Mitchell v. United States

(after stating the facts as above). It is recognized that a person may- be adopted as a member of an Indian tribe according to the customs of the Indians, and that such adoption, if approved by the Interior Department, vests in the person adopted a right to an allotment of land that may be subject to be allotted to the Indians of the tribe. But to make the adoption into the tribe effective, so as to entitle the one adopted to obtain an allotment, there must be something more than the vote of the tribe or of its council of head men in favor of adoption.

The statute under which allotments are generally made provides that allotments to Indians may be made by the superintendent or agent under such rules and regulations as' the Secretary of the Interior may from time to time prescribe. Act Feb. 8, 1887, as amended 1891 June 25, 1910, Comp. St. § 4195 et seq. (25 USCA § 331 et seq.). Pursuant to the authority so given, the Secretary made a regulation that adoptions must be approved by the Indian Commissioner and the Secretary before becoming effective. Such regulation is entirely consistent with the statute and the general policy of the United States to exercise a supervision by which…