Sunderland v. United States

• Citation: 45 S.Ct. 64,69 L.Ed. 259,266 U.S. 226
• Decision Date: 17 November 1924
• Docket Number: No. 79,79
• Parties: SUNDERLAND v. UNITED STATES
• Court: United States Supreme Court

266 U.S. 226

45 S.Ct. 64

69 L.Ed. 259

SUNDERLAND

v UNITED STATES.

No. 79

Argued Oct. 16, 1924.

Decided Nov. 17, 1924.

Messrs. E. G. Wilson, J. M. Springer, Horace Speed, and Wm. H. Thompson, all of Tulsa, Okl., for appellant.

[Argument of Counsel from page 227 intentionally omitted] The Attorney General and Mr. H. L. Underwood, of Washington, D. C., for the United States.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 228-230 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice SUTHERLAND, delivered the opinion of the Court.

Nathaniel Perryman, a Creek half-blood Indian, was allotted a homestead, with restrictions against alienation until April 26, 1931, subject, however, to removal, wholly or in part, by the Secretary of the Interior, 'under such rules and regulations concerning terms of sale and disposal of the proceeds for the benefit of the respective Indians as he may prescribe.' Act May 27, 1908, § 1, c. 199, 35 Stat. 312. Upon application, the Secretary removed the restrictions from a portion of the homestead, which was then sold, the proceeds of the sale being retained by the Secretary. Subsequently a portion of the proceeds was used to purchase another tract of land (the subject of the present controversy), such purchase being authorized by the Secretary upon condition that the deed of conveyance contain a clause restricting the alienation of the land so purchased until April 26, 1931, 'unless made with the consent of and approved by the Secretary of the Interior.' The deed was made accordingly and duly recorded in the records of Tulsa county, Okl. Perryman, thereafter, without the consent of the Secretary, sold and conveyed the land to the appellant. A decree of an Oklahoma state court was obtained in a suit against Perryman, to which the United States was not a party, quieting title in appellant. The United States then brought this suit in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to cancel and set aside the conveyance of the land to appellant and annul the decree of the state court. The District Court rendered a decree in favor of the United States, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. 287 F. 468.

Upon the appeal here, appellant does not seriously challenge the decree in so far as it annuls the decree of the state court (Bowling v. United States, 233 U. S. 528, 534-535, 34 S. Ct. 659, 58 L. Ed. 1080; Privett v. United States, 256 U. S. 201, 203, 41 S. Ct. 455, 65 L. Ed. 889), but confines his attack to that portion of the decree canceling the deed. The grounds relied upon are: (1) That Congress is without power to authorize the imposition of restrictions upon the sale of lands within a state which have passed to private ownership; (2) that Congress has not, in fact, conferred upon the Secretary such authority; and (3) that there is no competent, relevant or material evidence sufficient to support the decree of the trial court.

First. The power of Congress is challenged upon the ground that the land had become subject to the jurisdiction of the state and was exclusively within the control of its laws. The general rule is not to be doubted, that the tenure, transfer, control and disposition of real property are matters which rest exclusively with the state where the property lies (United States v. Fox, 94 U. S. 315, 320, 321, 24 L. Ed. 192), but it by no means follows that a restriction upon alienation, limited as it is here, may not be imposed by the United States as a condition upon which a purchase of private lands within the state will be made for an Indian ward. The question is argued as though there had been an actual invasion of or an interference with the authority of the state to regulate and condition the transfer of land within its boundaries. But there is no such invasion or interference. If Congress, in fulfillment of its duty to protect the Indians, whose welfare is the peculiar concern of the federal government, deems it proper to restrict for a limited time the right of the individual Indian to alienate land purchased for him with funds arising from the sale of other lands originally subject to a like restriction, we are not aware of anything which stands in the way. The state of Oklahoma is not concerned, since there is no state statute, rule of law or policy, which has been called to our attention, to the contrary effect. If there were, or if the power of state taxation were involved, we should consider the question of supremacy of power; but no such question is presented by this record.

Nor are we called upon to determine whether a qualified and limited restraint upon the alienation of a fee-simple title, imposed by an ordinary grantor upon an ordinary grantee, would be valid, even though not offensive to the rule against perpetuities. However, that may be, we do not doubt the power of the United States to impose such a...