TITLE 25 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER XXV - INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA

25 USC 651 - Indians of California defined

For the purposes of this subchapter the Indians of California shall be defined to be all Indians who were residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and their descendants now living in said State.

25 USC 652 - Claims against United States for appropriated lands; submission to United States Court of Federal Claims; appeal; grounds for relief

All claims of whatsoever nature the Indians of California as defined in section 651 of this title may have against the United States by reason of lands taken from them in the State of California by the United States without compensation, or for the failure or refusal of the United States to compensate them for their interest in lands in said State which the United States appropriated to its own purposes without the consent of said Indians, may be submitted to the United States Court of Federal Claims by the attorney general of the State of California acting for and on behalf of said Indians for determination of the equitable amount due said Indians from the United States; and jurisdiction is conferred upon the United States Court of Federal Claims,[1] to hear and determine all such equitable claims of said Indians against the United States and to render final decree thereon. It is declared that the loss to the said Indians on account of their failure to secure the lands and compensation provided for in the eighteen unratified treaties is sufficient ground for equitable relief.
[1] So in original. The comma probably should not appear.

25 USC 653 - Statutes of limitations unavailable against claims; amount of decree; set-off

If any claim or claims be submitted to said courts, they shall settle the equitable rights therein, notwithstanding lapse of time or statutes of limitation or the fact that the said claim or claims have not been presented to any other tribunal, including the commission created by the Act of March 3, 1851 (Ninth Statutes at Large, page 631): Provided, That any decree for said Indians shall be for an amount equal to the just value of the compensation provided or proposed for the Indians in those certain eighteen unratified treaties executed by the chiefs and head men of the several tribes and bands of Indians of California and submitted to the Senate of the United States by the President of the United States for ratification on the 1st day of June, 1852, including the lands described therein at $1.25 per acre. Any payment which may have been made by the United States or moneys heretofore or hereafter expended to date of award for the benefit of the Indians of California, made under specific appropriations for the support, education, health, and civilization of Indians in California, including purchases of land, shall not be pleaded as an estoppel but may be pleaded by way of set-off.

25 USC 654 - Claims presented by petition; filing date; amendment; signature and verification; official letters, documents, etc., furnished

The claims of the Indians of California under the provisions of this subchapter shall be presented by petition, which shall be filed within three years after May 18, 1928. Said petition shall be subject to amendment. The petition shall be signed and verified by the attorney general of the State of California. Verification may be upon information and belief as to the facts alleged. Official letters, papers, documents, and public records, or certified copies thereof, may be used in evidence and the departments of the Government shall give the said attorney access to such papers, correspondence, or furnish such certified copies of record as may be necessary in the premises free of cost.

25 USC 655 - Reimbursement of State of California for necessary costs and expenses

In the event that the court renders judgment against the United States under the provisions of this subchapter, it shall decree such amount as it finds reasonable to be paid to the State of California to reimburse the State for all necessary costs and expenses incurred by said State, other than attorney fees: Provided, That no reimbursement shall be made to the State of California for the services rendered by its attorney general.

25 USC 656 - Judgment amount deposited in Treasury to credit of Indians; interest rate; use of fund

The amount of any judgment shall be placed in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians of California and shall draw interest at the rate of 4 per centum per annum and shall be thereafter subject to appropriation by Congress for educational, health, industrial, and other purposes for the benefit of said Indians, including the purchase of lands and building of homes, and no part of said judgment shall be paid out in per capita payments to said Indians: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay to the State of California, out of the proceeds of the judgment when appropriated, the amount decreed by the court to be due said State, as provided in section 655 of this title.

25 USC 657 - Revision of roll of Indians

The Secretary of the Interior, under such regulations as he may prescribe, is authorized and directed to revise the roll of the Indians of California, as defined in section 651 of this title, which was approved by him on May 16, 1933, in the following particulars:
(a)  By adding to said roll the names of persons who filed applications for enrollment as Indians of California on or before May 18, 1932, and who, although determined to be descendants of the Indians residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, were denied enrollment solely on the ground that they were not living in the State of California on May 18, 1928, and who were alive on May 24, 1950;
(b)  by adding to said roll the names of persons who are descendants of the Indians residing in the State of California on June 1, 1852, and who are the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, or aunts of persons whose names appear on said roll, and who were alive on May 24, 1950, irrespective of whether such fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, or aunts were living in the State of California on May 18, 1928;
(c)  by adding to said roll the names of persons born since May 18, 1928, and living on May 24, 1950, who are the children or other descendants of persons whose names appear on said roll, or of persons whose names are eligible for addition to said roll under clauses (a) or (b) of this section, or of persons dying prior to May 24, 1950, whose names would have been eligible for addition to said roll under clauses (a) or (b) of this section if such persons had been alive on May 24, 1950; and
(d)  by removing from said roll the names of persons who have died since May 18, 1928, and prior to May 24, 1950. Persons entitled to enrollment under clause (a) of this section shall be enrolled by the Secretary of the Interior without further application. Persons claiming to be entitled to enrollment under clauses (b) or (c) of this section shall, within one year after May 24, 1950, make an application in writing to the Secretary of the Interior for enrollment, unless they have previously filed such an application under this section. For the purposes of clause (d) of this section, when the Secretary of the Interior is satisfied that reasonable and diligent efforts have been made to locate a person whose name is on said roll and that such person cannot be located, he may presume that such person died prior to May 24, 1950, and his presumption shall be conclusive. The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare not less than five hundred copies of an alphabetical list of the Indians of California whose names appear on the roll approved on May 16, 1933, giving the name, address, and age at time of enrollment of each such enrollee, together with such other factual information, if any, as the Secretary may deem advisable as tending to identify each enrollee, and shall distribute copies of this list to the various communities of California Indians. The Indians of California in each community may elect a committee of three enrollees who may aid the enrolling agent in any matters relating to the revision of said roll. After the expiration of the period allowed by this section for filing applications, the Secretary of the Interior shall have until June 30, 1955, to approve and promulgate the revised roll of the Indians of California provided for in this section. Upon such approval and promulgation, the roll shall be closed and thereafter no additional names shall be added thereto.

25 USC 658 - Distribution of $150 from fund to each enrolled Indian

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 656 of this title, the Secretary of the Interior, under such regulations as he may prescribe, is authorized and directed to distribute per capita the sum of $150 to each Indian of California living on May 24, 1950, who is now or may hereafter be enrolled under sections 651 and 657 of this title. The Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, make such distribution from time to time to persons on the roll of the Indians of California approved on May 16, 1933, as he identifies such enrollees, before the completion of the revised roll provided for in section 657 of this title. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to withdraw from the fund on deposit in the Treasury of the United States arising from the judgment in favor of the Indians of California entered by the Court of Claims on December 4, 1944, and appropriated for them by section 203 of the Act of April 25, 1945 (59 Stat. 77), such sums as may be necessary to make the per capita payments required by this section, including not to exceed $15,000 for the purpose of defraying the expenses incident to carrying out the provisions of sections 657 and 658 of this title. Such payments shall be made out of the accumulated interest on such judgment fund and so much of the principal thereof as is necessary to complete the payments. The money paid to enrollees pursuant to this section shall not be subject to any lien or claim of any nature against any such persons, except for debts owing to the United States.

25 USC 659 - Distribution of judgment fund

(a) Preparation of Indian roll 
The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a roll of persons of Indian blood who apply for inclusion thereon and
(i)  whose names or the name of a lineal or collateral relative appears on any of the approved rolls heretofore prepared pursuant to this subchapter and the amendments thereto or
(ii)  who can establish, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, lineal or collateral relationship to an Indian who resided in California on June 1, 1852, and
(iii)  who were born on or before and were living on September 21, 1968.
(b) Contents 
The roll so prepared shall indicate, as nearly as possible, the group or groups of Indians of California with which the ancestors of each enrollee were affiliated on June 1, 1852. If the affiliation of an enrollees ancestors on that date is unknown, it shall be presumed to be the same as that of the ancestors relatives whose affiliation is known unless there is sound reason to believe otherwise. Applicants whose ancestry is derived partly from one of the groups named in section 660 (b) of this title and partly from another group of Indians in California shall elect the affiliation to be shown for them on the roll.
(c) Application for enrollment 
Application for enrollment shall be filed with the Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sacramento, California, on forms prescribed for that purpose.

25 USC 660 - Equal share distribution of 1964 appropriation

(a) Persons covered; amounts 
The Secretary shall distribute to each person whose name appears on the roll prepared pursuant to section 659 of this title, except those whose ancestry is derived from one or more of the groups named in subsection (b) of this section, an equal share of the moneys which were appropriated by the Act of October 7, 1964 (78 Stat. 1033), in satisfaction of the judgment of the Indian Claims Commission in consolidated dockets numbered 31, 37, 80, 80D, and 347, plus the interest earned thereon, minus attorneys fees, litigation expenses (including the reimbursement of funds expended under authority of the Acts of July 1, 1946 (60 Stat. 348), August 4, 1955 (69 Stat. 460), and July 14, 1960 (74 Stat. 512)), a proper share of the costs of roll preparation, and such amounts as may be required to effect the distribution.
(b) Persons excepted 
Persons whose ancestry is derived solely from one or more of the following groups and persons of mixed ancestry who elected to share, other than as heirs or legatees of enrollees, in any award granted to any of the following groups shall not share in the funds distributed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section: Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Mohave, Quechan (Yuma), Chemehuevi, Shoshone, Washoe, Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin Band of Snakes.

25 USC 661 - Equal share distribution of undistributed balance of 1945 appropriation

(a) Persons covered; amounts 
The Secretary shall distribute to each person whose name appears on the roll prepared pursuant to section 659 of this title regardless of group affiliation an equal share of the undistributed balance of the moneys appropriated in satisfaction of the judgment of the Court of Claims in the case of The Indians of California against United States (102 Court of Claims 837; 59 Stat. 94), plus the interest earned thereon, including the reimbursed moneys and unexpended balances of the funds established by the Acts of July 1, 1946 (60 Stat. 348), August 4, 1955 (69 Stat. 460), and July 14, 1960 (74 Stat. 512), minus a proper share of the costs of roll preparation and such amounts as may be necessary to effect the distribution.
(b) Credit to judgment account 
The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to credit to the judgment account referred to in subsection (a) of this section, for distribution as a part of such account, the sum of $83,275, plus interest at 4 per centum per annum from December 4, 1944, which sum represents the value of sixty-six thousand six hundred and twenty acres of land erroneously used as an offset against said judgment.

25 USC 662 - Heirs of deceased enrollees; tax exemption

Each share distributable to an enrollee under sections 660 and 661 of this title shall be paid directly to the enrollee or, if he is deceased at the time of distribution, to his heirs or legatees unless the distributee is under twenty-one years of age or is otherwise under legal disability, in which case such disposition shall be made of the share as the Secretary determines will adequately protect the best interests of the distributee. Funds distributed under sections 659 to 663 of this title shall not be subject to Federal or State income taxes.

25 USC 663 - Rules and regulations; filing deadline

The Secretary is authorized to prescribe rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of sections 659 to 663 of this title, which rules and regulations shall include an appropriate deadline for the filing of applications for enrollment under section 659 of this title. The determinations of the Secretary regarding eligibility for enrollment, the affiliation of an applicants ancestors, and the shares of the cost of roll preparation to be charged to each of the two funds referred to in sections 660 and 661 of this title shall be final. Not more than $325,000 in all shall be available under sections 659 to 663 of this title for the costs of roll preparation and of the distribution of shares.