Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 68 Part 1.djvu/1134

 1102

Land restrictions, retnovalt

Probate, etc* 25 USC 3 7 2 et aeq.

Federally-owned property. Transfer.

Taxes.

PUBLIC LAW 7 6 2 - S E P T. 1, 1954

[68

STAT.

tribe unrestricted control of funds or other personal property held in trust for such member by the United States. (b) All restrictions on the sale or encumbrance of trust or restricted land owned by members of the tribe (including allottees, heirs, and devisees, either adult or minor) are hereby removed two years after the date of this Act, and the patents or deeds under which titles are then held shall pass the titles in fee simple, subject to any valid encumbrance: Provided, That the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to subsurface rights in such lands, and the Secretary is directed to transfer such subsurface rights to one or more trustees designated by him for management for a period not less than 10 years. The title to all interests in trust or restricted land acquired by members of the tribe by devise or inheritance two years or more after the date of this Act shall vest in such members in fee simple, subject to any valid encumbrance. (c) Prior to the time provided in subsection (b) of this section for the removal of restrictions on land owned by more than one member of a tribe, the Secretary may— (1) upon request of any of the owners, partition the land and issue to each owner a patent or deed for his individual share that shall become unrestricted two years from the date of this Act; (2) upon request of any of the owners and a finding by the Secretary that partition of all or any part of the land is not practicable, cause all or any part of the land to be sold at not less than the appraised value thereof and distribute the proceeds of sale to the owners: Provided, That any one or more of the owners may elect before a sale to purchase the other interests in the land at not less than the appraised value thereof, and the purchaser shall receive an unrestricted patent or deed to the land; and (3) if the whereabouts of none of the owners can be ascertained, cause such lands to be sold and deposit the proceeds of sale in the Treasury of the United States for safekeeping SEC. 7. (a) The Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 855), the Act of February 14, 1913 (37 Stat. 678), and other Acts amendatory thereto shall not apply to the probate of the trust and restricted property of the members of a tribe who die six months or more after the date of this Act. (b) The laws of the several States, Territories, possessions, and the District of Columbia with respect to the probate of wills, the determination of heirs, and the administration of decedents' estates shall apply to the individual property of members of the tribe who die six months after the date of this Act. SEC. 8. The Secretary is authorized, in his discretion, to transfer to a tribe or any member or group of members thereof any federally owned property acquired, withdrawn, or used for the administration of the affairs of the tribe which he deems necessary for Indian use, or to transfer to a public or nonprofit body any such property which he deems necessary to public use and from which members of the tribes will derive benefit. SEC. 9. No property distributed under the provisions of this Act shall at the time of distribution be subject to Federal or State income tax. Following any distribution of property made under the provisions of this Act, such property and any income derived therefrom by the individual, corporation, or other legal entity shall be subject to the same taxes. State and Federal, as in the case of non-Indians: Provided, That for the purpose of capital gains or losses the base

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