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25 U.S.C. § 4

U.S. CodeFederal
About This Law
pg_id_39332::119-84
Title
25 — Indians
Chapter
CH9
Release
119-84
Release Date
2026-04-17

Section Text

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(a) The provisions of this Act shall apply to the following allotments:“(1) allotments which were never sold or mortgaged by the allottees or by their heirs and which were tax forfeited during the trust period; “(2) allotments which were sold or mortgaged during the trust period, without the approval of the Secretary, by the allottees prior to having attained majority, and were never again sold or mortgaged either by the allottees upon their having attained majority or by heirs of the allottees; “(3) allotments which were sold or mortgaged during the trust period by full blood allottees without the approval of the Secretary, and were never again the subject of a sale or mortgage by heirs of the allottees; and “(4) allotments which were never sold or mortgaged by the allottees, but which subsequent to the deaths of the allottees, purportedly were sold or mortgaged, during the trust period, by administrators, executors, or representatives, operating under authority from State courts, and were never again the subject of a sale or mortgage by heirs of the allottees. “(b) The provisions of this Act shall also apply to the following allotments or interests in allotments:“(1) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or interests or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, or communities who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or interests, where the allotments or interests were tax forfeited during the trust period; “(2) allotments or interests which were inherited by mixed bloods under the age of majority and which were sold or mortgaged during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary prior to such mixed bloods having attained majority, but which were never again sold or mortgaged by them upon having attained majority or by their heirs; “(3) allotments or interests which were inherited by full bloods or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, or communities, who sold or mortgaged such allotments or interests during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary; “(4) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their allotments or interests, but which, subsequent to the deaths of such heirs, were sold or mortgaged during the trust period by administrators, operating under authority from State courts; “(5) allotments or interests which were owned by allottees or which were inherited by full or mixed bloods for whom guardians were appointed by State courts, which guardians sold or mortgaged the allotments or interests during the trust period without the approval of the Secretary; “(6) interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their interests during the trust period, even though other interests in the same allotment were sold by other heirs where the land comprising the allotment has been claimed in full by other parties adversely to the full or mixed bloods who never sold or mortgaged their interests; and “(7) allotments or interests which were inherited by full or mixed bloods or by Indians enrolled in other federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, or communities which were never sold or mortgaged during the trust period but which were purportedly distributed by State court probate proceedings to other individuals. “(c) This Act shall not apply to—“(1) any allotment or interest the sale or mortgage of which was the subject of litigation which proceeded to a judgment on the merits in Federal courts and where the outcome of such litigation was other than vacating and voiding such sale or mortgage; “(2) any allotment or interest which was tax forfeited subsequent to the date on which the tax exemption was declared by a Federal court to have expired; “(3) any allotment or interest which was sold, mortgaged, or tax forfeited after the expiration of the trust period; or “(4) any allotment or interest which was sold or mortgaged at any time by an adult mixed blood Indian. Nothing in this Act is intended to question the validity of the transactions relating to allotments or interests as described in section 4(c), and such allotments and interests are declared to be outside the scope of this Act.

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