Burke Act

What happened

The Burke Act, approved May 8, 1906, rewrote Section 6 of the 1887 Dawes Act. That law had made Indians citizens once they received allotments. The Burke Act delayed citizenship for allottees until "the expiration of the trust period" and the conveyance of a fee patent.

The key change is a proviso. The Secretary of the Interior could, whenever he was "satisfied that any Indian allottee is competent and capable of managing his or her affairs," have a patent in fee simple issued. After that, "all restrictions as to sale, incumbrance, or taxation of said land shall be removed." The text does not say the allottee had to ask. Until then, allottees with trust patents stayed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States.

Another section covered inheritance. If an allottee died during the trust period, the allotment was cancelled and the Secretary would find the legal heirs and issue them a fee patent, or sell the land and pay the heirs the net proceeds. His findings on heirs were "conclusive and final." The Act did not extend to Indians in the Indian Territory.

The Library of Congress calls the Act the "Forced Fee Patenting Act." The Oklahoma Historical Society's encyclopedia says Congress feared that freed allottees would be cheated of their land, and that many saw the law as an attempt to hasten assimilation. A 1928 report quoted in a Department of the Interior opinion said patents under the Dawes or Burke Acts removed Indians "in part at least" from federal jurisdiction.

Good to know. An Oklahoma encyclopedia describes the timing of the competency decision differently from the statute; this page follows the statute's text.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error