reserved all will be benefited. None of their present allotted or reserved land is irrigable. If this tract should be lost to these Indians it would leave them without any lands which could be farmed. The Commissioner of the General Land Office, under date of April 10, 1934, advised that the tract in question is shown by the records of that office to be vacant, unappropriated public land. In view of the foregoing, I recommend that S. 380 be enacted. 74TH CONGRESS 1st Session SENATE { REPORT No. 310 FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE OMAHA AND WINNEBAGO INDIANS OF NEBRASKA MARCH 4 (calendar day, MARCH 12), 1935.-Ordered to be printed Mr. THOMAS of Oklahoma, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 612] The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 612) to repeal the act of May 6, 1910 (36 Stat. L. 348), and sections 1 and 2 of the act approved December 30, 1916 (39 Stat. L. 865), having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass without amendment. The reasons for the enactment of this bill are fully set forth in the following letter from the Secretary of the Interior requesting this legislation: THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: There is transmitted herewith the draft of a proposed bill to repeal the act of May 6, 1910 (36 Stat. L. 348), and sections 1 and 2 of the act approved December 30, 1916 (39 Stat. L. 865). By the act of May 6, 1910 (36 Stat. L. 348), Congress departed from its previous well-defined policy of exempting allotted Indian lands from taxation. This act terminated the tax exemption on those allotments which had been trustpatented to the Omaha Indians prior to the year 1885 and made them "subject to appraisement and assesment for purposes of taxation, and subject to taxation for local, school district, road district, county, and State purposes, as provided by the laws of the State of Nebraska now in force or to be hereafter enacted." That act was amended and supplemented by the act of December 30, 1916 (39 Stat. L. 865). Therein Congress extended identical provisions to all Omaha allotments and likewise to all Winnebago allotments "upon which the 25-year trust period shall have expired, or shall expire, and which trust period shall have been or shall be extended as provided by law." There are now no allotments on the Omaha Reservation, and none on the Winnebago Reservation made under the 1887 act which are not subject to the act of December 30, 1916, but there are still tax-exempt on the Winnebago Reservation all unsold allotments made under the Act of February 21, 1863 8. Repts., 74-1, vol. 1—23 (12 Stat. L., 658). These are held under patents in fee "without the right of alienation." The acts providing for the taxation of Omaha and Winnebago allotments are unsatisfactory in their operation. No allowance is made for money appropriated annually by Congress for the purpose of caring for the education, training, etc., of the Omaha and Winnebago Indians. Further, since the passage of the acts of May 6, 1910, and December 30, 1916, conditions with respect to the title of the Omaha and Winnebago lands have changed materially. Large areas have passed into white ownership, or have been fee patented to Indians. Such lands are taxable under the general laws of the State of Nebraska. This situation coupled with the fact that the Federal Government annually expends considerable money for the benefit of the Winnebago and Omaha Indians eliminates any real necessity for the assessment and collection of taxes under the provisions of the acts in question. The principles of uniformity and equality in matters of taxation require that where people are divided into classes for the purpose of taxation such division shall be reasonable and founded upon a real distinction and not merely arbitrary and capricious. By virtue of the acts of May 6, 1910, and December 30, 1916, a small group of Indians are selected from among numerous other groups, similarly situated, and required to pay taxes upon their allotted lands. No similar legislation affecting other groups of Indians is in effect. The Winnebago and Omaha Indians have generally been looked upon as some of our most progressively minded Indians who take pride in their being so recognized. They are not averse to bearing a portion of the public burden in consideration for the benefits coming to their community but they do object, and with good reason, to the inequality resulting from the carrying out of the provisions of the acts of May 6, 1910, and December 30, 1916. It is believed that a solution of the problem confronting the various States in caring for the Indians and securing adequate compensation therefor will be found in the development of a cooperative relationship between the Federal and State Governments in matters pertaining to Indian affairs. Authorization for such cooperation will be found in the State cooperation bill recently enacted into law, Public 167, Seventy-third Congress, approved April 16, 1934. Legislation such as that embodied in the acts of May 6, 1910, and December 30, 1916, being merely piecemeal, can never be satisfactory. It would be greatly in the interest of the Indians concerned if the act of May 6, 1910 (36 Stat. L. 348), and sections 1 and 2 of the act of December 30, 1916 (39 Stat. L. 865), were repealed. I therefore recommend that the enclosed draft of proposed bill be given favorable consideration. Sincerely yours, 74TH CONGRESS 1st Session } SENATE { KEPORT No. 311 EXCHANGE OF LANDS RESERVED FOR THE SEMINOLE INDIANS IN FLORIDA MARCH 4 (calendar day, MARch 12), 1935.—Ordered to be printed Mr. THOMAS of Oklahoma, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 654] The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 654) authorizing the exchange of the land reserved for the Seminole Indians in the State of Florida for other lands, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass without amendment. This bill has the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, as set forth in the following letter which is appended hereto and made a part of this report. Hon. ELMER THOMAS, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your letter of January 24, requesting a report on S. 654, a bill authorizing the exchange of lands reserved for the Seminole Indians in Florida for other lands. The groups of Seminole Indians now living in Florida are remnants of the Seminole Nation which was moved to Indian Territory (now the State of Oklahoma), in accordance with the treaties of March 28, 1833 (7 Stat. L. 423), January 4, 1845 (9 Stat. L. 821), and August 7, 1856 (11 Stat. L. 699). A number of the Seminole Indians refused to move and receded to the swamps in Florida. Attempts by the Government and by members of the Seminole Nation to persuade them to migrate to the Indian Territory were unsuccessful. Those Indians who remained in Florida lost their rights with the Seminole Nation, and for a number of years no provision was made for them by either the Federal Government or the State of Florida. They lived principally in the Everglades, remaining almost entirely apart from white settlements, and to the present time are shy and retiring in the presence of white people. Because of the inaccessibility of the swamps in which the Seminoles in Florida lived, little was known of them for a number of years. However, as white civilization began to encroach upon their hunting and fishing grounds, the need for some protection for the Indians became apparent; and in accordance with the acts of August 15, 1894 (28 Stat. L. 303), March 2, 1895 (28 Stat. L. 892), June 10, 1896 (29 Stat. L. 337), June 7, 1897 (30 Stat. L. 78), March 1, 1899 (30 Stat. L. 938), and June 6, 1900 (31 Stat. L. 302), 23,062 acres were purchased for the use of the Indians. By Executive order of June 28, 1911, 3,680 acres of public domain were reserved for the Seminole Indians, making a total of 26,742 acres reserved for them by the Federal Government. There are about 560 Seminole Indians in Florida. The State of Florida has shown a willingness to aid in the care of these Indians, and in 1917 the State legislature authorized a reservation of 99,200 acres of State lands for the use of the Indians. For the most part, the Indians live in camps in the swamps. Only a few, if any, of the Indians have removed to the lands purchased and reserved for them by the Federal Government, and they make but little use of these lands. Most of the Indians are now living on unreserved State or privately owned land. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to authorize an exchange of the lands purchased and set aside by Executive order for the Indians with the State of Florida for lands on which the Indians are living, or will make use of, and which will be of substantial benefit to them. In view of their reluctance to move in the past, it does not appear that it would be practicable to try to remove them at this time to the areas reserved for them. So long as they are not living on reserved land, this Department cannot use funds appropriated for Indian purposes in improving their homes or aiding them in other ways to improve their methods of living. If the proposed legislation is enacted, it is hoped that lands can be acquired which will be used by the Indians for homes, gardens, farming, and stock raising, and the Indian Service will then be in a position to extend much more help and protection to them. For further information relative to their present living conditions and their needs for assistance, reference is made to the rather lengthy report on the Seminole Indians in Florida made by Mr. Roy Nash in 1930 and printed in full in Senate Document No. 314, Seventy-first Congress, third session. The area set aside for the Indians by the State of Florida is within the outer boundary of the proposed Everglades National Park. There are at present very few, if any, Indians living upon this tract, and it is hoped the State will set aside for the Indians in lieu of this reserve an area of approximately the same size immediately north of the proposed park. It is believed the lieu tract would be of substantially more benefit to the Indians than the present reserve, and it will fit in well with the program of the Federal Government for improving living conditions among the Seminoles. In view of the foregoing, I recommend that S. 654 be enacted. Sincerely yours, HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary of the Interior. |