Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 96 Part 2.djvu/1156

 96 STAT. 2518

Nontribal members or nonIndians, land entitlement. 25 USC 2205.

Trust account.

Mineral rights.

PUBLIC LAW 97-459—JAN. 12, 1983 (2) any Indian owning any undivided interest in, and in actual use and possession of such tract, may purchase such tract by matching the tribal offer; (3) this section shall not apply to any tract of land owned by less than fifteen persons; and (4) all purchases and sales initiated under this section shall be approved by the Secretary. SEC. 206. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any Indian' tribe may provide by appropriate action of its governing body, subject to approval by the Secretary, that nonmembers of the tribe or non-Indians shall not be entitled to receive by devise or descent any interest of a member of such tribe in trust or restricted lands within that tribe's reservation or otherwise subjected to that tribe's jurisdiction: Provided, That in the event a tribe takes such action— (1) the sale price or exchange value received by the tribe for land or interests in land covered by this section shall be no less than within 10 per centum of the fair market value as determined by the Secretary; (2) if the tribal land involved in an exchange is of greater or lesser value than the land for which it is being exchanged, the tribe may accept or give cash in such exchange in order to equalize the values of the property exchanged; (3) any proceeds from the sale of land or interests in land or proceeds received by the tribe to equalize an exchange made pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for the purchase of other land or interests in land; (4) the Secretary shall maintain a separate trust account for each tribe selling or exchanging land pursuant to this section consisting of the proceeds of the land sales and exchanges and shall release such funds only for the purpose of buying lands under this section; and (5) any tribe may retain the mineral rights to such sold or exchanged lands and the Secretary shall assist such tribe in determining the value of such mineral rights and shall take such value into consideration in determining the fair market value of such lands. (b) The Secretary must execute such instrument of conveyance needed to effectuate a sale or exchange of tribal lands made pursuant to an approved tribal land consolidation plan unless he makes a specific finding that such sale or exchange is not in the best interest of the tribe or is not in compliance with the tribal land consolidation plan— (1) if an Indian dies intestate, the surviving non-Indian or nonmember spouse and/or children shall be entitled to a life estate in as much of the trust or restricted lands as he, she or they would have been entitled to take under existing law; (2) if an intestate Indian decedent has no heir to whom interests in trust or restricted lands may pass, such interests shall escheat to the tribe, subject to any non-Indian or nonmember spouse and/or children's rights as described in paragraph (1) of this section; (3) if an Indian decedent has devised interests in trust or restricted lands to persons who are ineligible for such an inheritance by reeison of a tribal ordinance enacted pursuant to this section, the devise shall be voided only if, while the estate is pending before the Secretary for probate, the tribe acquires such interests by paying to the Secretary, on behalf of the

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