Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 49 Part 1.djvu/2012

 74TH CONGRESS. SESS. II. CH. 831 . JUNE 26, 1936 . 1967 [CHAPTER 831 .] AN ACT June 26, 1936 . To promote the general welfare of the Indians of the State of Oklahoma, and for 	[S. 2047 .] ot her purpo ses. [Public, No . 816.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the United States o f America in Congress assembled, That the Secr etary of the Interior is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to acquire by purchase, relinquishment, gift, exchange, or assignment, any interest in lands, water rights, or surface rights to lands, within or without existing Indian reservations, including trust or otherwise restricted lands now in Indian owner ship : Provided, That such lands shall be agricult ural and grazing lands o f good c haracter and qua lity in proportion to the respective needs of the particular Indian or In dians for wh om suc h pur chases are made. Title to all lands so acq uired sh all be t aken in the name of the United S tates, i n trust for the tri be, band, group, or indi vidual I ndian fo r whose benefit such land is so acquired, and while the title thereto is held by the United States said lands shall be free from any and all taxes, save that the State of Oklahoma is authorized to levy and collect a gross-production tax, not in excess of the rate applied to production from lands in private ownership, upon all oil and gas produced from sai d lands, which s aid tax the Secr etary of the Int erior is hereby authorized and directed to cause to be paid. SEC. 2 . Whenever any restricted Indian land or interests in land, other than sales or leases of oil, gas, or other minerals therein, are offered for sale, pursuant to the terms of this or any other Act of Congress, the Se cretary of the I nterior shall ha ve a pre ference right, in his discretion, to purchase the same for or in behalf of any other Indian or Indians of the same or any other tribe, at a fair valuatio n to be fixed by the app raisemen t satisf actory t o the Indian owner or owners, or if offered for sale at auction said Secre- tary shall have a preference right, in his discretion, to purchase the same for or in behalf of any other Indian or Indians by meeting the highest bid otherwise offered therefor. SEC. 3 . Any recognized tribe or band of Indians residing in Okla- homa shall have the right to organize for its common welfare and to adopt a constitution and bylaws, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. The Secretary of the Interior may issue to any such organized group a charter of incorporation, which shall become operative when ratified by a majority vote of the adult members of the organization voting : Provided, however, That such election shall be void unless the total vote cast be at least 30 per centum of those entitled to vote. Such charter may convey to the incorporated group, in addition to any powers which may properly be vested in a bod y cor porate under the laws of the State of Oklahoma, the right to participate in the revolving credit fund and to enjoy any other rights or privileges secured to an organized Indian tribe under the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat . 984) : Provided, That the corporate funds of any such char- tered group m ay be de posited in any n ational bank wit hin the State of Oklahoma or otherwise invested, utilized, or disbursed in accord- ance with the terms of the corporate charter. SEC. 4 . Any ten or more Indians, as determined by the official tribal rolls, or Indian descendants of such enrolled members, or Indians as defined in the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat . 984), who reside within the Stat e of Okl ahoma in conveni ent prox imity to each ot her may receive from the Secretary of the Interior a charter as a local cooperative association for any one or more of the following pur- poses : Credit administration, production, marketing, consumers' Indians of Okla. homa. A cquisit ion of lands, etc ., ivithin or without reservations . Proviso. Type of land to be acquired in proportion to ind ividual needs. United States to take title as trustee. Nontaxable ; exce p- tion . Product ion tax on oil and gas. Restricted Indian land, etc. Preference right to purchase, in behalf of Indians. Appraisement. Right to organize for common welfare, adopt constitution, etc . Char ter . Proviso. Vote requirement . Powers conferred by charter. Vol.48,p.984;U.8. C., p. 1031. Proviso. Dep osit of funds. Loca l coope rative as- sociations ; purposes.