Chapter LIII. for the Removal of the Winnebago Indians, and for the Sale of their Reservation in Minnesota for their Benefit
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Chap. LIII.— An Act for the Removal of the Winnebago Indians, and for the Sale of their Reservation in Minnesota for their Benefit.Feb. 21, 1863. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That the President of the UnitedPresident may set apart a tract of land for the Winnebago Indians, States is authorized to assign to and set apart for the Winnebago Indians a tract of unoccupied land beyond the limits of any State, in extent at least equal to their diminished reservation, the same to be well adapted for agricultural purposes.
And it shall be lawful for the President to take such steps as he may deem proper to effect the peaceful and quiet removal ofand remove them from Minnesota. the said Indians from the State of Minnesota, and to settle them upon the lands which may be assigned to them under the provisions of this act. Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That, upon the removal of the saidSubdivisions of present reservation to be appraised. Indians from the reservation where they now reside, it shall be the duty659THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS.
Sess. III. Ch. 53. 1863. of the Secretary of the Interior to cause each legal subdivision of the said lands to be appraised by discreet persons to be appointed by him for that purpose. And in each instance where there are improvements upon any legal subdivision of said lands, the improvements shall be separately appraised. But no portion of the said lands shall be subject to preemption, settlement, entry, or location under any act of Congress, unless theWhen to be subject to preemption. party preempting, settling upon, or locating any portion of said lands shall pay therefor the full appraised value thereof; including the value of the said improvements, under such regulations as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* That after the appraisal of the saidAfter appraisal to be opened to preëmption, reservation the same shall be opened to preemption, entry, and settlement, in the same manner as other public lands: *Provided,* That before any person shall be entitled to enter any portion of the said lands, by preemption or otherwise, previous to their exposure to sale to the highest bidder, at public outcry, he shall become an actual bonâ fide settler thereon, andWho may preempt. shall conform to all the regulations now provided by law in cases of preemption, and shall pay, within the term of one year from the date of his settlement, the full appraised value of the land, and the improvements thereon, to the land officers of the district where the said lands are situated.
And the portion of the said reservation which may not beWhat is not preempted may be sold. settled upon, as aforesaid, may be sold at public auction, as other public lands are sold, after which they shall be subject to sale at private entry, as other public lands of the United States, but no portion thereof shall be sold for a sum less than their appraised value before the first of January, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-five, nor for a less price than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, unless otherwise providedMinimum price. by law: *Provided,* That where improvements have been made upon said lands by persons authorized by law to trade with said Indians, the value of such improvements, or the price for which the same may be sold, shallImprovements. be paid to the parties making the same; and in case the land upon which such improvements shall have been made shall be purchased by the parties making the same, at the appraised value as aforesaid, the value of the improvements so made by him shall form no part of the purchase price to be paid for said land.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* That the lands of said IndiansLands set apart for debts to be sold by sealed bids. which have been set apart for the payment of the debts of the said Indians, shall be sold on sealed bids for the best price the same will bring; but no bids shall be received for said lands until the first day of January, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-five, for less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre. Bids shall be received for tracts of quarterTime, &c., for bidding. sections; and for such tracts conforming to the Government surveys less than one hundred and sixty acres as will secure the largest price for said lands, the Secretary is authorized to receive, in payment of said lands,What received in payment. certificates of indebtedness of said Indians, issued by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the debts of said Indians, secured to be paid out of the sale of said lands by the third article of the treaty of the said Indians with the United States, concluded at Washington on the fifteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine.
The money arising from theProceeds, how disposed of. sale of their said lands, after paying the indebtedness required by said treaty to be paid, shall be paid into the treasury of the United States and shall be expended as the same is received, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, in necessary improvements upon their new reservation; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to allotAllotments in severalty. to said Indians in severalty lands which they may respectively cultivate and improve, not exceeding eighty acres to each head of a family other than to the chiefs, to whom larger allotments may be made, which lands, when so allotted, shall be vested in said Indian and his heirs, without the right of alienation, and shall be evidenced by patent.
Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted,* That the money to be annuallyAnnual appropriations, how expended.660THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. Sess. III. Ch. 53, 54. 1863. appropriated for the benefit of the said Indians shall be expended in such manner as will, in the judgment of the President, best advance the said Indians in agricultural and mechanical pursuits, and enable them to sustain themselves without the aid of the Government. And in such expenditure reasonable discrimination may be made in favor of the chiefsDiscrimination in favor of faithful chiefs. who shall be found faithful to the Government of the United States, and efficient in maintaining its authority and the peace of the Indians.
Said Indians shall be subject to the laws of the United States, and to the criminal laws of the State or Territory in which they may happen to reside. They shall also be subject to such rules and regulations for their government as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; but they shall be deemed incapable of making any valid civil contract with any personContracts of Indians. other than a native member of their tribe without the consent of the President of the United States.
The Secretary of the Interior shall also make reasonable provision for the education of said Indians, according toEducation. their capacity and the means at his command. Approved, February 21, 1863.