Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 49 Part 1.djvu/847

 802 74TH CONGRESS. SESS. I. CH. 686. AUGUST 26, 1935. Indian tribes and bands described in the unratified treaties pub- lished in Senate Executive Document Numbered 25, Fifty-third Congress, first session (pp . 8 to 15), at and long prior to the dates Tribes ep~ 2t e. ther eof, except the Coos Bay, Lowe r Umpqua, and Siuslaw Tribes, it Scope of Act defined. being the intention of this Act to include all the Indian tribes or bands and their descendants, with the exceptions named, residing in the then Territ ory of Oregon w est of the Casc ade Range at a nd long prior to the dates of the said unratified treaties, some of whom, in 1855, or later, were removed by the military authorities of the United States to the Coast Range, the Grande Ronde, and the Siletz Res- ervations in said Territory. J rear is d i ctiof of court, SEC. 2 . That if any c laim or claims be submitted to said courts lapse of time, etc. hereunder they shall settle the rights therein, both legal and equit- able, of each and all the parties thereto, notwithstanding the lapse Set-off permitted, of time or the statutes of limitation ; and any payment which may have been made under any claim or agreement shall not operate as an estoppel but may be pleaded as a set-off, and the United States shall be allowe d to plead, and shall receive credit for all sums, including gratuities, paid to or expended for the benefit of the respective t ribes or bands of Indians, bu t no expenditur es for the vol.48, p. 984. benefit of these Indians made out of appropriations authorized by the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat . L . 984), shall be considered as Joint or separate pe. offsets. The claim or claims of each tribe or band may be presented titions. separately or jointly by petition, subject, however, to amendment and consolidation in proper cases. Such action or actions shall make the petitioner or petitioners party plaintiff or plaintiffs and the United States party defendant ; and any nation, tribe, or band the court may deem necessary to a final determination of such suit or suits may be joined therein by order of the court. Evide nce. The petition shall set forth all the facts upon which the claims are based and shall be signed and verified by the attorney or attor- neys employed to prosecute such claim or claims and who are under contract with said Indians approved in accordance with existing l aw. Any an d all claims ag ainst the Unit ed States withi n the pur- view of this Act shall be forever barred unless suit be instituted or petit ion filed as he rein provided in the Court of Claims within five years from the date of the approval of this Act. Official letters, papers, documents, and public records, or certified copies thereof, may be used in evidence, and the departments of the Government shall allow the attorney or attorneys access to such treaties, papers, correspondence, or records as may be needed by said attorney or attorneys. Attorney's Ice fee by SEC. 3 . That upon the final determination of such suit, or suits, the Court of Claims shall decree such fees not exceeding 10 per centum of the amounts recovered as it shall find reasonable to be paid the attorney or attorneys employed therein by said Indians or bands of Indians, under contracts negotiated and approved as provided by existing law, together with all necessary and proper expenditures incurred in the preparation and prosecution of the suit or suits. Deposit of judgment s, SE C. 4 . The proceeds of all amounts, if any, recove red for said to credit of Indians, with interest . Indians, less attorneys' fees and expenses, shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians decreed by said court to be entitled thereto, and shall draw interest at the rate of 4 per c entum per annum from the date of the origina l judg- ment or decree and thereafter shall be subject to appropriation by Congress. Approved, August 26, 1935.