fractionation

What happened

Fractionation is the result of allotment. The Interior Department explains: after the death of the original allottee, title was divided among heirs; as the land passed through each generation, the number of owners "grew exponentially." The land is not divided physically; heirs get an undivided interest. Interior says many allotted tracts now have hundreds of owners and gives an example: a tract on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation has more than 1,200 owners.

The Department lists consequences: a checkerboard pattern of trust, fee and tribal lands that creates jurisdictional challenges and ties up land; difficulty protecting or reaching sacred and cultural sites; and income so divided that individual owners may receive just a few cents.

Congress tried to reduce fractionation by law. The Supreme Court struck down the original escheat provision of the Indian Land Consolidation Act in Hodel v. Irving (1987), holding that it "effected a 'taking' of appellees' decedents' property without just compensation." In Babbitt v. Youpee (1997), the Court held that amended section 207 did not cure that deficiency.

The Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Agreement later provided a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund to buy fractional interests from willing sellers at fair market value. Interior reports that consolidated interests were restored to tribal trust ownership, and that the Land Buy-Back Program's implementation period ended November 24, 2022.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error