Stigler Act Amendments of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the gentleman from Montana for yielding, and I want to thank him for moving this legislation through his committee and onto the floor.

I rise in support, Mr. Speaker, of H.R. 2606, the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018, and on behalf of the citizens of the Cherokee Nation; my own tribe, the Chickasaw Nation; the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; the Muscogee Creek Nation; and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, commonly known as the Five Civilized Tribes.

The bill before us only addresses and affects these Five Tribes and the lands owned by their citizens within the State of Oklahoma. The passage of this legislation is critical to maintaining the inherited land of the citizens of the five aforementioned tribes.

The infamous Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the Federal Government to survey tribal lands and divide them into allotted parcels for individual Native Americans. Title to these allotment parcels was set forth in the Stigler Act of 1947.

The Stigler Act provided that, upon probate, if the heirs and devisees of an original allottee from the Five Tribes had passed out of one-half Native American blood quantum, the allotment loses its restricted fee status.

Restricted land is not subject to State taxation, and Federal law does not dictate a minimum Native American blood degree requirement to any other tribe.

The original Stigler Act itself was an egregious violation of tribal sovereignty and previous agreements between the Five Civilized Tribes and the government. The provisions of the Dawes Act that protected individual Native allottees, frankly, were effectively neutered by the passage of the Stigler Act.

This legislation seeks to amend the original Stigler Act and remove the one-half degree requirement of Native American blood. In doing so, it would provide the opportunity for heirs and devisees to take title to the land and allow the parcel to maintain its restricted status.

This legislation will also create parity in Federal law in the treatment of Native American allotted land by removing the minimum blood degree requirement, which only applies to the citizens of the Five Civilized Tribes.

As Native Americans, we take great pride in our heritage and the land that our ancestors maintained before us. The Stigler Act would allow Natives to pass on their restricted land to future generations who may not meet the one-half degree blood requirement. Many of Oklahoma's citizens have passed out of the one-half blood lineage but remain vested in their Native American heritage and citizens of their respective tribal governments.

This bill will help preserve the rights and legacy of Native American tribes and their inheritance in the State of Oklahoma.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support and pass H.R. 2606 to remove this outdated and discriminatory law and to preserve what Native American land is left in Oklahoma's Indian Country.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank my friend for moving this through the committee. Also, obviously, I want to thank the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Bishop, for his help in this matter.

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