Frank Murphy

“ In the exercise of the war and treaty powers, the United States overcame the Indians and took possession of their lands, sometimes by force, leaving them an uneducated, helpless and dependent people needing protection against the selfishness of others and their own improvidence. Of necessity the United States assumed the duty of furnishing that protection and with it the authority to do all that was required to perform that obligation and to prepare the Indians to take their place as independent, qualified members of the modern body politic. ”

“ Legislation conferring tax exemption was recommended to protect the Indians against inability to pay or their insufficient sense of public responsibility, and to keep faith since officials of the federal government had expressly or impliedly represented that lands so purchased were tax exempt. ”

“ The fact that the Acts with-draw lands from the tax rolls and may possibly embarrass the finances of a state or one of its subdivisions is for the consideration of Congress, not the courts. Cf. Federal Land Bank v. Bismarck Lumber Co., 314 U.S. 95, 104, 62 S.Ct. 1, 6, 86 L.Ed. 65. Also, it is immaterial that respondents are citizens because it is settled that the grant of citizenship to the Indians is not inconsistent with their status as wards whose property is subject to the plenary control of the federal government. ”

“ Since the 1936 Act was concerned with a tax exemption, the proper test of whether an Indian purchaser had 'title' within the meaning of the Act must be whether he had retained such a property interest that, but for the Act, he would be subjected to the tax. Here Wosey John Deere retained such a title, and the three tracts were clearly within the 1936 Act even accepting petitioners' construction. ”

“ First they contend from remarks made by the sponsor of the 1936 Act in the Senate [7] that the Act applied only to lands purchased for landless Indians, and thus did not extend to lands purchased from the restricted funds of Wosey John Deere, who held allotted land. We do not read those remarks as limiting the scope of the 1936 Act to landless Indians; they do not deal in terms of exclusiveness. ”

“ Any other view would create as to the lands covered by the 1936 Act, which were acquired with restricted funds, a different and a preferred exemption as compared with that applicable to originally allotted lands, from the sale of which in large part the funds were derived. No intent can be imputed to Congress to give the substituted lands preferential treatment as compared with original allotments. ”

“ Thus far Congress has not terminated that relation with respect to the Creek Nation and its members. That Nation still exists, [23] and has recently been authorized to resume some of its former powers. Act of June 26, 1936, 49 Stat. 1967, 25 U.S.C.A. § 501 et seq. And although the Creek tribal rolls were closed on March 4, 1906, [24] Congress has recognized that un-enrolled Creeks of the half blood or more are tribal Indians subject to federal control. [25] Respondents fall in this class.
We have considered the other contentions raised by petitioners and find them without merit. ”

“ For, even assuming arguendo that petitioners are correct in saying that the 1936 Act afforded only a personal exemption, Wosey John Deere, whose restricted funds purchased the three tracts, held a restricted life estate in each tract on January 1, 1937, the assessment date. As the life tenant she was obligated to pay the taxes under Oklahoma law. ”

“ Act of May 27, 1908, 35 Stat. 312; and Act of May 10, 1928, 45 Stat. 495.↑ Allotments in severalty were halted by the Wheeler-Howard Act of June 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C.A. § 461 et seq., and by the Oklahoma Welfare Act of June 26, 1936, 49 Stat. ”