Alfred Goat v. United States

• Decision Date: 29 April 1912
• Docket Number: No. 405,405
• Citation: 56 L.Ed. 841,224 U.S. 458,32 S.Ct. 544
• Parties: ALFRED F. GOAT et al., Appts., v. UNITED STATES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

224 U.S. 458

32 S.Ct. 544

56 L.Ed. 841

ALFRED F. GOAT et al., Appts.,

v UNITED STATES.

No. 405.

Argued October 12 and 13, 1911.

Decided April 29, 1912.

Messrs. J. C. Stone, Robert J. Boone, S. T. Bledsoe, George C. Crump, H. H. Rogers, J. H. Moxey, J. H. Miley, and B. B. Blakeney for appellants.

Solicitor General Lehmann and Messrs. A. N. Frost and Harlow A. Leekley, Special Assistants to the Attorney General, for appellee.

Mr. Justice Hughes delivered the opinion of the court:

The question presented by this appeal is with respect to the right of Seminole freedmen to convey the lands allotted to them in severalty pursuant to the act of July 1, 1898, chap. 542, 30 Stat. at L. 567. The United States sued to cancel conveyances alleged to have been made contrary to the statute. Demurrer to the bill was sustained by the circuit court, and its judgment was reversed by the circuit court of appeals. United States v. Allen, and similar cases, 103 C. C. A. 1, 179 Fed. 13. So far as the demurrer contested the capacity of the United States to bring a suit of this character, the case stands upon the same footing, in all material respects, as that of Heckman v. United States, decided April 1, 1912 [224 U. S. 413, 56 L. ed. ——, 32 Sup. Ct. Rep. 424], and the right of the United States to enforce such restrictions as may have been imposed upon the alienation of the allotted lands is no longer open to dispute.

The inquiry must be, What are the restrictions in the case of allotments to Seminole freedmen, and have they been violated?

As to each of the tracts of land in question, it was alleged:

'And your orator further shows that each of the tracts of land hereinafter, in paragraph numbered six, described, is situated in the eastern district of Oklahoma, and was, at the time of the transactions of sale or encumbrance mentioned in that paragraph, allotted lands of the members of the Seminole tride of Indians, allotted to freedman members of said tribe, and none were lands which had been patented to individuals at the time of the transactions in question; that they were not lands of heirs of allottees; that all contracts for the sale, disposition of any of said allotments prior to the date of patent, were expressly declared by law to be void; that this law applied to all allotments of Seminole lands not inherited from allottees; that accordingly, defendants had knowledge, and were, by said law, put upon inquiry and notice, as to the inalienability of said unpatented lands, and had notice accordingly that the particular tracts had not been patented, any such patenting being a matter of public record and of public action; that, moreover, the unpatented condition of said allotted lands was notorious and of common knowledge, since none of the Seminole allotted lands have been patented; and that other public laws of Congress and public agreements imposed further restrictions upon the transfer and encumbrance of the particular lands herein, in paragraph six, described, belonging to the particular class of tribal members herein mentioned, in addition to those arising from the absence of patenting, and these restrictions were known, notified, and notorious in like manner.'

While it appears that a large number of conveyances are involved in the suit, only two are specifically described in the printed record on this appeal, the descriptions of the others, as set forth in the bill, having been omitted by stipulation. In the two cases particularly mentioned, the conveyances were made in August, 1906, and March, 1907. It is not stated whether the lands embraced therein were homestead or so-called 'surplus' lands, but it is conceded in argument that they were of the latter class. The government says in its brief: 'In the printed record it happens that the transactions set out include only lands allotted other than homestead, but other transactions complained of in the bill, omitted from the printed record for the sake of brevity, include lands allotted as homesteads as well.' The broad ground is taken by the government that all conveyances of the lands allotted to members of the Seminole tribe are void because made prior to the date of patent.

By the treaty of 1832 (7 Stat. at L. 368) the Seminoles relinquished to the United States their claim to the lands then occupied in the territory of Florida, and agreed to emigrate to the lands assigned to the Creeks, west of the Mississippi, it being understood that an additional extent of territory proportioned to their numbers should 'be added to the Creek country,' and that they should be received 'as a constituent part of the Creek Nation.' Provision to this effect was made in the Creek treaty of 1833 (7 Stat. at L. 417, 419), which was satisfactory to the Seminoles, and territory was assigned to them accordingly. 7 Stat. at L. 423. There were further agreements in 1845 (9 Stat. at L. 821) and in 1856 (11 Stat. at L. 699). In 1866 (14 Stat. at L. 755), lands which had been ceded to the Seminoles by the Creeks were conveyed to the United States at a stipulated price and the United States, having obtained from the Creeks the westerly half of their lands, granted to the Seminoles a tract of 200,000 acres, which was to constitute the national domain of the latter. Subsequently, the United States purchased for the Seminoles another tract, on the east, consisting of 175,000 acres. Acts of March 3, 1873, 17 Stat. at L. 626, chap. 322, August 5, 1882, 22 Stat. at L. 265, chap. 390. It was provided in the treaty of 1866, inasmuch as there were among the Seminoles 'many persons of African descent and blood, who have no interest or property in the soil and no recognized civil rights,' that 'these persons and their descendants, and such other of the same race as shall be permitted by said nation to settle there, shall have and enjoy all the rights of native citizens, and the laws of said nation shall be equally binding upon all persons of whatever race or color who may be adopted as citizens or members of said tribe.'

Pursuant to the policy of allotting tribal lands among the individual members of the Five Civilized Tribes (act of March 3, 1893, chap. 209, 27 Stat. at L. 645), an agreement was made by the Dawes Commission with the Seminoles on December 16, 1897, which was ratified by the act of July 1, 1898. This agreement provided (30 Stat. at L. 567, chap. 542):

'All lands belonging to the Seminole tribe of Indians shall be divided into three classes, designated as first, second, and third class; the first class to be appraised at five dollars, the second class at two dollars and fifty cents, and the third class at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and the same shall be divided among the members of the tribe so that each shall have an equal share thereof in value, so far as may be, the location and fertility of the soil considered; giving to each the right to select his allotment so as to include any improvements thereon, owned by him at the time; and each allottee shall have the sole right of occupancy of the land so allotted to him during the existence of the present tribal government, and until the members of said tribe shall have become citizens of the United States. Such allotment shall be made under the direction and supervision of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, in connection with a representative appointed by the tribal government; and the chairman of said commission shall execute and deliver to each allottee a certificate describing therein the land allotted to him.

'All contracts for sale, disposition, or encumbrance of any part of any allotment made prior to date of patent shall be void.'

Leases by allottees were permitted upon certain conditions.

The deeds of the allotted lands were to be executed at the termination of the tribal government, and each allottee was to designate 40 acres which, by the terms of the deed, should be inalienable and nontaxable as a homestead in perpetuity. The provision on this subject was as follows:

'When the tribal government shall cease to exist, the principal chief last elected by said tribe shall execute, under his hand and the seal of the Nation, and deliver to each allottee, a deed conveying to him all the right, title, and interest of the said Nation and the members thereof in and to the lands so allotted to him, and the Secretary of the Interior shall approve such deed, and the same shall thereupon operate as relinquishment of the right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the land embraced in said conveyance, and as a guaranty by the United States of the title of said lands to the allottee; and the acceptance of such deed by the allottee shall be a relinquishment of his title to and interest in all other lands belonging to the tribe, except such as may have been excepted from allotment and held in common for other purposes. Each allottee shall designate one tract of forty acres, which shall, by the terms of the deed, be made inalienable and nontaxable as a homestead in perpetuity.'

A supplemental agreement was made with the Seminoles on October 7, 1899, ratified on June 2, 1900 (31 Stat. at L. 250, chap. 610), which provided for the enrolment of children born to Seminole citizens to and including December 31, 1899, and all Seminole citizens then living, and also that if any member of the tribe should die after that date, the lands, money, and other property to which he would be entitled if living, should descend to his heirs.

The act of March 3, 1903, chap. 994, § 8 (32 Stat. at L. 982, 1008), contained the following provisions as to the duration of the tribal government, the execution, delivery, and recording of deeds and the inalienability of homesteads:

'Sec. 8. That the tribal government of the Seminole Nation shall not continue longer than March fourth, nineteen hundred and six: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall at the proper time furnish the principal chief with blank deeds...