June 7, 1897
[Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from the United States Statutes at Large, Volume 30, which contains the public laws passed by the Fifty-Fifth Congress during its first session in 1897. The following text is from Chapter 3 (30 Stat. 92).]
Sec. 9. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, directed to appoint a discreet person as a commissioner, who shall visit the Chippewa and Christian Indian Reservation in Franklin County, Kansas, and make a thorough investigation and full report of the title of the individual members of said bands in and to the several tracts of land therein which have been allotted to said members, for which certificates have been issued by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as provided in the first article of the treaty of July sixteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, with the Swan Creek and Black River Chippewas, and the Munsee or Christian Indians of Kansas.
That said commissioner shall take a census of said Indians, the enrollment to be made upon separate lists; the first to include all of said bands who hold title to land either by original allotment and certificate, by purchase and approved conveyance, or by inheritance, with a description of the land so held or owned by each, and where any tract is claimed by tenants in common, either as heirs of a deceased allottee or otherwise, the interest of each claimant in such tract to be clearly and distinctly stated, the ownership of lands of deceased allottees to be determined under the laws of Kansas relating to descent; and the second list to embrace all of said bands who have not received an allotment of land, but would, if there were sufficient land, be entitled thereto under the treaty.
That upon the approval of said census and the report of said commissioner by the Secretary of the Interior, patents in fee shall issue in favor of those persons found by the Secretary of the Interior to be entitled to the land held by them.
That where there are several heirs, and partition of land is practicable, the partition shall be made by said commissioner, but if not practicable said land may be appraised and sold as hereinafter directed, and the net proceeds paid to said heirs according to the respective title or share each may have in said land.
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to issue a patent in fee to the Moravian Church, or its constituted authorities, for the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section twelve, of township seventeen south, of range eighteen east, in Kansas.
That the residue of their lands shall be appraised by a commission consisting of said commissioner, the Indian agent, and a person to be selected by the Indians in open council, who shall report the same to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; that said commission shall place a valuation for purposes hereinafter named on all tracts of land now owned or held by inheritance, and make a separate report thereof.
That upon the approval of said appraisement by the Secretary of the Interior, he shall offer said residue of lands, at the proper land office in Kansas, in such manner and upon such terms as he may deem advisable, except that the time for full and complete payment shall not exceed one year, with clause of absolute forfeiture in case of default: And provided, That the same shall be sold to the highest bidder, and at a price not less than the appraised value.
That where an allottee has died leaving no heirs or has abandoned his or her allotment, and has not resided thereon or lived within the said reservation for three consecutive years, the lands and improvements of such allottee shall be appraised and sold in like manner as other lands herein described, as provided herein.
That the net proceeds derived from the sale of the lands herein authorized to be sold, after payment of the expenses of appraisal and sale thereof, shall be placed in the Treasury for the benefit of those members of said bands of Indians who have not received any land by allotment, and shall be paid per capita to those entitled to share therein who are of age, and to others as they shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years, upon the order of the Secretary of the Interior, or shall be expended for their benefit in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior may deem for their best interest.
That when a purchaser shall have made full payment for a tract of land, as herein provided, patent shall be issued as in case of public lands under the homestead and preemption laws.
That, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section, there be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of one thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, which sum shall be reimbursed as follows: All expenses of appraisal and sale out of the proceeds of such sale, and all other expenses out of the funds of said Chippewa and Munsee or Christian Indians, now held for them by the United States, said sum being on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, forty-two thousand five hundred and sixty dollars and thirty-six cents.
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to pay over to the said Chippewa and Munsee or Christian Indians, per capita, the remainder of said funds of forty-two thousand five hundred and sixty dollars and thirty-six cents, trust funds now to their credit on the books of the Treasury Department, after deducting the expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this section.
That no proceedings shall be taken under this section until the said bands of Indians shall file with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs their consent thereto expressed in open council.
Approved, June 7, 1897.