TITLE 25 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER LIII - NOOKSACK TRIBE OF WASHINGTON: DISTRIBUTION OF JUDGMENT FUND

25 USC 1101 - Membership roll; preparation; eligibility for enrollment; filing of applications; finality of determination

The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a roll of all persons who meet the following requirements for eligibility:

(a) They were born on or prior to and were living on October 14, 1966, and

(b) they are descendants of members of the Nooksack Tribe as it existed in 1855. Applications for enrollment must be filed with the area director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Portland, Oregon, on forms prescribed for that purpose. The determination of the Secretary regarding the utilization of available rolls or records and the eligibility for enrollment of an applicant shall be final.

25 USC 1102 - Distribution of funds; persons entitled

After the deduction of attorney fees, litigation expenses, the costs of roll preparation, and such sums as may be required to distribute individual shares, the funds, including interest, remaining to the credit of the Nooksack Tribe, which were appropriated by the Act of April 30, 1965 (Public Law 8916), shall be distributed in equal shares to those persons whose names appear on the roll prepared in accordance with section 1101 of this title.

25 USC 1103 - Payments to enrollees, heirs or legatees; protection of minors and persons under legal disability; credits of shares under certain amounts; escheat

The Secretary shall distribute a share payable to a living enrollee directly to such enrollee or in such manner as is deemed by the Secretary to be in the enrollees best interest. The Secretary shall distribute the per capita share of a deceased enrollee to his heirs or legatees upon proof of death and inheritance satisfactory to the Secretary whose findings upon such proof shall be final and conclusive. Sums payable to enrollees or their heirs or legatees who are less than twenty-one years of age or who are under a legal disability shall be paid to the persons whom the Secretary determines will best protect their interests. Proportional shares of heirs or legatees amounting to $5 or less shall not be distributed and shall remain to the credit of the Nooksack Tribe. Any sum of money remaining to the credit of the Nooksack Tribe as a result of this judgment, three years after October 14, 1966, shall escheat to the United States and shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States in miscellaneous receipts.

25 USC 1104 - Tax exemption

The funds distributed under the provisions of this subchapter shall not be subject to Federal or State income taxes.

25 USC 1105 - Rules and regulations

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this subchapter.