Lacey Act of 1907
Encyclopedia
The Lacey Act of 1907, authored by Iowa
Congressman John F. Lacey
, revised federal Indian Law to provide for the allotment of tribal funds to certain classes of Indians. These provisions were proposed after the passage of the Burke Act
and the Dawes Act
, both of which provided for the allotment of reservation lands to individual Indians, but not to communally owned trust funds. After much debate and several opposing arguments, President Theodore Roosevelt
signed the bill into law on March 2, 1907.
The Lacey Act is made of two sections, Sec. 1 and Sec. 2. Section 1 states the general guidelines for those Indians wishing to claim his or her share of the tribal funds to which he is entitled. This first section stipulates that:
“The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, in his discretion, from time to time, to designate any individual Indian belonging to any tribe or tribes whom he may deem to be capable of managing his or her affairs, and he may cause the apportioned and allotted to any such Indian his or her pro rata of any tribal or trust funds on deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the Credit of such Indian on the books of the Treasury.”
The above-mentioned stipulations will be met under the conditions that each individual Indian files an application for allotment of funds. It is also stated within Section 1 that:
“The Secretaries of the Interior and the Treasury are hereby directed to withhold from such apportionment and allotment a sufficient sum of the said Indian funds as may be necessary or required to pay any existing claims against said Indians.”
These claims must be pending for settlement at the time of such apportionment and allotment by judicial determination in the Court of Claims or the Executive Departments of the Government.
Section 2 of the Lacey Act allows for the Secretary of the Interior to pay any Indian which is blind, crippled, decrepit, or helpless due to old age, disease, or accident their share of the tribal trust funds. Included in the conditions of Section 2, in the case that the previous requirements are met, is the organization for the allotment of funds placed into the Treasury, after the time of the initial allotment, which are intended for the credit of the individual’s tribe. This is explained in the following:
“. . . and of any other money which may hereafter be placed in the Treasury for the credit of such tribe and susceptible of division among its members, under such rules, regulations, and conditions as he may prescribe.”
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
Congressman John F. Lacey
John F. Lacey
John Fletcher Lacey was an eight-term Republican United States congressman from Iowa's 6th congressional district. He was also the author of the Lacey Act of 1900, which made it a crime to ship illegal game across state lines, and the Lacey Act of 1907, which further regulated the handling of...
, revised federal Indian Law to provide for the allotment of tribal funds to certain classes of Indians. These provisions were proposed after the passage of the Burke Act
Burke Act
Burke Act , was designed to correct certain defects in the General Allotment Act also known as the Dawes Act of 1887, under which the land in the Indian reservations was to be broken up and distributed in severalty to the individual Indians...
and the Dawes Act
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act, adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide the land into allotments for individual Indians. The Act was named for its sponsor, Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891 and again...
, both of which provided for the allotment of reservation lands to individual Indians, but not to communally owned trust funds. After much debate and several opposing arguments, President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
signed the bill into law on March 2, 1907.
The Lacey Act is made of two sections, Sec. 1 and Sec. 2. Section 1 states the general guidelines for those Indians wishing to claim his or her share of the tribal funds to which he is entitled. This first section stipulates that:
“The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, in his discretion, from time to time, to designate any individual Indian belonging to any tribe or tribes whom he may deem to be capable of managing his or her affairs, and he may cause the apportioned and allotted to any such Indian his or her pro rata of any tribal or trust funds on deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the Credit of such Indian on the books of the Treasury.”
The above-mentioned stipulations will be met under the conditions that each individual Indian files an application for allotment of funds. It is also stated within Section 1 that:
“The Secretaries of the Interior and the Treasury are hereby directed to withhold from such apportionment and allotment a sufficient sum of the said Indian funds as may be necessary or required to pay any existing claims against said Indians.”
These claims must be pending for settlement at the time of such apportionment and allotment by judicial determination in the Court of Claims or the Executive Departments of the Government.
Section 2 of the Lacey Act allows for the Secretary of the Interior to pay any Indian which is blind, crippled, decrepit, or helpless due to old age, disease, or accident their share of the tribal trust funds. Included in the conditions of Section 2, in the case that the previous requirements are met, is the organization for the allotment of funds placed into the Treasury, after the time of the initial allotment, which are intended for the credit of the individual’s tribe. This is explained in the following:
“. . . and of any other money which may hereafter be placed in the Treasury for the credit of such tribe and susceptible of division among its members, under such rules, regulations, and conditions as he may prescribe.”