Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs, following consultation with officers of the Klamath Tribe of Oregon and in line with their wishes, will take over preparation of a tribal membership roll under applicable provisions of the Klamath Termination Act - Public law 587 of the 83rd Congress.
Under Public law 587 the Tribe was given six months after the enactment date (August 13, 1954) in which to prepare a roll for the purpose of determining individual entitlement to a share in the tribal property. A roll -was prepared by the February 13 deadline date, certified by the tribal enrollment committee, and submitted to the Secretary. More recently, however, the enrollment committee withdrew its certification and thus in effect, called upon the Secretary to take over the responsibility for roll preparation.
Public Law 587 provides for the elimination of all special trust and service relationships between members of the Klamath Tribe and the Federal Government on or before August 13, 1958. The pertinent section of the law reads as follows:
“Sec. 3. At midnight of the date of the enactment of this Act the roll of the tribe shall be closed and no child born thereafter shall be eligible for enrollment: Provided, That the tribe shall have a period of six months from the date of this Act in which to prepare and submit to the Secretary a proposed roll of the members of the tribe living on the date of this Act, which shall be published in the Federal Register. If the tribe fails to submit such roll within the time specified in this section, the Secretary shall prepare a proposed roll for the tribe, which shall be published in the Federal Register. Any person claiming membership rights in the tribe or an interest in its assets, or a representative of the Secretary on behalf of any such person, may, within ninety days from the date of publication of the proposed roll, file an appeal with the Secretary contesting the inclusion or omission 6f the name of any person on or from such roll. The Secretary shall review such appeals and his decisions thereon shall be final and conclusive. After disposition of all such appeals, the roll of the tribe shall be published in the Federal Register, and such roll shall be final for the purposes of this Act."
Among the people claiming membership in the Klamath Tribe are about 50 or 60 currently residing in Oklahoma.
