Indian Mineral Leasing Act

Page 103

§ 396

TITLE 25—INDIANS

§ 393. Leases of restricted allotments
The restricted allotment of any Indian may be
leased for farming and grazing purposes by the
allottee or his heirs, subject only to the approval of the superintendent or other officer in
charge of the reservation where the land is located, under such rules and regulations as the
Secretary of the Interior may prescribe: Provided, That this provision shall not apply to the
Five Civilized Tribes.
(Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 119, 41 Stat. 1232.)
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees,
and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with
power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2,
eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in
the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.

§ 393a. Lands of Five Civilized Tribes
From and after thirty days from February 11,
1936 the restricted lands belonging to Indians of
the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma of onehalf or more Indian blood, enrolled or unenrolled, may be leased for periods of not to exceed five years for farming and grazing purposes,
under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe and not
otherwise. Such leases shall be made by the
owner or owners of such lands, if adults, subject
to approval by the superintendent or other official in charge of the Five Civilized Tribes Agency, and by such superintendent or other official
in charge of said agency in cases of minors and
of Indians who are non compos mentis.
(Feb. 11, 1936, ch. 50, 49 Stat. 1135.)
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees,
and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with
power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2,
eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in
the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.

§ 394. Leases of arid allotted lands
Whenever it shall appear to the satisfaction of
the Secretary of the Interior that the allotted
lands of any Indian are arid but susceptible of
irrigation and that the allottee, by reason of old
age or other disability, cannot personally occupy or improve his allotment or any portion
thereof, such lands, or such portion thereof, may
be leased for a period not exceeding ten years,
under such terms, rules, and regulations as may
be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.
(May 18, 1916, ch. 125, § 1, 39 Stat. 128.)
§ 395. Leases of allotted lands where allottee is
incapacitated
Whenever it shall be made to appear to the
Secretary of the Interior that, by reason of age,
disability, or inability, any allottee of Indian
lands cannot personally, and with benefit to
himself, occupy or improve his allotment or any
part thereof, the same may be leased upon such
terms, regulations, and conditions as shall be

prescribed by the Secretary for a term not exceeding five years, for farming purposes only.
(May 31, 1900, ch. 598, 31 Stat. 229.)
CODIFICATION
Act May 31, 1900, is applicable to ‘‘any allottee of Indian lands’’ and authorizes leases ‘‘for a term not exceeding five years, for farming purposes only’’ and supersedes the following prior provisions:
Act June 7, 1897, ch. 3, 30 Stat. 85.
Act June 10, 1896, ch. 398, 29 Stat. 340.
Act Mar. 2, 1895, ch. 188, 28 Stat. 900.
Act Aug. 15, 1894, ch. 290, 28 Stat. 305.
OTHER LEASING PROVISIONS
Special provisions for leasing allotted lands on certain reservations named in Utah and in Wyoming, for
cultivation under irrigation, were made by act Apr. 30,
1908, ch. 153, 35 Stat. 95, 97.
Special provisions permitting Indians to whom lands
have been allotted on the Yakima Indian reservation in
the State of Washington, to lease such lands for agricultural purposes for a term not exceeding 5 years, or
unimproved lands for a term not exceeding 10 years
were made by acts May 31, 1900, ch. 598, 31 Stat. 246;
Mar. 1, 1899, ch. 324, 30 Stat. 941.

§ 396. Leases of allotted lands for mining purposes
All lands allotted to Indians in severalty, except allotments made to members of the Five
Civilized Tribes and Osage Indians in Oklahoma,
may by said allottee be leased for mining purposes for any term of years as may be deemed
advisable by the Secretary of the Interior; and
the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
perform any and all acts and make such rules
and regulations as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this section
into full force and effect: Provided, That if the
said allottee is deceased and the heirs to or devisees of any interest in the allotment have not
been determined, or, if determined, some or all
of them cannot be located, the Secretary of the
Interior may offer for sale leases for mining purposes to the highest responsible qualified bidder,
at public auction, or on sealed bids, after notice
and advertisement, upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. The Secretary of the Interior shall have
the right to reject all bids whenever in his judgment the interests of the Indians will be served
by so doing, and to readvertise such lease for
sale.
(Mar. 3, 1909, ch. 263, 35 Stat. 783; Aug. 9, 1955, ch.
615, § 3, 69 Stat. 540.)
AMENDMENTS
1955—Act Aug. 9, 1955, authorized Secretary of the Interior to lease allotted lands for mining purposes where
the allottee is deceased and the heirs to or devisees of
any interest in the allotment either have not been determined or cannot be located.
LEASES OF CERTAIN ALLOTTED LANDS
Pub. L. 106–462, title II, § 201, Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat.
2007, authorized the Secretary of the Interior to approve oil or gas leases affecting individually owned
Navajo Indian allotted lands in certain circumstances
and defined pertinent terms with respect to such leases.
Pub. L. 105–188, § 1, July 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 620, as
amended by Pub. L. 106–67, § 1(2), Oct. 6, 1999, 113 Stat.
979, authorized Secretary of the Interior to approve any

§ 396a

TITLE 25—INDIANS

mineral lease or agreement that affects individually
owned land located within Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota or certain former Indian reservations located in Oklahoma upon consent of majority interest and best interest determination.

§ 396a. Leases of unallotted lands for mining purposes; duration of leases
On and after May 11, 1938, unallotted lands
within any Indian reservation or lands owned by
any tribe, group, or band of Indians under Federal jurisdiction, except those specifically excepted from the provisions of sections 396a to
396g of this title, may, with the approval of the
Secretary of the Interior, be leased for mining
purposes, by authority of the tribal council or
other authorized spokesmen for such Indians,
for terms not to exceed ten years and as long
thereafter as minerals are produced in paying
quantities.
(May 11, 1938, ch. 198, § 1, 52 Stat. 347.)
REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT ACTS
Act May 11, 1938, ch. 198, § 7, 52 Stat. 348, provided
that: ‘‘All Act [Acts] or parts of Acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.’’

§ 396b. Public auction of oil and gas leases; requirements
Leases for oil- and/or gas-mining purposes covering such unallotted lands shall be offered for
sale to the highest responsible qualified bidder,
at public auction or on sealed bids, after notice
and advertisement, upon such terms and subject
to such conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe. Such advertisement shall reserve to the Secretary of the Interior the right
to reject all bids whenever in his judgment the
interest of the Indians will be served by so
doing, and if no satisfactory bid is received, or
the accepted bidder fails to complete the lease,
or the Secretary of the Interior shall determine
that it is unwise in the interest of the Indians to
accept the highest bid, said Secretary may readvertise such lease for sale, or with the consent
of the tribal council or other governing tribal
authorities, a lease may be made by private negotiations: Provided, That the foregoing provisions shall in no manner restrict the right of
tribes organized and incorporated under sections
16 and 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984)
[25 U.S.C. 476, 477], to lease lands for mining purposes as therein provided and in accordance with
the provisions of any constitution and charter
adopted by any Indian tribe pursuant to the Act
of June 18, 1934 [25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.].
(May 11, 1938, ch. 198, § 2, 52 Stat. 347.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Act of June 18, 1934, referred to in text, popularly
known as the Indian Reorganization Act, is classified
generally to subchapter V (§ 461 et seq.) of chapter 14 of
this title. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 461 of
this title and Tables.
REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT ACTS
For repeal of inconsistent acts, see section 7 of act
May 11, 1938, set out as a note under section 396a of this
title.

Page 104

§ 396c. Lessees of restricted lands to furnish
bonds for performance
On and after May 11, 1938, lessees of restricted
Indian lands, tribal or allotted, for mining purposes, including oil and gas, shall furnish corporate surety bonds, in amounts satisfactory to
the Secretary of the Interior, guaranteeing compliance with the terms of their leases: Provided,
That personal surety bonds may be accepted
where the sureties deposit as collateral with the
said Secretary of the Interior any public-debt
obligations of the United States guaranteed as
to principal and interest by the United States
equal to the full amount of such bonds, or other
collateral satisfactory to the Secretary of the
Interior, or show ownership to unencumbered
real estate of a value equal to twice the amount
of the bonds.
(May 11, 1938, ch. 198, § 3, 52 Stat. 348.)
REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT ACTS
For repeal of inconsistent acts, see section 7 of act
May 11, 1938, set out as a note under section 396a of this
title.

§ 396d. Rules and regulations governing operations; limitations on oil or gas leases
All operations under any oil, gas, or other
mineral lease issued pursuant to the terms of
sections 396a to 396g of this title or any other
Act affecting restricted Indian lands shall be
subject to the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior. In the
discretion of the said Secretary, any lease for oil
or gas issued under the provisions of sections
396a to 396g of this title shall be made subject to
the terms of any reasonable cooperative unit or
other plan approved or prescribed by said Secretary prior or subsequent to the issuance of any
such lease which involves the development or
production of oil or gas from land covered by
such lease.
(May 11, 1938, ch. 198, § 4, 52 Stat. 348.)
REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT ACTS
For repeal of inconsistent acts, see section 7 of act
May 11, 1938, set out as a note under section 396a of this
title.

§ 396e. Officials authorized to approve leases
The Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, authorize superintendents or other officials in the Indian Service to approve leases for
oil, gas, or other mining purposes covering any
restricted Indian lands, tribal or allotted.
(May 11, 1938, ch. 198, § 5, 52 Stat. 348.)
REPEAL OF INCONSISTENT ACTS
For repeal of inconsistent acts, see section 7 of act
May 11, 1938, set out as a note under section 396a of this
title.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees,
and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with
power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2,
eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in
the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.