United States v. BOARD OF COUNTY COM'RS

• Decision Date: 25 February 1936
• Docket Number: No. 2155.,2155.
• Citation: 13 F. Supp. 641
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. BOARD OF COUNTY COM'RS, OF PAWNEE COUNTY, OKL.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Oklahoma

13 F. Supp. 641

UNITED STATES v. BOARD OF COUNTY COM'RS, OF PAWNEE COUNTY, OKL.

No. 2155.

District Court, N. D. Oklahoma.

February 25, 1936.

C. E. Bailey, U. S. Atty., and Chester A. Brewer, Asst. U. S. Atty., both of Tulsa, Okl.

Carl McGee, Co. Atty., of Pawnee, Okl., for defendant.

FRANKLIN E. KENNAMER, District Judge.

By this action the United States seeks to recover for its Indian ward, Cecilia Guittar Rappuie, taxes assessed against her allotment as a member of the Pawnee Tribe of Indians, for the years 1919 to 1930, inclusive, and paid by her, in the total amount of $916.94.

The parties stipulated as to the following facts:

Cecilia Guittar Rappuie is an adult member of the Pawnee Tribe of Indians in Cklahoma, and as such, under an Act of Congress, approved February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 388), was allotted certain lands in Pawnee county, Okl. The United States issued a trust patent to her for said lands on October 9, 1893, which patent contained a restriction clause by the terms of which the United States was to hold the lands in trust for said allottee for a period of 25 years. Afterwards the trust period named in the patent was extended by executive order until May, 1938. On December 24, 1917, during the original trust period, the Secretary of Interior issued and delivered to the allottee a fee-simple patent to said lands, which was recorded in the land records of Pawnee county. The county assessor of Pawnee county assessed the lands for taxation purposes for the years 1919 to 1930, inclusive, and there was levied thereon, and collected from the allottee during said years, taxes in the total sum of $916.94. On March 15, 1932, an order was made by the Secretary of Interior canceling the fee-simple patent.

In addition to the stipulated facts, the evidence disclosed that the allottee was an aged woman, whose education was limited to one year's schooling, and who could neither read nor write; that she made no application to the Secretary of Interior for the issuance of the patent of December 24, 1917; that the patent was delivered to her by the Indian agent at Pawnee, Okl., and that she placed the same of record and paid the taxes each year; that, however, she protested to the office of the county treasurer of Pawnee county in the beginning about having to pay taxes, but was informed by some one in that office that unless she paid the taxes her land would be sold. It was also in evidence that during the year 1917 the Secretary of Interior, acting under and by virtue of congressional enactment, appointed a competency commission to make an investigation of the condition and competency of various allottees of the Pawnee Tribe of Indians, and other tribes. This Commission made a report on Cecilia Guittar Rappuie, a copy of which was in evidence. This report showed that the allottee could neither read nor write, and that she had had only one year's schooling. She testified that no member of the Competency Commission had ever talked to her. One of the witnesses, an employee of the Pawnee Agency for the past 15 years, testified that the information contained in the report was probably obtained from the superintendent of the Pawnee Agency. Based upon this report, the Secretary of Interior found the allottee to be competent, and as a result, and under the authority delegated by the Act of Congress of May 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 182), the patent of December 24, 1917, was issued to her. The copy of the report showed that it contained a blank application for the issuance of a fee patent, which application was to be signed by the allottee, but this allottee never signed such application. The Act of May 8, 1906 (25 U.S.C.A. § 349), contained this provision: "Provided, that the Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, and he is hereby authorized, whenever he shall be satisfied that any Indian allottee is competent and capable of managing his or her affairs at any time to cause to be issued to such allottee a...