United States Statutes at Large/Volume 5/25th Congress/3rd Session/Chapter 83
Chap. LXXXIII.—An Act for the relief of the Brothertown Indians, in the Territory of Wisconsin.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,A township of land, lying, &c. may be divided among, &c. That the township of land containing twenty-three thousand and forty acres, lying on the east side of Winnebago lake, in the Territory of Wisconsin, which, by the proviso of a treaty made with the Menomonie Indians on the seventeenth February, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, and ratified on the ninth July 1832, was reserved for the use of the Brotherton or Brothertown Indians, and which by a subsequent treaty with the Menomonie tribe, bearing date 27th October 1832, and ratified 13th March 1833, was further secured to the said Brothertown Indians, may be partitioned and divided among the different individuals composing said tribe of Brothertown Indians, and may be held by them separately and severally in fee simple, after such division shall have been made in the manner hereafter mentioned.
Said division to be made by a board of commissioners.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, for the purpose of making partition and division of said lands among the individuals of said tribe of Brothertown Indians, a board of commissioners shall be constituted, to consist of five of the principal or head men of said tribe, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum to do business, whose duty it shall be to make a just and fair partition and division of said lands among the members of said tribe, or among such of them as, by the laws and customs and regulations of said tribe, are entitled to the same, and in such proportions and in such manner as shall be consistent with equity and justice, and in accordance with the existing laws, customs, usages, or agreements of said tribe.
A meeting to be held for the election, &c.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That, for the purpose of electing or choosing said board of commissioners, a meeting of said tribe shall be held at their church, or principal place, on the reservation of land aforesaid, on the first Monday in July next, at which all the male members of said tribe over the age of twenty-one years shall be allowed to vote for such commissioners; and the said five commissioners shall then and there be chosen or elected by the said tribe, by a majority of the whole number of such voters then present. And the judge of the district in which said lands are situated (or in his absence the register of the land office at Green Bay, or the commanding officer of the United States troops at Fort Howard) shall attend at the time and place aforesaid, and preside at said meeting, superintend the said election, and see that the proceedings are fairly conducted: and the said presiding officer may, in his discretion, prescribe whether the said election shall be by ballot or viva voce; and shall in other respects cause the proceedings to be conducted in such manner as to ensure a fair and proper choice or election; and after the said commissioners shall have been so chosen or elected, the said presiding officer shall immediately certify that fact, setting forth the names of the commissioners who shall be elected, and shall make two copies of said certificate, one of which he shall file in the office of the register of the land district at Green Bay, and the other he shall transmit by mail to the President of the United States.
Division, how to be made.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That after the said commissioners shall have been elected or chosen as above prescribed, and as soon thereafter as conveniently may be, they shall proceed to make partition and division of all the lands aforesaid among the individual members of said tribe, or among such of them as, by the laws, customs, usages, or agreements of said tribe are justly entitled to the same, and in such way and manner, and upon such principles and in such proportions as shall be agreeably to equity and justice, and consistent with the laws, usages, customs, and agreements of said tribe:Proviso. Provided, however, That the buildings and improvements, and the farms on which the same are situated, which are now held or possessed in severalty by the members of said tribe, shall, so far as the same can consistently be done, be allotted or apportioned to the present occupants; and that no person or individual of said tribe shall be dispossessed or deprived of the improvements or land which they now occupy, unless it shall be found by the said commissioners that such person or persons are in the possession of and occupying more land than they are justly entitled to, and then the overplus may be apportioned to others.
Commissioners to report their proceedings, &c.Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That after the said commissioners shall have made such partition and division as aforesaid, they shall make, or cause to be made, a full report of their proceedings in the premises, setting forth the name of each person to whom they have apportioned any part of said land, the quantity apportioned or allotted to each, with the metes and bounds, or other definite description of each several piece or parcel of land;A map to accompany the report, &c. and they shall accompany the said report with a fair and accurate map of the whole, showing the divisions and partitions aforesaid; which report and map, or a copy thereof, shall be deposited with the town clerk of said tribe, on or before the first day of October next, and shall remain open for inspection to all, for the space of twenty days thereafter;Proceedings to be had if objection is made. and if any member or members of said tribe shall object to the partition or division so made by the said commissioners, or shall deem himself or themselves aggrieved thereby, he or they may, within ten days thereafter, give notice thereof to the said commissioners, who shall, within twenty days thereafter, meet to hear and determine such grievances, and take testimony if necessary; and after such hearing, shall have power to alter or modify such partition, if, in their judgment, any alteration or modification is necessary, in order to do equal and exact justice to all parties in interest.
Copy of report and map to be deposited, &c.Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That, after the said report shall be finally completed, the commissioners shall cause [three copies] of the said report, and of the map accompanying the same, as finally agreed upon and settled, to be made and signed by said commissioners, one copy of which shall be deposited in the office of the secretary of said Territory, one copy in the office of the clerk of the county within which said lands are situated, and the other shall be transmitted to the President of the United States, who shall thereupon cause patents to be issued to the several individuals named in said report, for the lands so apportioned to them respectively, by which the said persons shall be authorized to hold the said lands in fee simple to themselves and their heirs and assigns.
Said Indians shall be citizens of the United States, &c.Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said report and map shall be filed with the secretary of said Territory, and in the clerk’s office of said county, and shall also be transmitted to the President on or before the first day of January next; and after the same shall have been filed and transmitted to the President, as aforesaid, the said Brothertown Indians, and each and every of them, shall then be deemed to be, and from that time forth are hereby declared to be, citizens of the United States to all intents and purposes, and shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges, and immunities of such citizens, and shall, in all respects, be subject to the laws of the United States and of the Territory of Wisconsin, in the same manner as other citizens of said Territory; and the jurisdiction of the United States and of said Territory shall be extended over the said township or reservation now held by them in the same manner as over other parts of said Territory; and their rights as a tribe or nation, and their power of making or executing their own laws, usages, or customs, as such tribe, shall cease and determine:Proviso. Provided, however, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to deprive them of the right to any annuity now due to them from the State of New York or the United States, but they shall be entitled to receive any such annuity in the same manner as though this act had not been passed.
Approved, March 3, 1839.