United States v. Hellard

• Decision Date: 15 May 1944
• Docket Number: No. 648,648
• Citation: 64 S.Ct. 985,322 U.S. 363,88 L.Ed. 1326
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. HELLARD
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

322 U.S. 363

64 S.Ct. 985

88 L.Ed. 1326

UNITED STATES

v HELLARD.

No. 648.

Argued April 28, 1944.

Decided May 15, 1944.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 9, 1944.

See 65 S.Ct. 27.

Mr. Marvin J. Sonosky, of Washington, D.C., for petitioner.

Mr. George H. Jennings, of Sapulpa, Okl., for respondent.

Mr. Justice DOUGLAS delivered the opinion of the Court.

The question in this case is whether full-blood Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes may be divested of title to restricted land by a sale in partition proceedings to which the United States is not a party.

A full-blood Creek Indian died leaving heirs of the full blood. They inherited certain lands from her, lands which were subject to restrictions on alienation both in her hands and in the hands of the heirs.¹ By § 2 of the Act of June 14, 1918 (25 U.S.C. § 355, 25 U.S.C.A. § 355, 40 Stat. 606) Congress declared that such lands were 'made subject to the laws of the State of Oklahoma, providing for the partition of real estate.'² By § 3 of the Act of April 12, 1926 (44 Stat. 239) Congress provided for the service upon the Superintendent for the Five Civilized Tribes of a prescribed written notice of the pendency of any suit to which a restricted member of the Tribes in Oklahoma or the restricted heirs or grantees are parties and which involves claims to 'lands allotted to a citizen of the Five Civilized Tribes or the proceeds, issues, rents, and profits derived from the same.' By that Act the United States is given an opportunity to appear in the cause and is bound by the judgment which is entered.

The heirs instituted partition proceedings in the District Court for Creek County, Oklahoma in March 1940. The United States was not named as a party nor was notice of the suit served on the Superintendent. A judgment of partition was entered, pursuant to which the land was sold and a sheriff's deed in partition issued to respondent. In 1941 respondent instituted in the same court the present action against the Indian heirs to quiet his title. Notice was served on the Superintendent. The heirs answered disclaiming any interest. At the instance of the United States the cause was removed to the federal District Court as authorized by § 3 of the Act of April 12, 1926. The United States then answered, alleging that the partition proceedings were void for lack of the United States as a party and for want of service on the Superintendent under § 3 of the Act of April 12, 1926. It prayed that the deed in partition be set aside and title quieted in the heirs. The District Court held that the partition proceedings were valid and quieted title in respondent. The Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. 138 F.2d 985. The case is here on a petition for a writ of certiorari which we granted because of the importance in the administration of Indian affairs of the question presented.

It seems clear from the language of the Act of June 14, 1918 and its legislative history (S.Rep. No. 330, 65th Cong., 2d Sess.) that Congress vested in the Oklahoma state courts jurisdiction to determine heirship in these restricted lands (§ 1) and jurisdiction to partition them. § 2. See Salmon v. Johnson, 78 Okl. 182, 189 P. 537; United States v. Bond, 10 Cir., 108 F.2d 504. The authority of Congress to select state tribunals to perform such functions is clear. Parker v. Richard, 250 U.S. 235, 39 S.Ct. 442, 63 L.Ed. 954; Harris v. Bell, 254 U.S. 103, 41 S.Ct. 49, 65 L.Ed. 159; Stewart v. Keyes, 295 U.S. 403, 55 S.Ct. 807, 79 L.Ed. 1507. But a grant of jurisdiction to a particular court without more does not determine what parties are indispensable to the proceedings in question. Petitioner concedes that the United States is not a necessary party to proceedings to determine heirship under § 1 of the Act of June 14, 1918. Since restrictions on alienation do not prevent inheritance, no governmental interest is at least directly involved in such a determination. It may likewise be inferred from the language, nature, and purpose of Acts of Congress which vest jurisdiction over specified Indian affairs in a designated court that Congress not only has made that tribunal the exclusive agency to effectuate the federal policy but also has dispensed with any requirement that the United States be a party to the proceedings. See Hy-yu-tse-mil-kin v. Smith, 194 U.S. 401, 413-414, 24 S.Ct. 676, 680, 681, 48 L.Ed. 1039. Winton v. Amos, 255 U.S. 373, 392, 41 S.Ct. 342, 349, 65 L.Ed. 684. But we do not think that Congress did more by those provisions of the Act of June 14, 1918 with which we are presently concerned than to grant the Oklahoma state courts jurisdiction over partition proceedings.

Restricted Indian land is property in which the United States has an interest. 'This national interest is not to be expressed in terms of property, or to be limited to the assertion of rights incident to the ownership of a reversion or to the holding of a technical title in trust.' Heckman v. United States, 224 U.S. 413, 437, 32 S.Ct. 424, 431, 56 L.Ed. 820. Though the Indian's interest is alienated by judicial decree, the United States may sue to cancel the judgment and set the conveyance aside where it was not a party to the action. Bowling v. United States, 233 U.S. 528, 34 S.Ct. 659, 58 L.Ed. 1080; Privett v. United States, 256 U.S. 201, 41 S.Ct. 455, 65 L.Ed. 889; Sunderland v. United States, 266 U.S. 226, 45 S.Ct. 64, 69 L.Ed. 259. Under § 2 of the Act of June 14, 1918 lands partitioned in kind to full-bloods remain restricted. Only if the land is sold at partition sale are the restrictions removed. The governmental interest throughout the partition proceedings is as clear as it would be if the fee were in the United States. Minnesota v. United States, 305 U.S. 382, 387-388, 59 S.Ct. 292, 294, 295, 83 L.Ed. 235; Town of Okemah, Okl., v. United States, 10 Cir., 140 F.2d 963. The United States as guardian of the Indians is necessarily interested either in obtaining partition in kind where that course conforms to its policy of preserving restricted land for the Indians or in seeing that the best possible price is obtained where a sale is desirable. Where, as here, the lands are both tax- exempt and restricted, the United States is concerned with the reinvestment of the proceeds in other lands likewise tax-exempt and restricted as provided in the Act of June 30, 1932, 47 Stat. 474, 25 U.S.C. § 409a, 25 U.S.C.A.³ The United States is also interested in protecting the preferential right of the Secretary of the Interior to purchase the land at the sale for another Indian as provided in § 2 of the Act of June 26, 1936, 49 Stat. 1967, 25 U.S.C.A. § 502.⁴ These are important governmental interests. Since the power of Congress over Indian affairs is plenary, it may waive or withdraw these duties of guardianship or entrust them to such agency—state or federal—as it chooses. But we do not find any indication that when Congress came to deal with these partition proceedings it substituted the Oklahoma state court for the Secretary of the Interior in the performance of the functions which we have enumerated. That alone would not be fatal to respondent's position if it could be inferred that those governmental interests were to be protected by means other than making the United States a party. But, as we have said, the Act in question purports to be no more than a jurisdictional statute. It fails to say that the United States is not a necessary party; nor does it suggest that the United States or its officers are confined to a limited role in the proceedings. Cf. United States v. Candelaria, 271 U.S. 432, 444, 46 S.Ct. 561, 563, 70 L.Ed. 1023. We...