Siniscal v. United States United States v. Siniscal

This is an appeal from a judgment of the district court which ordered all transactions involved in a transfer of allotted Indian lands set aside as void, and a cross-appeal from that portion of the judgment which ordered the return of the consideration to the purchaser.

The lands in question are located near Gold Beach, Oregon. Jasper Grant and Harold F. Thornton were the heirs of five original Indian allottees of the land which is held in trust by the United States Government. Patrick Gray, a forester employed in the Forestry Division of the Indian Office, made an appraisal of the land in question in May, 1951, to determine its value as timber land. The appraisal set was $135,000.00, a figure which the court found to be “grossly inadequate.”

In the same month, S. D. Alexander, a white man, contacted Elmer A. Reed, an Indian, about the possibility of purchasing the land in suit. A deal was arranged whereby Reed was to purchase the land and deed it over to Alexander. Alexander was to pay Reed $12,500.00 for his services. Under the applicable law and regulations an Indian could buy this land at its appraised value, but a non-Indian could only buy it after the property had been…