25 U.s.c. 2202

Page 637

§ 2203

TITLE 25—INDIANS

‘‘(B) the Secretarial Order also directed appropriate
officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to distribute
such interests ‘to the rightful heirs and beneficiaries
without regard to 25 U.S.C. 2206’;
‘‘(12) in the absence of comprehensive remedial legislation, the number of the fractional interests will
continue to grow exponentially;
‘‘(13) the problem of the fractionation of Indian
lands described in this section is the result of a policy
of the Federal Government, cannot be solved by Indian tribes, and requires a solution under Federal
law.[;]
‘‘(14) any devise or inheritance of an interest in
trust or restricted Indian lands is a matter of Federal
law; and
‘‘(15) consistent with the Federal policy of tribal
self-determination, the Federal Government should
encourage the recognized tribal government that exercises jurisdiction over a reservation to establish a
tribal probate code for that reservation.’’
DECLARATION OF POLICY
Pub. L. 106–462, title I, § 102, Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat.
1992, provided that: ‘‘It is the policy of the United
States—
‘‘(1) to prevent the further fractionation of trust allotments made to Indians;
‘‘(2) to consolidate fractional interests and ownership of those interests into usable parcels;
‘‘(3) to consolidate fractional interests in a manner
that enhances tribal sovereignty;
‘‘(4) to promote tribal self-sufficiency and self-determination; and
‘‘(5) to reverse the effects of the allotment policy on
Indian tribes.’’
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
Pub. L. 106–462, title I, § 105, Nov. 7, 2000, 114 Stat.
2007, provided that: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and
each subsequent fiscal year to carry out the provisions
of this title [enacting sections 2205, 2206, and 2212 to
2219 of this title, amending this section and sections
348, 372, 373, 464, 2204, and 2207 of this title, repealing
sections 331 to 333, 2205, and 2206 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and
section 2206 of this title] (and the amendments made by
this title) that are not otherwise funded under the authority provided for in any other provision of Federal
law.’’

§ 2202. Other applicable provisions
The provisions of section 465 of this title shall
apply to all tribes notwithstanding the provisions of section 478 of this title: Provided, That
nothing in this section is intended to supersede
any other provision of Federal law which authorizes, prohibits, or restricts the acquisition
of land for Indians with respect to any specific
tribe, reservation, or state(s).
(Pub. L. 97–459, title II, § 203, Jan. 12, 1983, 96
Stat. 2517.)
§ 2203. Adoption of land consolidation plan with
approval of Secretary
(a) Statement of purpose; sales or exchanges:
terms and conditions
Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
any tribe, acting through its governing body, is
authorized, with the approval of the Secretary
to adopt a land consolidation plan providing for
the sale or exchange of any tribal lands or interest in lands for the purpose of eliminating undivided fractional interests in Indian trust or restricted lands or consolidating its tribal landholdings: Provided, That—

(1) except as provided by subsection (c) of
this section, 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) Conveyancing requirement; specific findings
for nonexecution
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.
(c) Below market value conveyance of Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma homesites
The Secretary may execute instruments of
conveyance for less than fair market value to effectuate the transfer of lands used as homesites
held, on December 17, 1991, by the United States
in trust for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Only the lands used as homesites, and described
in the land consolidation plan of the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma approved by the Secretary
on February 6, 1987, shall be subject to this subsection.
(Pub. L. 97–459, title II, § 204, Jan. 12, 1983, 96
Stat. 2517; Pub. L. 98–608, § 1(1), Oct. 30, 1984, 98
Stat. 3171; Pub. L. 102–238, § 3, Dec. 17, 1991, 105
Stat. 1908.)
AMENDMENTS
1991—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–238, § 3(1), substituted
‘‘(1) except as provided by subsection (c) of this section,
the sale price’’ for ‘‘(1) the sale price’’.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–238, § 3(2), added subsec. (c).
1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–608 amended subsec. (a)
generally, substituting ‘‘: Provided, That—’’ for period
at end and inserting five numbered pars., thereby correcting errors originally contained in this section as
enacted by Pub. L. 97–459, the text of which had a portion of section 204 appearing in section 206 (classified to
section 2205 of this title) as the result of inadvertent
error in the execution of committee amendments (see
House Report No. 97–908, Sept. 30, 1982) to the bill. Pub.
L. 97–459 enacted subsec. (a) as ending with ‘‘tribal