Kenny v. Miles

Citations

• 250 U.S. 58
• 39 S. Ct. 417
• 63 L. Ed. 841
• 1919 U.S. LEXIS 1713

Syllabus

<p>Subject to the provisions as to certificates of competency, lands allotted as homestead and surplus respectively, under the Act of June 28, 1906, c. 3572, 34 Stat. 539, in the right of a deceased Indian member of the Osage tribe, duly enrolled, and descending to Indian heirs, likewise members duly enrolled, are subject to the same restrictions on alienation as are imposed upon lands allotted to living members. P. 63. Levindale Lead Co. v. Coleman, 241 U. S. 432; Mullen v. United-States, 224 U. S. 448; and Skelton v. Dill, 235 TJ. S. 206, distinguished.</p> <p>Section 6 of the Act of .April 18,1912, c. 83, 37 Stat. 86, provides that “the lands of deceased Osage allottees, unless the heirs agree to partition the same, may be partitioned or sold upon proper order of any court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of Oklahoma: Provided, That no partition or sale of the restricted lands (of a deceased Osage allottee shall be valid until approved by the Secretary of the Interior.” Held: (1) That the term “restricted lands” refers to the restrictions on alienation imposed by Congress, to protect the Indians from their own incompetency, (p. 61); and (2) that, in the absence of approval by the Secretary, a judgment for partition or sale, in a suit brought under this section in the state court respecting such lapds, is inoperative, so that a finding of heirship, forming a part of it, is not conclusive in other proceedings. P. 65.</p>