USC Chapter 7

USC Chapter 7
in effect

25 U.S.C. § 271 Employment of instructors for Indians

The President may, in every case where he shall judge improvement in the habits and condition of such Indians practicable, and that the means of instruction can be introduced with their own consent, employ capable persons of good moral character to instruct them in the mode of agriculture suited to their situation; and for teaching their children in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and performing such other duties as may be enjoined according to such instructions and rules as the President may give and prescribe for the regulation of their conduct, in the discharge of their duties. A report of the proceedings adopted in the execution of this provision shall be annually laid before Congress.

25 U.S.C. § 272 Superintendent of Indian schools

There shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a person of knowledge and experience in the management, training, and practical education of children, to be Superintendent of Indian Schools, whose duty it shall be to visit and inspect the schools in which Indians are taught in whole or in part from appropriations from the United States Treasury, and report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, what, in his judgment, are the defects, if any, in any of them, in system, in administration, or in means for the most effective advancement of the pupils therein toward civilization and self-support, and what changes are needed to remedy such defects as may exist, and to perform such other duties in connection with Indian schools as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.

25 U.S.C. § 272a Other duties

The Superintendent of Indian schools shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

25 U.S.C. § 274 Employment of Indian girls and boys as assist­ants

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall employ Indian girls as assistant matrons and Indian boys as farmers and industrial teachers in all Indian schools when it is practicable to do so.

25 U.S.C. § 275 Leaves of absence to employees

On and after August 24, 1912 teachers in schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be allowed, in addition to annual leave, educational leave not to exceed thirty workdays per calendar year, or sixty workdays in every alternate year, for attendance at educational gatherings, conventions, institutions, or training schools, if the interest of the Government requires, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and no additional salary or expense on account of such leave of absence shall be incurred.

25 U.S.C. § 276 Vacant military posts or barracks for schools; detail of Army officers

The Secretary of the Army is authorized to set aside, for use in the establishment of normal and industrial training schools for Indian youth from the nomadic tribes having educational treaty claims upon the United States, any vacant posts or barracks, so long as they may not be required for military occupation, and to detail one or more officers of the Army for duty in connection with Indian education, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, at each such school so established: Provided, That moneys appropriated or to be appropriated for general purposes of education among the Indians may be expended, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, for the education of Indian youth at such posts, institutions, and schools as he may consider advantageous, or as Congress from time to time may authorize and provide.

25 U.S.C. § 277 Former Apache military post established as Theodore Roosevelt Indian School

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to establish and maintain the former Fort Apache military post as an Indian boarding school for the purpose of carrying out treaty obligations, to be known as the Theodore Roosevelt Indian School: Provided, That the Fort Apache military post, and land appurtenant thereto, shall remain in the possession and custody of the Secretary of the Interior so long as they shall be required for Indian school purposes.

25 U.S.C. § 278a Use of appropriated funds for education in sectarian schools prohibited; exceptions

Funds appropriated on and after March 30, 1968, to the Secretary of the Interior for the education of Indian children shall not be used for the education of such children in elementary and secondary education programs in sectarian schools. This prohibition shall not apply to the education of Indians in accredited institutions of higher education and in other accredited schools offering vocational and technical training, but no scholarship aid provided for an Indian student shall require him to attend an institution or school that is not of his own free choice, and such aid shall be, to the extent consistent with sound administration, extended to the student individually rather than to the institution or school.

25 U.S.C. § 279 Rations to mission schools

Mission schools on an Indian reservation may, under rules and regulations prescribed by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, receive for such Indian children duly enrolled therein, the rations of food and clothing to which said children would be entitled under treaty stipulations if such children were living with their parents.

25 U.S.C. § 280 Patents of lands to missionary boards of religious organizations

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to issue a patent to the duly authorized missionary board, or other proper authority, of any religious organization engaged in mission or school work on any Indian reservation for such lands thereon as were prior to September 21, 1922, set apart to and were on that date being actually and beneficially used and occupied by such organization solely for mission or school purposes, the area so patented to not exceed one hundred and sixty acres to any one organization at any station: Provided, That such patent shall provide that when no longer used for mission or school purposes said lands shall revert to the Indian owners.

25 U.S.C. § 280a Land in Alaska for schools or missions; general land laws

The Indians or persons conducting schools or missions in the Territory of Alaska shall not be disturbed in the possession of any lands actually in their use or occupation on June 6, 1900, and the land, at any station not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, occupied on said date as missionary stations among the Indian tribes in the section, with the improvements thereon erected by or for such societies, shall be continued in the occupancy of the several religious societies to which the missionary stations respectively belong, and the Secretary of the Interior is directed to have such lands surveyed in compact form as nearly as practicable and patents issued for the same to the several societies to which they belong; but nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to put in force in the Territory the general land laws of the United States.

25 U.S.C. § 281 Children taking lands in severalty not excluded

In the expenditure of money appropriated for any of the purposes of education of Indian children, those children of Indians who have taken or may take lands in severalty under any existing law shall not, by reason thereof, be excluded from the benefits of such appropriation.

25 U.S.C. § 282 Regulations by Secretary of the Interior to secure attendance at school

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to make and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to secure the enrollment and regular attendance of eligible Indian children who are wards of the Government in schools maintained for their benefit by the United States or in public schools.

25 U.S.C. § 286 Sending child to school out of State without consent

No Indian child shall be sent from any Indian reservation to a school beyond the State or Territory in which said reservation is situated without the voluntary consent of the father or mother of such child if either of them is living, and if neither of them is living without the voluntary consent of the next of kin of such child. Such consent shall be made before the agent of the reservation, and he shall send to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs his certificate that such consent has been voluntarily given before such child shall be removed from such reservation. And it shall be unlawful for any Indian agent or other employee of the Government to induce, or seek to induce, by withholding rations or by other improper means, the parents or next of kin of any Indian to consent to the removal of any Indian child beyond the limits of any reservation.

25 U.S.C. § 287 Taking child to school in another State without written consent

No Indian child shall be taken from any school in any State or Territory to a school in any other State against its will or without the written consent of its parents.

25 U.S.C. § 290 Transportation of pupils under 14 at Government expense

No Indian pupil under the age of fourteen years shall be transported at Government expense to any Indian school beyond the limits of the State or Territory in which the parents of such child reside or of the adjoining State or Territory.

25 U.S.C. § 290a Bureau appropriations as not limiting transportation of school children

On and after October 12, 1984, no part of any appropriation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs under this or any other act shall be used to subject the transportation of school children to any limitation on travel or transportation expenditures for Federal employees.

25 U.S.C. § 291 Removal of Government property at schools

Where there is Government property on hand at any of the Indian reservations or schools not required for the use or benefit of the Indians of reservations or said schools, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to move such property to other Indian reservations or schools where it may be required.

25 U.S.C. § 292 Suspension or discontinuance of schools

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs may, when in his judgment the good of the service will be promoted thereby, suspend or discontinue any reservation Indian school, and, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may sell any reservation school building or plant that is no longer desirable as an Indian school upon any reservation and invest the proceeds in other school buildings and plants, as the needs of the service may demand, under such rules and regulations as he may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, prescribe.

25 U.S.C. § 292a Discontinuance of boarding and day schools having small attendance

All reservation and nonreservation boarding schools with an average attendance in any year of less than forty-five and eighty pupils, respectively, shall be discontinued on or before the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year. The pupils in schools so discontinued shall be transferred first, if possible, to Indian day schools or State public schools; second, to adjacent reservation or nonreservation boarding schools, to the limit of the capacity of said schools: Provided, That all day schools with an average attendance in any year of less than eight shall be discontinued on or before the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year: Provided further, That all moneys appropriated for any school discontinued pursuant to this section or for other cause shall be returned immediately to the Treasury of the United States.

25 U.S.C. § 292b Establishment of single system of education in Alaska; transfer of Indian schools to State of Alaska

The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall not expend any other funds for the operation of any secondary education program or facility in the State of Alaska after June 30, 1983: Provided, That while consultation concerning day school transfers to the State of Alaska will continue with affected villages, local concurrence is not required in this continuing effort to establish a single system of education envisioned by the State’s constitution: Provided further, That after June 30, 1984, the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall fund no more than ten day schools in Alaska: Provided further, That the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall not fund any schools in Alaska after June 30, 1985: Provided further, That $9,350,000 of such amount shall be available until expended for transfer to the State of Alaska to assist in the rehabilitation or reconstruction of Bureau-owned schools which are transferred to the State: Provided further, That the $9,350,000 appropriated in Public Law 97–394 available to the State of Alaska to assist in the rehabilitation of Bureau-owned schools which are transferred to the State may also be used for reconstruction: Provided further, That when any Alaska day school operated by contract is transferred, the State shall assume any existing contract pertaining to the operation or maintenance of such school for a minimum of two years or until the expiration of the negotiated contract, whichever comes first: Provided further, That nothing in the foregoing shall preclude assistance otherwise available under the Act of April 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 596) as amended (25 U.S.C. 452 et seq.),11 See References in Text note below. or any other Act to such schools on the same basis as other public schools.

25 U.S.C. § 292c Unavailability of appropriated funds for boarding schools

On and after October 12, 1984, no part of any appropriations to the Bureau of Indian Affairs under this or any other Act shall be available to continue academic and residential programs of the Chilocco, Seneca, Concho, and Fort Sill boarding schools, Oklahoma; Mount Edgecumbe boarding school, Alaska; Intermountain boarding school, Utah; and Stewart boarding school, Nevada.

25 U.S.C. § 293 Sale of lands purchased for day school or other Indian administrative uses

Subject to applicable regulations under chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3306(f), 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4104, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41 the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to cause to be sold, to the highest bidder, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe any tract or part of a tract of land purchased by the United States for day school or other Indian administrative uses, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in any one tract, when said land or a part thereof is no longer needed for the original purpose; the proceeds therefrom in all cases to be paid into the Treasury of the United States; title to be evidenced by a patent in fee simple for such lands as can be described in terms of the legal survey, or by deed duly executed by the Secretary of the Interior containing such metes-and-bounds description as will identify the land so conveyed as the land which had been purchased: Provided, That where the purchase price was paid from tribal funds, the net proceeds shall be placed in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the respective tribes of Indians.

25 U.S.C. § 293a Conveyance of school properties to local school districts or public agencies

The Secretary of the Interior, or his authorized representative, is authorized to convey to State or local governmental agencies or to local school authorities all the right, title, and interest of the United States in any land and improvements thereon and personal property used in connection therewith heretofore or hereafter used for Federal Indian school purposes and no longer needed for such purposes: Provided, That the consent of the beneficial owner shall be obtained before the conveyance of title to land held by the United States in trust for an individual Indian or Indian tribe: Provided further, That no more than fifty acres of land shall be transferred under the terms of this section in connection with any single school property conveyed to State or local governmental agencies or to local school authorities. Any conveyance under this section shall reserve all mineral deposits in the land and the right to prospect for and remove such deposits under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, shall require the property to be used for school or other public purposes, and shall require the property to be available to Indians and non-Indians on the same terms unless otherwise approved by the Secretary of the Interior. If at any time the Secretary of the Interior determines that the grantee of any such lands, improvements, and personal property has failed to observe the provisions of the transfer agreement and that the failure has continued for at least one year, he may declare a forfeiture of the conveyance and the title conveyed shall thereupon revert to the United States. Such determination by the Secretary of the Interior shall be final. If the grantee of such land fails for a period of one year to observe the provisions of the transfer agreement and the Secretary of the Interior fails to declare a forfeiture of the conveyance, the former beneficial owner, if an individual Indian or an Indian tribe, may petition the United States District Court for the district where the land is located to declare a forfeiture of the conveyance and to vest the title in the United States, in the same trust status as previously existed.

25 U.S.C. § 293b Conveyance of abandoned school properties in Alaska to local town or city officials or school authorities; reservation of rights and claims by United States and use conditions; violations and forfeiture of grant; determinations; reversion to United States

The Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, directed to convey to local town or city officials or to school authorities in the Territory of Alaska, all the right, title, and interest of the United States in and to any parcel or tract of land and the improvements thereon for school or other public purposes whenever he shall determine that such land and improvements are no longer required by the Alaska Native Service for school purposes: Provided, That any conveyance made pursuant to this section shall be subject to all valid existing rights and claims, shall reserve to the United States all mineral deposits in the lands and the right to prospect for and remove the deposits under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, and shall provide that the lands and improvements conveyed shall be used for school or other public purposes only and that the school facilities maintained thereon or therein shall be available to all of the native children of the town, city, or other school district concerned on the same terms as to other children of such town, city, or district. The Secretary of the Interior, if at any time he determines that the grantee of any such lands and improvements has violated or failed to observe the foregoing provisions and that such violation or failure has continued for a period of at least one year, may declare a forfeiture of the grant. Such determination by the Secretary shall be final, and thereupon the lands and improvements covered thereby shall revert to the United States and become a part of the public domain subject to administration and disposal under the public land laws.

25 U.S.C. § 294 Sale of certain abandoned buildings on lands belonging to Indian tribes

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to sell and convey at public sale, to the highest bidder, under such regulations and under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, at not less than the appraised value thereof, any abandoned day or boarding school plant, or any abandoned agency buildings, situated on lands belonging to any Indian tribe and not longer needed for Indian or administrative purposes, and to sell therewith not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres of land on which such plant or buildings may stand. Title to all lands disposed of under the provisions of this section shall pass to the purchaser by deed or by patent in fee, with such reservations or conditions as the said Secretary may deem just and proper, no purchaser to acquire more than one hundred and sixty acres in any one tract: Provided, That the proceeds of all such sales shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians to whom said lands belong, to be disposed of in accordance with existing law.

25 U.S.C. § 295 Supervision of expenditure of appropriations for school purposes

All expenditure of money herein or after April 30, 1908, appropriated for school purposes among the Indians, shall be at all times under the supervision and direction of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and in all respects in conformity with such conditions, rules, and regulations as to the conduct and methods of instruction and expenditure of money as may be from time to time prescribed by him, subject to the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior.

25 U.S.C. § 304 South Dakota Indians; State course of study

On and after July 1, 1950, the course of study taught in any school operated and maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on any Indian reservation in the State of South Dakota shall, upon a majority decision of the parents of children enrolled therein voting at a meeting called for that purpose by the superintendent of the reservation, meet the minimum education requirements prescribed by the department of public instruction for the public schools of that State.

25 U.S.C. § 304a Study and investigation of Indian education in United States and Alaska; contracts; report to Congress; appropriations

The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”), acting through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is authorized and directed to conduct a study and investigation of Indian education in the continental United States and Alaska, including a study and investigation of (1) the education problems of Indian children from non-English speaking homes, and (2) the possibility of establishing a more orderly, equitable, and acceptable program for transferring Indian children to public schools. The Secretary, in carrying out the provisions of this section, is authorized to enter into contracts in accordance with the provisions of the Johnson-O’Malley Act of June 4, 1936 (49 Stat. 1458; 25 U.S.C. 452).11 See References in Text note below. Not later than two years after funds are made available to carry out the purposes of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a complete report of the results of such study and investigation, together with such recommendations as he deems desirable. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this section.

25 U.S.C. § 304b Deposits of funds of students and student activity associations in Indian schools

The Secretary of the Interior may authorize officials or employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to accept and to disburse deposits of funds of students and student activity associations in schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in accordance with the purposes of such deposits. Such deposits and disbursements shall be accounted for under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.