interests were, immediately prior to the
decedent's death, subject to restrictions and had not, as of
said date, been--
``(A) the subject of a final order issued by an
Oklahoma district court or a United States district
court determining the decedent's heirs or devisees or
otherwise determining the ownership of said interests;
``(B) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined heirs
or devisees by deed approved by an Oklahoma district
court; or
``(C) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined heirs
or devisees of less than one-half degree of Indian
blood with or without Oklahoma district court approval.
``Sec. 2. (a) Except as provided in subsection (f), subsection (g),
subsection (h), and subsection (i), no conveyance, including an oil and
gas or mineral lease, of any interest in the restricted lands described
in this section shall be valid unless approved in open court by the
district court of the county in Oklahoma in which the land is
situated;'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``county judge'' and inserting
``district judge''; and
(B) by striking ``Proceedings for approval of
conveyances by restricted heirs or devisees'' and
inserting ``Proceedings for approval of conveyances'';
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``best interest of the
Indian'' and inserting ``best interest of the grantor''; and
(4) by adding before the period at the end the following: ``;
(h) nothing contained in this section shall limit or affect the
right of an Indian owner of restricted lands described in this
Act to seek and obtain Secretarial removal of restrictions on
all or any portion of said restricted lands in accordance with
any applicable Federal law; (i) nothing contained in this
section shall invalidate the alienation, conveyance, lease,
including oil and gas or other mineral leases, mortgage,
creation of liens, or other encumbrance of any lands, if such
action was effective before the date of enactment of the
Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 and valid under the law then in
effect; and (j) in determining the quantum of Indian blood of
any Indian heir or devisee, the Final Indian Rolls of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory as to such heir or
devisee, if enrolled, shall be conclusive of his or her quantum
of Indian blood. If unenrolled, his or her degree of Indian
blood shall be computed from the nearest enrolled lineal
ancestors of Indian blood enrolled on the Final Indian Rolls of
the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory''.
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
The Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458), is amended--
(1) in section 5, by striking ``of one-half or more Indian
blood,'';
(2) in section 6(c)--
(A) by inserting ``purchase, partition sale,'' after
``gift,'' each place it appears; and
(B) by striking ``of one-half or more Indian blood'';
and
(3) in section 8, by striking ``of one-half or more Indian
blood,''.
SEC. 4. REPEALS.
The following are repealed:
(1) The first section of the Act of August 11, 1955 (69 Stat.
666, chapter 768).
(2) Section 2 of the Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731,
chapter 458).
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2606 is to amend the Act of August 4,
1947 (commonly known as the Stigler Act) with respect to
restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes
of Oklahoma.
Background and Need for Legislation
Oklahoma is home to 38 federally-recognized Indian tribes,
a majority of which were resettled involuntarily, some
forcibly, during the mid-1800s. The first tribes removed to
what is now Oklahoma were the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek,
Cherokee and Seminoles, which are collectively called the Five
Civilized Tribes.
The Five Civilized Tribes have stood together in different
forms since 1842, when the Five Tribes first formed the Inter-
Tribal Council of the Deep Fork River.\1\ According to the Five
Tribes, they recognized the need to stand together after being
removed to Indian Territory (what is now Oklahoma). The Five
Tribes formed the United Nations of Indian Territory in 1861,
the Okmulgee Council in 1866, and most recently the Inter-
Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes in 1949.\2\ Today,
the Inter-Tribal Council represents over 650,000 tribal members
from the Five Tribes.
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\1\http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=IN033.
\2\http://www.fivecivilizedtribes.org/Home/History/Chapter-One.
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Under the General Allotment Act of 1887 (also known as the
Dawes Act),\3\ Congress sought to end the tribal and
reservation system in which Indians had been living by making
them individual property owners through allotment of the
reservations. Under the Act, the President was authorized to
allot 80-acre or 160-acre parcels of land in Indian
reservations to individual Indians located on them, and to open
remaining surplus lands to non-Indian settlement. In 1893, the
Dawes Commission\4\ was created by Congress in part to seek
allotment of the lands of the Five Tribes. In 1898, Congress
enacted the Curtis Act\5\ which provided for the allotment of
the Five Tribes' lands and authorized townsites that were
opened to non-Indian ownership.\6\ Most tribal lands of the
Five Tribes were allotted between 1897 and 1902 with most
being, as a matter of federal law, inalienable (cannot be sold
or otherwise transferred) and nontaxable.
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\3\Stat. 388, chapter 119.
\4\Act of March 3, 1893, 16, 27 Stat. 612.
\5\Act of June 28, 1898, 30 Stat. 495.
\6\In doing so, it began the process of preparing Indian Territory
to become the State of Oklahoma in 1906-1907.
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In 1947, Congress passed the Stigler Act\7\ which sets
forth certain additional restrictions on title to the
allotments that had been conveyed to members of the Five
Tribes. The Act provides that, upon probate, heirs and devisees
of an allotment shall maintain at least one-half degree Indian
blood quantum from one of the Five Tribes for the allotment to
remain inalienable and nontaxable for the life of the owner.
The effect of the Stigler Act has been that when a person of
less than one-half degree Indian blood from one of the Five
Tribes inherits an interest in an allotment, the interest in
the land can be sold or exchanged and is taxable. None of the
Five Tribes maintain a minimum degree blood quantum for
membership.
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\7\The Act of August 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 731, chapter 458).
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Several attempts have been made to comprehensively update
the Stigler Act. In 2000, H.R. 5308 was passed by the House,
but the House bill and the Senate companion bill (S. 3182), saw
no further action in the 106th Congress. The bill was
introduced again in the 107th Congress as H.R. 2880, passing
the House again in 2002. The bill was reported by the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs but failed to become law.
Rather than make a comprehensive update of the entire
Stigler Act, H.R. 2606 would amend the Stigler Act to remove
the Indian blood quantum requirement for interests in certain
allotments of land to be maintained in restricted fee status\8\
for any member of the Five Tribes. Under the bill, restricted
fee land currently owned by members of the Five Tribes would
remain in restricted status regardless of the blood quantum of
the owners.
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\8\This is land or interest in land whose title is held in fee by
an Indian, but such land may not, as a matter of federal law, be taxed
or transferred (through sale, exchange, donation, or otherwise) without
authorization from the federal government.
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Committee Action
H.R. 2606 was introduced on May 23, 2017, by Congressman
Tom Cole (R-OK). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs. On October 4,
2017, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On June 13,
2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) offered an amendment designated
#1 to the bill; it was adopted by voice vote. No additional
amendments were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice
vote.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII and Congressional Budget Act
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 14, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2606, the Stigler
Act Amendments of 2018.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2606--Stigler Act Amendments of 2018
H.R. 2606 would amend the Act of August 4, 1947 (commonly
known as the Stigler Act) to revise the qualifications that
need to be met by a person who inherits land originally
allotted to members of the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma--
Cherokee, Creek (Muscogee), Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole
Tribes--for that land to remain in restricted status. Land in
restricted status can only be conveyed or encumbered by an
Indian owner with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior
according to Indian land conveyance provisions and limitations
found in the Code of Federal Regulations. The bill would not
apply to individuals that have inherited property in restricted
status prior to enactment.
Because the relevant land would remain privately owned
whether it is held in restricted status or otherwise, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would have no federal
cost.
Enacting H.R. 2606 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2606 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 2606 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to amend the Act of August 4, 1947
(commonly known as the Stigler Act) with respect to
restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes
of Oklahoma.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
ACT OF AUGUST 4, 1947
AN ACT Relative to restrictions applicable to Indians of the Five
Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, [That all
restrictions upon all lands in Oklahoma belonging to members of
the Five Civilized Tribes, whether acquired by allotment,
inheritance, devise, gift, exchange, partition, or by purchase
with restricted funds, of whatever degree of Indian blood, and
whether enrolled or unenrolled, shall be, and are hereby,
removed at and upon his or her death: Provided, (a) That except
as provided in subdivision (f) of this section, no conveyance,
including an oil and gas or mineral lease, of any interest in
land acquired before or after the date of this Act by an Indian
heir or devisee of one-half or more Indian blood, when such
interest in land was restricted in the hands of the person from
whom such Indian heir or devisee acquired same, shall be valid
unless approved in open court by the county court of the county
in Oklahoma in which the land is situated;]
Sec. 1. (a) All restrictions against alienation, conveyance,
lease, mortgage, creation of liens, or other encumbrances upon
all lands, including oil and gas or other mineral interests, in
Oklahoma belonging to a lineal descendant by blood of an
original enrollee whose name appears on the Final Indian Rolls
of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory, whether
acquired by allotment, inheritance, devise, gift, purchase,
exchange, partition, partition sale, or by purchase with
restricted funds, of whatever degree of Indian blood, and
whether enrolled or unenrolled, shall be and are hereby,
extended until an Act of Congress determines otherwise.
(b) The extension of restrictions described in subsection (a)
shall include without limitation, those interests in the estate
of a decedent Indian who died before the date of enactment of
the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018--
(1) if such interests were acquired by an heir or
devisee of one-half or more degree of Indian blood, as
computed from the nearest enrolled lineal ancestors of
Indian blood enrolled on the Final Rolls described in
subsection (a), by final order issued by an Oklahoma
district court or a United States district court
determining the decedent's heirs or devisees or
otherwise determining the ownership of said interests
before said date; or
(2) if such interests were, immediately prior to the
decedent's death, subject to restrictions and had not,
as of said date, been--
(A) the subject of a final order issued by an
Oklahoma district court or a United States
district court determining the decedent's heirs
or devisees or otherwise determining the
ownership of said interests;
(B) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined
heirs or devisees by deed approved by an
Oklahoma district court; or
(C) conveyed by the decedent's undetermined
heirs or devisees of less than one-half degree
of Indian blood with or without Oklahoma
district court approval.
Sec. 2. (a) Except as provided in subsection (f), subsection
(g), subsection (h), and subsection (i), no conveyance,
including an oil and gas or mineral lease, of any interest in
the restricted lands described in this section shall be valid
unless approved in open court by the district court of the
county in Oklahoma in which the land is situated; (b) that
petition for approval of conveyance shall be set for hearing
not less than ten days from date of filing, and notice of
hearing thereon, signed by the [county judge] district judge,
reciting the consideration offered and a description of the
land shall be given by publication in at least one issue of a
newspaper of general circulation in the county where the land
is located and written notice of such hearing shall be given to
the probate attorney of the district in which the petition is
filed at least ten days prior to the date on which the petition
is to be heard. The grantor shall be present at said hearing
and examined in open court before such conveyance shall be
approved, unless the grantor and the probate attorney shall
consent in writing that such hearing may be had and such
conveyance approved in the absence of the grantor, and the
court must be satisfied that the consideration has been paid in
full. [Proceedings for approval of conveyances by restricted
heirs or devisees] Proceedings for approval of conveyances
under this section shall not be removable to the Federal court;
(c) the evidence taken at the hearing shall be transcribed and
filed of record in the case, the expense of which, including
attorney fees and court costs, must be borne by the grantee.
The court in its discretion, when deemed for the [best interest
of the Indian] best interest of the grantor, may approve the
conveyance conditionally, or may withhold approval; (d) that at
said hearing competitive bidding may be had and a conveyance
may be confirmed in the name of the person offering the highest
bid therefor or when deemed necessary the court may set the
petition for further hearing; (e) that the probate attorney
shall have the right to appeal from any order approving
conveyances to the district court of the county in which the
proceedings are conducted within the time and in the manner
provided by the laws of the State of Oklahoma in cases of
appeal in probate matters generally, except of that no appeal
bond shall be required; (f) that sales of the interests of
minor and incompetent persons shall be made in conformity with
the laws of the State of Oklahoma. Notice of such sale shall be
given to the probate attorney of the district in which the
petition is filed at least ten days prior to the date on which
the petition for sale is to be heard; (g) that nothing
contained in this section shall be construed to modify or
repeal the Act of February 11, 1936 (49 Stat. 1135), relating
to leases for farming and grazing purposes; (h) nothing
contained in this section shall limit or affect the right of an
Indian owner of restricted lands described in this Act to seek
and obtain Secretarial removal of restrictions on all or any
portion of said restricted lands in accordance with any
applicable Federal law; (i) nothing contained in this section
shall invalidate the alienation, conveyance, lease, including
oil and gas or other mineral leases, mortgage, creation of
liens, or other encumbrance of any lands, if such action was
effective before the date of enactment of the Stigler Act
Amendments of 2018 and valid under the law then in effect; and
(j) in determining the quantum of Indian blood of any Indian
heir or devisee, the Final Indian Rolls of the Five Civilized
Tribes in Indian Territory as to such heir or devisee, if
enrolled, shall be conclusive of his or her quantum of Indian
blood. If unenrolled, his or her degree of Indian blood shall
be computed from the nearest enrolled lineal ancestors of
Indian blood enrolled on the Final Indian Rolls of the Five
Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory.
[Sec. 2. In determining the quantum of Indian blood of any
Indian heir or devisee, the final rolls of the Five Civilized
Tribes as to such heir or devisee, if enrolled, shall be
conclusive of his or her quantum of Indian blood. If
unenrolled, his or her degree of Indian blood shall be computed
from the nearest enrolled paternal and maternal lineal
ancestors of Indian blood enrolled on the final rolls of the
Five Civilized Tribes.]
* * * * * * *
Sec. 5. That all funds and securities now held by, or which
may hereafter come under the supervision of the Secretary of
the Interior, belonging to and only so long as belonging to
Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma [of one-half
or more Indian blood,] enrolled or unenrolled, are hereby
declared to be restricted and shall remain subject to the
jurisdiction of said Secretary until otherwise provided by
Congress, subject to expenditure in the meantime for the use
and benefit of the individual Indians to whom such funds and
securities belong, under such rules and regulations as said
Secretary may prescribe.
Sec. 6. (a) Except as hereinafter provided, the tax-exempt
lands of any Indian of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma
shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres, whether the said
lands be acquired by allotment, descent, devise, gift,
purchase, partition sale, exchange, partition, or by purchase
with restricted funds.
(b) All tax-exempt lands owned by an Indian of the Five
Civilized Tribes on the date of this Act shall continue to be
tax-exempt in the hands of such Indian during the restricted
period: Provided, That any right to tax exemption which accrued
prior to the date of thisAct under the provisions of the Acts
of May 10, 1928 (45 Stat. 495), and January 27,1933 (47 Stat.
777), shall terminate unless a certificate of tax exemption has
been filed of record in the county where the landis located
within two years from the date of this Act
(c) Any interest in restricted and tax-exempt lands acquired
by descent, devise, gift, purchase, partition sale, exchange,
partition, or purchase with restricted funds, after the date of
this Act by an Indian of the Five Civilized Tribes [of one-half
or more Indian blood] shall continue to be tax-exempt during
the restricted period: Provided, That the tax-exempt lands of
any such heir, devisee, donee, or grantee, whether acquired by
allotment, descent, devise, gift, purchase, partition sale,
exchange, partition, or purchase with restricted funds, shall
not exceed one hundred and sixty acres in the aggregate:
Provided further, That nothing contained in this subsection
shall be construed to terminate or abridge any right to tax
exemption to which any Indian was entitled pn the effective
date of this Act.
(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
affect any tax exemption provided by the Act of June 26, 1936
(49 Stat. 1967).
(e) On or before the 1st day of January of each year the
Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be filed with the
county treasurer of each county in the State of Oklahoma where
restricted lands of members of the Five Civilized Tribes are
situated a list of the nontaxable lands that have been sold
during the preceding year.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 8. That no tract of land, nor any interest therein,
which is hereafter purchased by the Secretary of the Interior
with restricted funds by or for an Indian or Indians of the
Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma [of one-half or more Indian
blood,] enrolled or unenrolled, shall be construed to be
restricted unless the deed conveying same shows upon its face
that such purchase was made with restricted funds.
* * * * * * *
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ACT OF AUGUST 11, 1955
AN ACT To extend the period of restrictions on lands belonging to
Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, [That subject
to the provisions of section 2 of this Act, the period of
restrictions against alienation, lease, mortgage, or other
encumbrance of lands belonging to Indians of the Five Civilized
Tribes in Oklahoma of one-half degree or more Indian blood,
which period was extended to April 26,1956, by the Act of May
10, 1928 (45 Stat. 495), is hereby extended for the lives of
the Indians who own such lands subject to such restrictions on
the date of this Act.]
* * * * * * *
[all]