U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) moved closer to achieving his goal of changing a federal law that has restricted how Native Americans in Oklahoma bequeath land to their heirs.
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on June 13 approved the Stigler Act Amendments of 2017, H.R. 2606, which Rep. Cole introduced in May 2017. The proposed legislation would amend the Stigler Act of 1947, which restricts Native American allotted land to only those persons with one-half degree or more of Native American blood.
“Amending the Stigler Act will allow for past precedent to be current with the realities of Native-owned land,” said Rep. Cole, a member of the Chickasaw Nation and one of only two tribal members currently serving in Congress. “By expanding the blood lineage degree, the amendment will support the preservation of the rights and legacies that Native Americans are entitled to, as well as their inheritance.”
Specifically, H.R. 2606 would amend the Stigler Act “to revise provisions regarding the restricted fee status of land in Oklahoma allotted to members of the Five Civilized Tribes,” according to the congressional record summary.
The measure is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Frank Lucas, Markwayne Mullin and Steve Russell, all Republicans from Oklahoma.
Under current law, the restricted fee status of land allotted to the Five Tribes is maintained only if the individual holding title has one-half or more Native American blood, according to the congressional record summary.
The Five Tribes in the United States are comprised of Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, Creek and Cherokee, according to a statement from Rep. Cole’s office. Members of the Five Tribes were allotted parcels of land from the federal government, authorized under the Dawes Act of 1887 to survey tribal lands and divide them into allotted parcels for each of the individual tribes, according to the statement.
Title to these allotment parcels was detailed in Stigler Act guidelines, which provide that, upon probate, if the heirs and devisees of an original allottee from the Five Tribes have passed out of half-degree Native American blood, the allotment loses its “restricted fee” status, meaning the land wasn’t subject to state taxation.
Under H.R. 2606, the proposed removal of the half-degree requirement of Native American blood would allow heirs and devisees to take title to the land that would maintain its restricted status. The proposed requirement removal for the Five Tribes under H.R. 2606 also would align with federal law, which doesn’t require a minimum Native American blood degree for any other tribe, according to the statement from Rep. Cole’s office.
“I am pleased that the Stigler Act was agreed to and passed through the House Natural Resources Committee,” the congressman said, adding that he looked forward to supporting the Stigler Act Amendments of 2017 on the House floor for passage.