Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes v. R. E. Nordwick

The Act of May 30, 1908 ( 35 Stat. 558 ) provided that part of the land composing the Fort Peck Reservation was to be allotted among members of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, and the remainder sold for their benefit. The unallotted lands were to be opened to settlement and entry under the homestead laws at prices to be fixed by appraisal. Homestead entrymen were to be allowed five years to pay' the purchase price and seven years to make final proof entitling them to patents. Unallotted lands “remaining undisposed of” five years after the lands were opened to entry were to be sold at auction.

The 1908 Act was amended by the Act of March 3, 1927 ( 44 Stat. 1401 ) “specifically reserving to the Indians having tribal rights on said reservation the oil and gas in the tribal lands undisposed of on the date of the approval of this Act” (emphasis added); and authorizing the Tribal council to lease the reserved oil and gas deposits.

On January 24, 1925, Nordwick filed a homestead application on a 160-acre tract under the 1908 Act. When the 1927 Act was passed, Nordwick had paid only one fifth of the purchase price, had not satisfied the statutory cultivation requirements ( 43 U.S.C. §…