Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Statute of Limitations Claims List

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Statute of Limitations Claims List



March 25, 1983

Agency: Bureau of Indian Affairs,

Interior.

Action: Notice of all Statute of Limitations Claims.



Summary: This notice lists all potential pre-1966 Indian damage claims identified by



or presented to the Department of the Interior's Statute of Limitations Program as

required by Sec. 3(a) of the Indian Claims Limitation Act of 1982, Pub. L. 97-394.

The claims are grouped by Indian Tribes. Excluded from this list are claims which



were erroneously identified as claims and which have no legal merit whatsoever.



The listing of a claim does not signify that the Department believes the claim has



legal merit.

For further information contact:

Billings Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs

316 North 26th Street

Billings, Montana 59101

Telephone: (406) 657-6315

A Forced Fee claim involves the issuance of a fee simple patent by the Department

of the Interior to an Indian allottee before the expiration of the trust period and

allegedly without the consent of the allottee.

Forced Fee Land Patent Names in alphabetical order.

There are 830 names.

A

Pg.180

Thomas Aubrey

Cora W. Aubrey

Philip Aubrey

Josephine Arnoux

George C. Arnoux

Monroe Arnoux

Maggie Arnoux

Marion Arnoux

Belle Arnoux

Pg.181

Robert Albertson

Mary Albertson

Pg.183

Susie P. Aubrey

Pg.184

Jane Dunbar Anderson

Sallie Allison

William Allison

Wendell Allison

Lafe Allison

Pg.185
Emmett Augere

Francis Augere

August Augere

Pg.186
Cora W. Aubrey

Phena Martin Anderson

Jesse Armstrong

Robert Armstrong

Nesley Armstrong

Asa Armstrong

Orrie Armstrong

Lila Armstrong

Pg.187

Martha Aimsback

Clarence Austin

Jeanette Audrey

Pg.190

James Arnoux

Violet Mary Adams

B

Pg.179

Aaron Bigbeaver

Edward Bigbeaver

John Big Lake

Cecile Bull Shoe

Oscar Boy

Raymond Boy

Jensen Boy

Joseph Trombley Boutier

Pg.180
Vera Stewart Barlow

David Burdeau

Pg.181
Belle Baker

Fred Blackman

Maggie Blackman

Thomas Bogy

Pg.182
Susan Goss Burd

Maggie Goss Billedeaux

Mattie Bird

Martha Bird

Simpson Bird

Charles Bird

Johnson Bird

Millie Bird

Henry Bird

George Bird

Pg.183
Rose Connelly Brown

Grace Brown

Edward Burd

Mary Bailey

Samuel Bush

Eva Croff Brown

William Billedeaux

Mollie Billedeaux

Pg.184

Edward Billedeaux

Virginia Billedeaux

Carl Billedeaux

Genevieve Billedeaux

Martha Billedeaux

Edward Billedeaux

Clara Butterbaugh

Phoebe Burd

Charles Buck

Levi J. Burd

Daisy Burd

Pg.185
Dorothea Burd

Eloise Burd

Lena Norman Berger

Flora McKelvey Brown

Joseph Brown No.1

Francis A. Brown

Wesley Brown

George Bostwick

William Bostwick

John Bostwick

Leo Brown

William Brown

Victoria Brown

Jesse J. Brown

Catharine O. Brown

Xavier Billedeaux

Celina Billedeaux

Charles Billedeaux

Warren Billedeaux

Greeley Billedeaux

Mabel Billedeaux

Celina Billedeaux No.2

Pg.186
Minnie Blair

Matilda Buckley

Jerry Buckley

Charles Buckley

Jennie Boyle

Pg.186
Julian Burd

Louise Burd

Pg.187
Philip Burd

Minnie Henkel Burns

Theresa Blackboy

Robert Baldman

Cecile Bullshoe (Thrombley)

Pg.188
Josephine Blackface

William Buffalo Hide

Joseph Berryhide

James Big Top

Agnes Big Top

Josephine Big Top

Isabel Bier

Joseph Bullchild

George Bullchild

William Bearchild

Pg.189
Forest Barlow

Louis Bearchild

Benjaman Bearchild

Medicine Boss Ribs

Thomas Burd

Mary Burd

Sarah Browning

Pg.190
Jerry Buckley

Charles Blackboy

Ellen Bullshoe

Amy Bullchild

Arthur Alfred Burd

Philip Burd

C

Pg.177

Joseph M. Cummings

Andrew J. Cummings

Pg.179
Minnie Crawford

Joseph Crawford

James Coe

George Choate

Frank Choate

Samuel Choate

Maggie Champagne

Annie Calf Robe No.2

John P. Croff

Louise Croff

Helen P. Clark

Malcolm W. Clark

Ella Clark

Pg.180
Emma Croff

William Croff

Lavine Hall Chattin

Pg.181
John Chouruette

Peter Cadotte

Sophia Powell Croff

George Cook

Julia Cook

Pg.182
Louis Champagne

Ernest Cut Finger

James Clark

George Clark

Robert Clark

James Cobell

George Cobell

John Cobell

William Cobell No.1

Pg.183
Mary Connelly

Brian Connelly

Victor Connelly

John Connelly

Charles Chouquette

Maggie Chouquette

Richard Croff

Arthur Croff

George A. Croff

Katie U. Croff

Pg.184
Laura Conway

Frances Dunbar Cleland

Jeanette McGovern Cobell

Julius Cobell

Dewey Cobell

Louis Cobell

Pg.185
Peter Cobell

William Conway

Rachel Conway No.2

Pg.186
Ollie Crowford

Horace J. Clarke No.1

Horace J. Clarke No.2

Maggie McGovern Chatterton

Pg.188
Victor Chief Coward

Lucy Cadotte

Hollars at Night Clearslip

William Champagne

Charles Cut Finger

Angeline Conolly

Pg.189
Charles Conway

Emma Cooper

George Crossguns

Paul Calflooking

Pg.190
Ida Cadotte

Mary Cobell

Annie Cobell

Merland Crawford

George Calftail

Julie Calf Robe

Helen Thelma Conway

Jeanette Rattler Choate

Pg.198
Alice Cashew

D
Pg.180
Henry Burd Deguire

Louise Deguire

Pg.181
Thomas Dawson

Isabel Dawson

Malcolm Dawson

Helen Dawson

Pg.182
Gretchen Duvall

Jason Devereaux

Henry Devereaux

Lenora Devereaux

Charles Devereaux

Pg.183
Mollie Davis

Bryan Davis

Pg.184

Mary Dunbar No.1

Andrew W. Dunbar

Esther Dunbar

James Dunbar

Spyna Devereaux

Percy Dennis

Dora W. Dennis

Charles Delaney

Viola Delaney

Mary Delaney

Pg.185
Alex Dubray

Joseph Dubray

William Douglas

James Douglas

Lydia Douglas

Mary Douglas No.1

Robert Douglas

Theodore Douglas

Mollie D*kologie

Pg.186
Edith M. Devereaux

Pg.187
Jack Day Rider

Pg.188
David Duvall

Pg.189
Rusty Dusty Bull

Thomas Davis

Pearl Davis

Jennie Dewolfe

Edward Double Runner

Paul Double Runner

Fred Delaney

Minnie Douglas

Florence Douglas

Benjamine Deroche No.1

Pg.190
James Douglas No.2

E
Pg.178
James Evans

Pg.179
Agnes Coe Embody

Pg.180
William Edwards

Thomas Edwards

Fannie Edwards

Lizzie Edwards

John Edwards

Pg.187
James Eagle Head

Louise Eagle Ribs

F
Pg.179
Janette Coe Fallon

Albert Fast Buffalo Horse

Pg.181
James Fisher

Pg.183
William Kipp Fitzpatrick

Elizabeth Kipp Fitzpatrick

Ursula Fitzpatrick

Mathew Fitzpatrick

Katie Fitzpatrick

Mathew Fitzpatrick

Annie Fisher

Eugene Fisher

Pg.186
Maggie Nichols Fox

Pg.187
James Fast Buffalow Horse

Alex Fox

Pg.188
Felix Flattail

Fish

Pg.190
James Fine Bull

G
Pg.179
Hattie Tatsey Guardipee

Pg.180
Eli Guardipee

Charles Guardipee

John Gobert

James Gallineau

Pg.181
Richard Grant

Rose Grant

Pg.182
Maggie Goss No.1

Nathan Goss

George Goss

Abbott Goss jr,

Albert Goss No.1

Mary J. Goss

Albert Goss No.2

William K. Goss

Irene Goss No.1

Lomie Goss

Agnes C. Goss

Myrtle Upham Gilham

Abbie D. Gobert

Thomas Guardipee No.1

Cecile Guardipee

Pg.183
James Grant

John Galbreath

Edward Gobert

Pg.184
Josephine Gilham

Anthony Gilham

William Gilham

Pg.185
Octavia Guliak

Pg.186
Fred Gerard

Rose Gerard

Frank Guardipee No.1

Mary Guardipee

Susan H. Galbreath

Kenneth Galbreath

Pg.187
Francis X. Guardipee

Pg.189
Anne Galbreath

Margaret Goround

Charles Gerard

Pg.190
Frank Guardipee

Jack Guardipee

Lydia Rose Gerard

H
Pg.179
John P. Hall No.2

David Hall

William Hall

George Horn No.1

Harry Horn

Pg.180
Steven Henault

Caroline Henault

John Henault

Louise Hagen

Henry Hagen

Ellen Edwards Hall

Jessie Hanby

Lizzie Main No.1 Henderson

Pg.181
Joseph Howling

Mary Higgins No.1

Mary Higgins No.2

Pg.182
George Heavy Runner

Joseph Heavy Runner

Julia Harris

Stuart I. Hazlett

Pg.183
Bessie Hale

Pipe Woman Harrison

Frank Harrison, Jr.

Pg.184
Robert J. Hamilton

Rose Hamilton

Pearl W. Haggerty

Orrie Haggerty

Nellie Hagan

Sadie Hagan

Walter Howard

Annie Howard

Cecile Hunsberger

Pg.185
William Henkel

James Houseman

Mary Houseman

Frank Houseman

Marearet Houk

John Hunsberger

Mary Hunsberger

Pg.186
Dan Hill

Mary Harison

Thomas Harwood

Rose Hagerty

Joseph Houseman

Pg.187
Clara Henault

Moses Henault

Theresa Henault

Eliza Hagan

Pg.188
Abner Hall (Johnson)

Harycoat

First Gun Hungry

Charles Higgins

John E. Higgins

Pg.190
Herbert Hawk

Anna Howard

Headingoff

Grant Hilton

I
Pg.177
Iowa Tribal

Pg.186

Fannie Culbertson Irvin

J
Pg.179
James Johnson

Ida Johnson

Hattie Bearchild Johnson

Alice Rose Juneau

Charles Juneau

Pg.181
Maggie Jackson

Annie Jackson

Pg.182
Grace Jackson

Pg.185
Thomas Jackson No.1

Pg.186
Sadie Smith Jackson

Pg.187
Emedy Juneau

Pg.188
Hugh Jackson

Pg.189
Thomas Jackson No.1

Thomas Jackson No.2

Pg.190
Bernice Johnson

Harper Johnson

Pg.198
Ellen Jackson

K
Pg.180
Bert Kinnerly

Perry Kinnerly

Pg.181
Mary Kittson

Louise Munroe Kennedy

Loretta Cook Kirkland

Pg.182
John Kipp

William Kipp

Pg.183
Mary Kipp No.2

James Kipp

George Kipp No.1

Dick Kipp

Jennie Kerr

Pg.184
Otis Kennerly

John Kennedy

Pg.185
Sadie King

James King

Charles King

Henry King

Pg.186
Martha Kuka

Sarah Kewis

Pg.188
Jerome Kennerly

Pg.189
Louis Kipp

William J. Kennedy

Lizzie Kennedy

Pg.190
Mary Kuka

Merrel Kuka

Clarence King

Marguerite King

L

Pg.179
Joseph Lavarro

Louis Lavarro

Ella Loomis

Pg.180
Minnie Walter Lamott

Emily Labreche

Philip Labreche

Henry Lahr

Maud Lahr

Pg.181
Virginia Laplant No.1

David Labreche

Minnie Labreche

Charles Labreche

Clarence Labreche

Daniel Lone Chief No.1

Ellen Lone Chief

Theodore Last Star

Pg.183
Medore Labreche

John Lukin

Peter Lukin

Dora Lukin

Annie S. Lapage

Rosana Lindell

Richard Lucero

Pg.184
Joseph Livermore

Lillie Livermore

Minnie Livermore

Pg.186
Charles Labreche

Pg.187
Henry Laboeff

Mary Lavarro

Thomas Lame Bear

Cecile Little Skunk

Joseph Little Plume

Lucy Little Owl

Pg.189
Phoebe Lapage

Clara Livermore

Pg.190
Gladys Lucero

M
Pg.179
Peter Marcoan

Walter Mountain Chief

Louise Mountain Chief

Elmer Mad Plume

Richard Mad Plume

Mary Schildt Matt

Mary Lorena Meade

Pg.180
Millie Magee

Emily Magee

John Merchant

Carolline Merchant

Henry Main

Lizzie Main No.2

John Morgan

David Morgan

Joseph Morgan

Pg.181
Julia Magee

George Magee

Dewey Magee

Mildred Jackson Magee

Alice Matt

Francis Matt

Michael Matt

Lillie Wren Monroe

Celina Wren Munroe

William Munroe

John Monroe

Donald Munroe

Jennie Munroe

Hugh Munroe

Andrew Munroe

Alice Martin

Henry Marceau

Emma Miller

Louis Momberg

Pg.183
Mabel H. Monroe

James Monroe

Joseph Monroe

Baptiste Mercier

Pg.184
Louis Monroe

Henry Merchant

Augusta Murphy

Hamlin Murphy

Harland Murphy

Pg.185
Charles Martin

Rose Martin

Julia Murphy

Osotle McKelvey

Frank McKelvey

George McKelvey

John McKelvey

Rachel Morris

Pg.186
Alice A. Martin

Melvina Murphy

Joseph McKnight

Lizzie Morgan

Robert Morgan

Wilbert Morgan

Susan Mercure

Sophia McGovern

John McGovern

James McGovern

Pg.187
Mary Marceau

Franciscus Marceau

John Mountain Chief

George Mad Plume

Alice Main

Mary Main

Pg.188
Frances Morning Plume

Virginia Morgan

Irene Morgan

Henry Magee

Tallow Mud Head

Julia Manytailfeather

Angus Monroe

Amella Munroe

Alice Munroe

Sarah Munroe

Longtime goodsuccess Many White Horses

Cecile Many White Horse

Grinnell Monroe

Gifford Monroe

Pg.189
Carrie Monroe

Sheep Woman Medicine Owl

Nancy Mercier

Cecile Manyhides

Rena Martin

Lucy McKnight

Irene McKnight

Pg.190
Joseph McMullen

Edith Merchant

Thomas McKay

John McKay

Carrie Barbara Monroe

Ernest Leonard Mutch

Alfreda Lorraine McKelvey

N
Pg.184
Joseph Nequette

Pg.185
Mary Norman

Adolph Norman

Pg.186
Cecile Nicholas

Pg.187
Stella Night Gun

Jack Night Gun

Angeline No Chief

Wallace Night Gun

Martha Night Gun

Strikes in front No Chief

Joseph New Robe

New Breast

Pg.189
Alfred Norman

Adella Norman

Rosa Belle Norris

Mary Norris

Pg.190
Frank Norman

O
Pg.177
James N. Ogee

Pg.179
Joseph Olinger

Pg.187
Peter Old Rock

Mary Old Person

Paul Old Chief

Theresa Old Chief

Pg.189
Peter Oscar

P
Pg.177
Theodore A. Pearce

Pg.179
Kate Pias

Susan Pias

Marel Pepion

Thomas Pepion

Aloysius Pepion

Pg.180
Julia Pendergress

Pg.181
Louise Pepion

Pg.182
James A. Perrine

Mary Perrine

Pg.183

George Pable No.1

Christine Pablo

Charles Powell

Maggie Peterson

Frank J. Peterson

Melvin Peterson

Walter Peterson

Louise Paisley

George Paisley

Pg.186

Annie Pepion

John Pepion

Eleanor Parker

Hunter Powell

Louise Paul

Philip Paul

Soloman Paul

Celina Paul

Pg.187

Mary Prairie Chicken Shoe

Louis Prairie Chicken Shoe

George Pendergrass

Theophile Pendergrass

Lillie Prince

Pg.188

Mary Powell

Pg.189

Emma Pablo

Agnes Pablo

George Pablo No.2

Annie Powell No.2

Jessee Powell

Mitchell Peterson

Lizzie Peterson

Clara Peterson

Allen Paisley

Mattie Paisley

Chauncy Paisley

Nellie Paisley

Angeline Percival

Bernice Percival

Pg.190

Edward Paul

Jimmie Potts

Oliver Paul

Willie Paul

Pg.198

Margaret Pickett

R

Pg.179

Homer Running Wolf

Eliza Rutherford

Eina Rutherford

William Rutherford

Mary David Rutherford

Edward Runningcrane

Joseph Russell

Pg.180

Nettie Racine

Oliver Racine

Henry Rutherford

Richard Rides at the Door

Amy Rides at the Door

Pg.186

Firstone Russell

Isabel Russell

Pg.187

Myles Running Wolf

George Running Wolf

William Rose

Ida Rose

Melvin Romsa

Joseph Reevis

Cecile Rider

Sam Rider

Pg.188

Maggie Russell

Mink Woman Runningrabbit

David Ripley

Irene Rides at the Door

Pg.189

Joseph Russell

William Russell

Pg.190

Mary Roberts

Pg.198

Alice Robinson

Dora Record

S

Pg.177

Mary Spencer

Pg.179

Richard Sanderville

Nancy Sanderville

Oliver Sanderville

Thomas Sanderville

Andrew Schildt

Irene Schildt

Pg.180

Joseph Spanish

Genova Stewart

Earl Stewart

James Stewart

Virginia Stewart

Rose Aubrey Snook

May Aubrey Stewart

Henry Stephenson

Orcelia Stephenson

Pg.181

Josephine Little Plume Salway

Sam Scabby Robe

Ida Wren Stone

Margaret Schultz

Philomena St. Goddard

Agnes St. O. Hazlett

Almina St. Goddard

Pg.182

Rosa Sharp

Robert Sherman

Alexander Sherman

Rena Sherman

William Sherman

George Schmidt

Rose Schmidt

Carl Schmidt

William A. Samples

Florence Samples

Julia Samples

Stella M. Samples

Pg.183

James Samples

Sarah Samples

Pg.184

Mollie Sullivan

Sam Smith

Hart Schultz

Earl Stewart

Thomas D. Stewart

Vivian Stewart

Jessie Walter Stuart

Alice Tucker Stuart

Henry Stone

Joseph Stone

Frank Stone

Pg.185

William Smith

Emma Smith

Peter Smith

Pg.186

Mary Stewart

Mollie L. Stewart

Cecilia S. Schildt

Marel M. Stewart

Clara Lenoir Stuart

Millie Steele

Mamie Simon

Charles Simon

Pg.187

Isabelle Stewart

Bridget Sanderville

John Sanderville

Mary Sanderville

William Sanderville

Vincent Spotted Eagle

Joseph Spotted Eagle

Haninback Spotted Eagle

Irene Shoots Another

Buff Petri St. YoungRunningcrane

Joseph Spanish

Pg.188

Eva Sherman

Alice Shields

Susan Sherman

Annie Clark Sellers

Charles Sherman

Pg.189

James Stingy

Perry Smith

George Smith

Helen Stuart

Pg.190

Frank Sciaccoti

Laverne Steele

Dorothy Stuart

Margaret Schmidt

Emma Sherman

Francis Spotted Eagle

Alfred Spearson

Patrick C. Shane

William Shane

T

Pg.178

Charles F. Thomas

Pg.179

John Tatsey

Joseph Tatsey No.2

Cecile Trombley

Pg.183

Louis Trombley

Isaac Trombley

Joseph Trombley

Richard Thomas

Josephine Wright Thorpe

Pg.187

Mary Tatsey

Peter Tail Feathers

Alfred Trombley

Isabelle Trombley

Pg.188

Mary Teesdale

Nora Thomas

Pg.189

Susie Thomas

Pg.198

Mary Takes Gun

George Thomas

U

Pg.182

Jack Upham

William Upham

Pg.188

Eliza Uhling

Winnefred Upham

Pg.190

Joseph Upham (Joseph B. Upham)

Doctor Upham (Donald Upham)

V

Pg.179

Frank Vielle

Susan Vielle

Pg.180

Laura Van Senden

Peter Vielle

Pg.187

Jack Vallie

James Vallie

Pg.188

John Vielle

Josephine Vielle

W

Pg.177

Alexander, Wallace

Viola Wallace

Mary A. Wallace

Pg.179

William Wetzel

Louise Walters

Peter White Man

Pg.180

Alice Hogan Welch

Phoebe Stephenson Wagner

Elise Hall Wright

Agnes Burdeau Wright

Pg.181

George Walters

Arthur Walters

John Wren

Robert Wren

William Wren

George Wren

Isabelle Wren

George West Wolf

James Williamson

Pg.182

Henry P. Williamson

Mary Williamson

Gertrude Williamson

Pg.183

Charles Weaselhead

Pg.184

William Wright

John Wright

Pg.185

Dora Woodbury

John Wagner

Pg.186

Lorenzo White

Maggie Williamson

William Wagner

Henrietta Wetzel

Pg.187

Ellen Welch

Joseph Wolverine

Kate Wolf Tail

Agnes Wolf Tail

Pg.188

Angeline Wolf Tail

Garrett White

Blanketwoman Wolf Eagle

Pg.189

Lillie Wagner

Pg.190

Guy Williamson

Anna Wagner

Irvin Wren

James William Welch

Y

Pg.181

Michael Yellow Kidney

Pg.188

Margaret Yellow Owl

Chapter 12 excerpt from Blackfeet Sorrow The Robbing of Peter Tail Feathers

Chapter 12 The Robbing of Peter Tail Feathers

The meeting at the schoolhouse in Browning, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, July 30,

1929 was called to order by Robert Hamilton at 10 a.m. with about sixty members of the

Blackfeet Tribe being present. Mr. Hamilton then enumerated the Indian's complaints, which

he urged the Subcommittee of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the United States Senate to

investigate. The Senate Committee investigator, Walter W. Liggitt, heard the Indian's

testimony concerning the right of the Government to issue patent fee deeds to Indians

when not requested by the Indians; also the right of the local county government to tax

such patent fee lands before the trust period of twenty-five years had expired, and the

right of the Government to assess Blackfeet Irrigation Project costs against Indian

allotments.

The Blackfeet Indians were allotted in 1912 against their will and against the treaty

guarantees in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five, exempting the Indians from Allotment,

due to their success in establishing a tribal cattle industry based on the common grazing

of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Senator Walsh of Montana was successful in

passing legislation in Congress in 1907 calling for allotment of the Blackfeet reservation lands

and taking the 156,000 acres of reclamation lands left over after allotment for white settlers.

Allotments were made of 320 acres to each Indian, and later under the Act of 1919, each

Indian was allotted an additional 80 acres, to be held as a perpetual homestead, and of the

total of 1,486,874 acres on the reservation, 1,440,000 acres have been allotted; with 2,364

acres set aside for school, agency, and township purposes; and 44,240 acres remain as

tribal timber and grazing reserves.

Investigator Liggitt reported that approximately 210,000 acres have passed into the

ownership of white men after the Indians were granted patents in fee on their allotments. He

reported that,"In this connection, it should be pointed out that a large portion of this patent

fee land in question consists of the most valuable acreage in the Blackfeet reservation; that it

was sold to a clique of covetous whites at absurdly low figures; that furthermore scores of

patent fees were issued to Indians without the Indians having made application for the same in

clear defiance of the law. In other words, I charge that a conspiracy existed between Horace G.

Wilson, former superintendent, Stuart Hazlett, former lease clerk, and certain land seeking

white men, whereby it was arranged to give patent in fees to certain Indians, and afterwards

the white land buyers speedily obtained the land by more or less devious means. The principle

beneficiary of this deliberate conspiracy was J.L. Sherburne, of the Sherburne Mercantile

Company of Browning, Montana, who has acquired some 40,000 acres of former Indian owned

land since coming to the Blackfeet reservation.

Testimony by at least a dozen reputable Indians is to the effect that during the term of

Superintendent Horace G. Wilson-who later served a term in the federal penitentiary for

bigamy-they were compelled to accept patents in fee for which they had not applied.

Examination of the patents file shows no applications had been made by the Indians and is

complete verification of their allegations.

In several cases, as soon as the patents had been issued, J.L. Sherburne [agency trader]

induced them to sign promissary notes, or to mortgage their land for bills incurred at his

general store. In some cases wives were induced to assume debts incurred by husbands,

or minor children were persuaded that the only honorable course was to mortgage their land

to discharge obligations of their parents.

Many of the Indians who were given fee patents were ignorant, absolutely illiterate, and

incompetent to conduct their own affairs. In at least two cases fee patents were arbitrarily

issued to Indians who were known to be mentally deficient by the superintendent when he

approved the patent."

Peter Tail Feathers

Investigator Liggitt continued,"I refer to the case of Peter Tail Feathers. Peter Tail Feathers

was given a petent on June 15, 1920. At that time there was on file in the office of Supt.

Wilson a report signed by the agency physician, which showed that Peter Tail Feathers was

crippled in one hand, partly paralyzed, had tuberculosis, was a chronic sufferer from epilepsy,

and was officially classified on the reservation as an imbecile.

This unfortunate youth had land which had been appraised at $3,200. Soon after his patent

was issued, he sold this land, which was believed to contain oil for $1,100, and of this amount

Peter Tail Feathers only received $300. This whole deal smells to high heaven and steps

should be taken to prosecute those responsible for defrauding this youth, or if that is

impossible, the deed to the land should be cancelled. Certainly some restitution should be

made to this feeble minded boy, who was robbed by his own sworn protectors.

Every step of this transaction was conceived in fraud and carried out by men who were

paid on the supposition they were guardians of this government ward. Probably the robbery

of Peter Tail Feathers is the most flagrant on the Blackfeet reservation-incidentally the Indian

Bureau has never questioned this deal-but many other instances can be brought forward where

ignorant old savages, unable to read or write or even to understand English, were given patent-

in-fees against their will and soon cajoled out of their property. And in every case it will be

found that the land in question had some particulare quality which made it especially

desirable, or the Indian had incurred a debt which some white man wished to satisfy by the

seizure of his land.

Most of these patents were issued from the period of 1918 until 1921, when F.C. Campbell,

Horace G. Wilson and T.C. Power acted as superintendents in rapid succession. Both Power

and Wilson were later dismissed from the Indian Service. Mr. Campbell is now superintendent

at the Blackfeet reservation; Stuart Hazlett, the lease clerk who made up the list of Indians

recommended for patents for the Competency Commission was dismissed from the Indian

Service in 1919. Competency Commission members were Wilson, Hazlett, Sherburne.

There is no doubt at all that scores of these patents were issued illegally to Indians

incompetent in fact as well as in the eyes of the law. In nearly every case the issuance of the

patent meant that the Indian was defrauded of his land. It would seem that in all of these

cases where it is not possible to cancel the patent and restore the land to the Indians, that lieu

allotments be made. Senate Investigator Liggitt recorded Peter Tail Feathers as follows:

"He is thirtyone years old, crippled, practically paralyzed, subject to epileptic fits, cannot read

or write, and quite obviously is mentally defective. His speech and answers were so confused,

it was almost impossible to get a verbatim report of his testimony, but I summarized it with

the aid of several interpreters." He said,"Mr. Campbell, (Red Hair), forced me to accept a

patent in 1919. I had an allotment near Heart Butte Agency. I didn't want the patent, but they

forced me to take it."

Investigator Liggett continued,"Peter Tail Feathers said that he sold his land to Henry

Hagen, a mixed blood. He believed he was only selling two hundred acres and retaining eighty

acres for himself as a home, but it seems they took the whole tract. He was supposed to get

$1,100 for the land. He only got $300 cash and never got the rest of it. He had some papers,

(a promissory note) but it disappeared when his father died. He complained to the agency, but

got no relief. It developed from questioning of others present that the county attorney, Horace

W. Judson, prepared the papers and handed $300 in cash to this feebleminded boy and got his

mark on a deed of sale; Joe Tatsey was a witness. It also appears that the land in question is

located in Township 29, Range 9, and is not only exceptionally good hay land, but is almost in

the center of the oil pool revealed by geological survey maps of the Blackfeet reservation. After

buying the land from the boy for $1,100-of which only $300 was paid-Hagen sold the land for

$1,700 to a Kalispell banker named Johnson.

One glance at Peter Tail Feathers is sufficient to reveal he is on the border of imbecility,

and the very fact that this boy was given a patent soon after his majority is proof positive

that responsible agency officials were party to the plot to defraud him of his land. The boy is

not getting any rations and is now dependent upon the charity of his neighbors. The agency

officials had him taken off the agency ration rolls to complete the deception that he was a

competent Indian and able to handle his own affairs.

Blackfeet Treaty Violations Table of Contents

Blackfeet Treaty Violations: A Study on Blackfeet Allotted Lands/Minerals, Forced Patents, State/County Taxation and other Legal Devices used to sever Blackfeet Family Allotments on the Blackfeet Reservation compiled by Bob Juneau Sr., Ed Spotted Eagle and Robert C. Juneau, B.A. History

1.Letter March 21, 2005 to Senator John McCain from the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council requesting that the Senate Indian Affairs Committee investigate and return all land and Mineral rights to the Blackfeet that were lost due to the Allotment Act. 5 pgs.

2.Bureau of Indian Affairs Role in Blackfeet Treaty Violations. 1 pg.

3.Summary Document of the minutes of Robert Hamilton's schoolhouse Meeting on July 30 at which he urged Walter Ligget to investigate Blackfeet treaty violations. 1 pg.

4.8 point Bulletin from the Ligget Report on Peter Tailfeathers which says the Blackfeet were, "Defrauded by Deliberate Conspiracy," out of their land and mineral rights. 2 pgs.

5.Statement taken from Peter Tailfeathers on how his land was stolen. 1 pg.

6.Medical Exhibit Report done by Dr.A. McAlister, M.D. 8-14-16 confirming his mental and physical handicap. 1 pg.

7.Report on Peter Tailfeather's Report on Application for a patent in Fee. 6 pgs.

8.Letter to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Charles J. Rhoades dated September 18, 1929 on the History of Peter Tailfeathers Allotment. 1 pg.

9.Letter to Senator B.K. Wheeler Sept.18, 1929 from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Scattergood concerning Peter Tailfeathers patent. 1 pg.

10.Letter to Senator B.K. Wheeler November 19, 1929 from Robert Hamilton on issuance of illegal fee patents to Blackfeet by the Indian Department. 1 pg.

11.Letter to Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs J.Henry Scattergood November 19, 1929 from Robert Hamilton on illegal execution of Blackfeet wills and issuance of fee patents to Blackfeet who never applied for them by the Indian Office Probate Court. 3 pgs.

12.Letter to Robert Hamilton from Senator B.K. Wheeler November 30, 1929 replying to his November 19, 1929 letter that if he does not any reaction to his grievances on the abuses of the Probate Court from the Indian Department to let him know. 1 pg.

13.Great Falls Tribune article April 6, 1944 entitled Law protects Indian Tribe's Mineral Right gives an account of Charles N. Pray's ruling against C.E. Frisbee, Texas Co., and J.L. Sherburne in favor of Amy Rides-At-The-Door Sherman and the Blackfeet Tribe stating her 160 acres of land and mineral rights are reserved to her and the Blackfeet Tribe and that the defendants acquired that land illegally. 1 pg.

14.Federal District Court Case 313 U.S. vs. C.E. Frisbee motion for Summary Judgement by the plaintiff United States of America, Amy Rides-At-The-Door Sherman, and the Blackfeet Tribe. The motion states all land and minerals on the reservation are reserved to the Blackfeet until Congress shall make law saying otherwise and grant the motion for a Summary Judgement.

3 pgs.

15.Federal District Court Decision #2947 U.S. v. Glacier County states that Glacier County can not tax or take land for taxes that was illegally taken out of trust before the 25 year period had expired. 4 pgs.

16.Federal District Court Decision 2125 U.S. v. Sherburne Mercantile Company says Sherburne through a Sheriff's deed wanted to take Maggie and William Goss's land for a debt owed to him. The Goss' argue he can not because the law says the land can not be taken for a debt incurred before the date of the issuance of the patent. The debt was incurred on November 20, 1920 and was not due until April 20, 1921. The case was dismissed in 1932. Sherburne won the case and got the Goss' land because the Goss' were declared to be competent in court because they were mixed bloods. This case is an example of what criteria the U.S. Government was using back then to declare a Blackfeet either competent or incompetent for Allotment and land seizure. 4 pgs.

17.List of Forced Fee Patent Cases on the Blackfeet Reservation. The list includes: number of cases, case number, allotment number, and land description. 46 pgs.

18.Summary List of Forced Fee Patent Cases on the Blackfeet on the Blackfeet Reservation which includes: Case number, allotment number, allottee name, land description and acreage, type of case, application signatures, fee patent number, and date issued. 13 pgs.

19.Survey of conditions of the Indians in the United States Blackfeet Reservation Wednesday July 24, 1929. 131 pgs.

20.State and County Role in Blackfeet Treaty Violations. 1 pg.

21.Organic Act of the Territory of Montana, Public No.76. 1 pg.

22.History of the creation of Glacier County from Harold E. Gray copied from Glacier County Clerk recorder of Records June 12, 1996. 2 pgs.

23.Timeline of the History of the negative impact the Allotment Act has had on the Blackfeet 1913-2002. 1 pg.

24.U.S. v. Fred V. Nice argued April 24, 1916 decided June 25, 1916 says land taken from Indians for debts incurred due to sale of liquor to the Indians' are illegal. 4 pgs.

25.Divided Sovereigns A Legal Analysis surrounding the creation of county boundaries on Indian Reservation within the Territory and State of Montana July 1998. A legal memoranum published by Montana Legislative Services Division. 22 pgs.

26.Blackfeet Treaties, laws, and executive orders. A compilation prepared from the original documents by Blackfeet Tribal Attorney under the direction of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council April 1950 Washington D.C. 51 pgs.

27.Letter from Robert Hamilton to Wolf Plume, White Antelope, Curley Bear, and Black Weasel March 28, 1914 telling them from Washington D.C. that he stopped the delegation supporting Blackfeet Superintendent McFatridge from convincing the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to open the Blackfeet Reservation to Allotment. He told the committee the majority of the Blackfeet do not support it. 3 pgs.

28.Blackfeet Allotment Act March 1, 1907 pg.51-83. An Act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department, for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian Tribes, and for other purposes, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, 1908. 32 pgs.

29.The Error of the Winters Court: The St. Mary River-Milk River diversion and Blackfeet Reserved Water Rights, 1888-1920. 33 pgs.

30.Boundary Waters Treaty January 11, 1909. 5 pgs.

31.International Joint Commission Order in the matter of the Measurement and Apportionment of the waters of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers and their tributaries in the State of Montana and the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. 2 pgs.

Total pages in Blackfeet Treaty Violations: 381

Prices for books by Bob Juneau

Blackfeet Sorrow Crooked Agents, Whiskey Traders, and Land Grafters by Bob Juneau $20

Blackfeet Treaty Violations by Bob Juneau (this is a book of documents) $47.75

If you wish to buy a copy of any of these books please send a money order to:

2308 W. Foothills Dr. Apt.2

Missoula, MT 59803

Also to the reader keep checking this blog as I will be constantly updating it

with new documents, articles, and information about Blackfeet Forced Land Patents and

History.

Blackfeet Sorrow by Bob Juneau Table of Contents

Blackfeet Sorrow by Bob Juneau Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1, Report of Henry W. Reed, Agent for the Blackfeet: 1862

Chapter 2, Prelude to Massacre

Chapter 3, Massacre on the Marias

Chapter 4, Merchant Princes of Fort Benton

Chapter 5, The Famine Years 1881-1886

Chapter 6, Sell or Starve

Chapter 7, Montana Political-Mercantile System Wrecks the Tribal Cattle Industry

Chapter 8, The Blackfeet Children Get Civilized

Chapter 9, The Family that Preys Together: The Father, Son, and Holy Terror

Chapter 10, Committee to Investigate Indian Affairs: Sixty-Third Congress

Chapter 11, Congress Investigates the Indian Office

Chapter 12, The Robbing of Peter Tail Feathers

Chapter 13, Indian Dancing

Chapter 14, Postcolonial Psychology

Chapter 15, Blackfeet Claims, the Last, Best, Hope

Letter to President Obama about Blackfeet Land Claims

Honorable President Obama,

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania

Washington D. C.

Attn: Kimberly Teehee, Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs



Native American Issue-Forced Fee Patents

Dear Sir,

My name is Robert J. Juneau and I am an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Indians

of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation surrounded by the State of Montana, Glacier National Park

and the Province of Alberta, Canada. We are a federally recognized Tribe bound by treaty with

the United States since 1855 to allow American emigrants to cross Blackfoot Confederacy lands

on their way to Oregon Territory.

My concern is the pre-1966 Blackfeet Tribal and individual money damage claims potentially

preserved under the Indian Claims Limitation Act identified by or presented to the



Department of Interior's Statute of Limitations program as required by Sec.3(a) of the



Indian Claims Limitation Act of 1982.



The Blackfeet claims are listed in the Billings Area Office, Director of the Bureau of Indian



Affairs, but have not been processed or advanced since 1980 despite the admission of

complicity on the part of the department and Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1979 and Civil

Action No.82-2725, Covelo Indian Community v. James Watt, Secretary of Interior ordering

the department to either litigate the pre-1966 Indian claims or to send the claims to Congress

for legislative solutions.

It is the request of the Blackfeet Indians for the President of the United States to intervene

in this nearly 30 year stalemate between the Judicial Branch and the Executive Branch to



provide justice in the issue of the private property rights of the Blackfeet Indians violated



by the federal trustee and stonewalled by the Interior Department to prevent the Congress



of the United States to provide legislative solutions.



At bottom of this issue are the historical events and treaty violations practiced by the



Territory and State of Montana, and its political sub-divisions, to knowingly and deliberately



conduct land fraud conspiracies against the Blackfeet Tribe and Blackfeet Indians, in



violation of sacred treaty and agreement between such Indians and the United States, and to



manipulate the plenary powers of Congress over the Indians and their property for the benefit



of their constituents.



It is my personal belief and experience that the class of White people known as "border-



whites" and the State of Montana are involved in a nearly century old deliberate conspiracy



with department officials historically and presently to hold the Blackfeet claims within the



department until such time as they can be disposed of by letting the statute run, or by



political means. In any case, the fact remains that the Blackfeet Indians have had their



private property stolen from them by admitted perpetrators within the department and

co-conspirators outside the department, and it is also obvious the conspiracy is still up

and running so long as the issue remains unresolved.

Background and History of the Blackfeet claims: The 1855 Treaty/Article Seven provides.

The aforesaid nations and tribes of Indians agree that citizens of the United States may live

in and pass unmolested by them. And the United States is hereby bound to protect which

white men residing in or passing through their country may commit.

In 1896 the Blackfeet Indians ceded the mineral belt of the mountainous portion of the

reservation about 1.5 million acres for $1, 500, 000 to be paid over ten years. By some

miracle the Blackfeet Indians had used their grazing lands to build up a tribal cattle industry

and their success was recognized in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five: Since the situation

of the Blackfeet Reservation renders it wholly unfit for agriculture, and since these Indians

have shown within the past four years that they can successfully raise horned cattle, and

there is every probability that they will become self-supporting by attention to this industry,

it is agreed that during the existence of this agreement, no allotments of land in severalty

shall be made to them, but that this whole reservation shall continue to be held by these

Indians as a communal grazing tract upon which their herds may feed undisturbed; and that

after the expiration of this agreement the lands shall continue to be held until such time as

a majority of the adult males of the tribe shall request in writing that allotment in severalty

shall be made of their lands. In 1906 Senator Walsh of Montana introduced the Blackfeet

Allotment Act in Congress to break up the reserved tribal grazing lands guaranteed in the

1896 Agreement/Article Five into individual allotments. The Blackfeet Indians subsequently

became victims of an Interior Department deliberate conspiracy to force fee patents on the

Indians, who did not request such patents nor were they competent to receive such patents

under federal law and Interior Department guidelines. These Blackfeet forced fee patents

were issued during the period of 1917 and 1922 when the Indians were illiterate and unable

to manage their allotments.

In 1979 Forest Gerard, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs of the Department of Interior

testified before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, 96th Cong., 1st Sess.

3/13 (1979) (Statement of Forest Gerard, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs): Litigation

was thought inappropriate in these cases [forced fee patents] because the government would

have to sue itself on behalf of the Indian claimants. In 1980 the Covelo Indian Community,

et al., plaintiffs filed Civil Action No.82-2725 in the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA against James Watt, Secretary of the Interior et al.,

Defendants, to secure declaratory and injunctive relief to secure rights and duties they claim

are owed them, and all others similarly situated, by the defendant federal officials.

The court ruled on November 17th, 1982 that the Interior Department was ordered to

submit legislative proposals to Congress for all cases that have not or will not be litigated

prior to December 31, 1982 on behalf of all Indians and tribes with pre-1966 claims subject

to 28 U.S.C. 2415 that have been identified by the B.I.A [Bureau of Indian Affairs], the

federal defendants, or any of their contractors, and that have not been, or will not be litigated

prior to December 31, 1982, and that have not been the subject of legislative proposals

submitted to Congress. It was further ordered by the court for defendants to institute

protective litigation to cover those claims not the subject of legislative proposals and to

notify members of the plaintiff class, individual or tribal, where appropriate, as to the current

status of their claims and the nature of the forthcoming statutory deadline of December 31,

1982 for the institution of litigation.

I have worked on the Blackfeet forced patent claims since 1980 and have been stonewalled

at the agency level by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Interior Department. The Blackfeet

Tribal Business Council requested an investigation of the local county governments and the

State of Montana involvement in the Blackfeet forced patents conspiracy as well as the BIA

in 2001. It is unclear that the individual Blackfeet patentees and their heirs have an

adequate advocate or federal trustee within the Interior Department in view of the

confession of "complicity" in these cases by the BIA and Interior Department. What are we

Indians to think of the federal trusteeship when the BIA has confessed to the crimes, but has

refused to move the claims to Congress since 1979?

There are 605 Blackfeet allottees listed in the class-action suit for forced fee patent

violations as well as hundreds of other claims involving the crookedness of the Interior

Department and BIA. These claims involve the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of the

Blackfeet Indian Reservation held by treaty in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five in communal

grazing tracts for the successful tribal cattle industry.

We, the Blackfeet allottees, and heirs of the original Blackfeet allottees declare that only

the return of our treaty held lands and just compensation to return the lands to their use in

cattle ranching and related businesses, will ensure that the Blackfeet Indians and their

rightful heirs will be able to finally fulfill the governmental and economic goals that were

contemplated by the 1896 sovereign bargain between the United States and the Blackfeet

Tribe of Indians. In U.S. v. Frisbee et al, the Judge ruled that all of the minerals underlying

the Blackfeet reservation, including coal, oil & gas, were reserved by treaty and federal law

by the United States for the exclusive benefit of the Blackfeet Indians.

In U.S. v. Glacier County the Judge ruled the state could not extend jurisdiction over the

Indians or their treaty right to tax free lands even after fee patents were issued until the trust

period had expired. My people, the Blackfeet Indians, have suffered a century of epic tribal

poverty for no good reason except for government corruption in conspiracy with land grafters.

Therefore, I request that the Blackfeet forced fee patent claims be sent to Congress for

legislative solutions with the recommendation that Indian title be restored to stolen

Blackfeet land and minerals with just compensation.

Sincerely, and with great respect,

Robert James Juneau, Blackfeet Tribe, Blackfeet Tribal I.D. #U07392