Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst today announced the adoption of regulations governing the preparation of a roll for distribution of the Oklahoma Quapaw Indian Judgment Fund.
The roll is being prepared under the provisions of a recently enacted congressional law in order to identify the persons entitled to share in a judgment awarded to the Tribe in 1954 by the Indian Claims Commission. The amount of judgment money now on deposit in the U. S. Treasury to the credit of the Tribe is nearly $1,000,000.
Under the congressional law and the regulations, applications for inclusion on the judgment fund roll must be submitted to the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Muskogee, Oklahoma, on or before January 17, 1960.
Persons eligible for enrollment include those of Quapaw blood whose names appear on the tribal membership roll of January 4, 1890 (on the basis of blood membership rather than adoption) and descendants of such persons living on July 17, 1959. The burden of proof in establishing eligibility is placed by law upon the applicant.
Provision is made in the regulations for review of the applications by the Quapaw Tribal Business Committee in the period of three months after January 17, 1960, and for appeals to the Secretary of the Interior from decisions made by the Indian Bureau’s Area Director. Decisions of the Secretary are final.
Application forms may be obtained from the Area Director at Muskogee, the Bureau’s Quapaw Area Field Office at Miami, Oklahoma, or members of the Quapaw Tri-Business Committee.
The regulations will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.
