Approved Ordinances for the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone
Last amended: 2003
STANDARD
HOMESITE ASSIGNMENTS ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE TE-MOAK BANDS OF THE WESTERN
SHOSHONE INDIANS, NEVADA
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. An ordinance for Standard Homesite Assignment
to members of the Te-Moak Bands of the Western Shoshone Indians, Lee,
Nevada.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE TE-MOAK WESTERN SHOSHONE COUNCIL:
1. All lands, which are now owned, or which hereafter may be acquired by the United States Government or purchased with Tribal Funds for the Te-Moak Bands of Western Shoshone Indians, Nevada may be assigned by the Council, and preference shall be given to heads of families provided they they have no assigned lands or interest in assigned lands.
2. Assignments made under this Ordinance shall be for the primary purpose of establishing homes for members of the Te-Moak Bands of Western Shoshone Indians, and shall be known as "Standard Homesite Assignments". Only one (1) Standard Homesite assignment shall be held by a member of the Tribe.
3. The Council shall charge and collect a fee of five ($5.00) dollars for services rendered in making a Standard Homesite Assignment, this fee to be collected upon delivery of the Assignment certificate, and/said fee deposited in the Te-Moak Western Shoshone Council general funds.
4. Any member of the Te-Moak Bands of Western Shoshone Indians, at the age of twenty-one (21) or older or who regardless of age is married, desiring to establish a home of his (her) own shall be eligible to apply for a Standard Homesite Assignment.
5. Standard Homesite Assignments shall be made on tract of five (5) acres or less to the head of a family. It being understood that a family shall comprise all persons occupying a single habitation or living in a single domestic group and who are dependent upon some one person, who may be said to be the head of the family.
6. An application for a Standard Homesite Assignment shall be made by the head of a family, and the Standard Homesite Assignment, when made, shall be to such person as the head of a family.
7. A member of the Te-Moak Bands of Western Shoshone Indians married to a person who is not a member of the said Tribe, shall be considered as the head of a family, and shall be entitled to made an application for a Standard Homesite Assignment. When such member dies without living children after having received a Standard Homesite Assignment, the assignment shall be canceled. However, if a member dies and if there be living children of the marriage, the Council may appoint the surviving spouse as guardian of the living minor children. The Council may by resolution assign the Homesite Assignment to the surviving spouse until such minor children either marry or reach twenty-one (21) years of age. The Homesite Assignment, in the name of the surviving spouse, shall then be canceled.
8. If any member of the Tribe who holds a Standard Homesite Assignment shall, for a period of two (2) years, fail to use the land so assigned, or use such land at any time for an unlawful purpose, his (her) assignment shall be canceled by the Council, after due notice and an opportunity to be heard. When a Standard Homesite Assignment is given to a member, it is because that member, in his application, has shown a need for the area for which he asks, and that he intends to establish a home upon the Standard Homesite Assignment.
9. When any member holding an assignment desires to leave the reservation for a justifiable reason, such as, educational training, military service, outside jobs in order to make a living or medical treatment, he (she) will contact the Council in person and make arrangements for a permit to vacate or lease his (her) Standard Homesite Assignment for a period not to exceed five (5) years.
10. Upon the death of any member holding a Standard Homesite Assignment, his (her) heirs, or other individuals designated by him (her) by will or by written request, shall have a preference to the reassignment of the land.
11. Where no will or written request has been made by the holder of a Standard Homesite Assignment, designating the person he (she) desires to have the land reassigned to, his (her) heirs, will be determined by proper probate procedure. The Council may reassign the Standard Homesite Assignment of the deceased member to the heir so chosen, provided such action does not give that person control of two (2) Standard Homesite Assignments.
12. When a deceased holder of a Standard Homesite Assignment has willed an assignment to a person who is under the age of twenty-one (21) at the time of the testor's death, or where the heirs, in the absence of any will, have selected such under age person, the assignment shall be administered by the parents or guardian of the child, so designated by proper probate procedure.
13. When an heir by will, or by selection, dies before the age of twenty-one, the Standard Homesite Assignment inherited shall be canceled, and shall then be subject to reassignment, with preference to heirs eligible to make application for a Standard Homesite Assignment in the order of relationship and age, the nearest of kin having first preference and where more than one person in the same degree of kinship, the older to have preference over the younger. If no heirs can qualify as eligible for a Standard Homesite Assignment, then the land shall be held in Tribal control awaiting reassignment in the regular ways.
14. Standard Homesite Assignments shall be on lands both inside and outside of and irrigated lands. The Standard Homesite Assignments will be designated non-irrigable and no delivery of water or water charges shall be made.
15. If two members of the Tribe desire to exchange Standard Homesite Assignments, they shall join in a written application for such exchange. In this application the reason for desiring the exchange shall be set forth in full, and if it shall be made to appear that the requested exchange is for the mutual benefit of both parties, and that such exchange is not against the interests of tribe as a whole, the Council shall approve the request and prepare a resolution to effectuate such exchange.
16. Improvements of any character made upon assigned lands may be bequeathed to and inherited by members of the Tribe or otherwise disposed of under such regulations as the council shall provide. No permanent improvements shall be removed from the land without the consent of the Council.
17. When personal property, located on the Standard Homesite Assignment, is inherited, either by will or by natural inheritance, or is purchased by a person or persons who cannot make use of it on the assignment where it is located, the party so inheriting, or purchasing it may dispose of it in one or more of the following ways:
1. By removing it at their own expense.
2. By sale to a person who can use it where it is located, with approval of the Council.
3. By sale to the Tribe on such terms as may be agreed upon.
PROVIDED: That any property that is to be removed from the land shall be removed within a period of 30 days from the date on which the land itself shall have passed into other heirs or have been reassigned, and provided further, that the land from which the improvements are removed shall be left in the same good condition as before the improvements were placed upon it, except in the case of a well, or foundations which may be left by agreement with the new assignee.
18. Application for a Homesite Assignment shall be filed on standard forms with the Secretary of the Council, and shall be in writing, setting forth the name of the person applying for the land and as accurate a description of the land desired as the circumstances will permit. Notices of applications received by the Secretary shall be posted in the Tribal Office and other public offices designated by the Council, not less than twenty (20) days before action is taken by the Council. Any member of the Tribe wishing to oppose the granting of an assignment shall do so in writing, setting forth his objections; and be filed with the Secretary of the Council, and may if he so desires, appear before the Council to present evidence. The Secretary of the Council shall furnish the Superintendent or other officers-in-charge applications for assignments, and a complete record of assignment shall be kept in the Tribal Office and shall be open for inspection by members of the Tribe.
19. The Council shall draw up one or more forms for Standard Homesite Assignments, which shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
CERTIFICATION
It is hereby
certified that the foregoing ordinance of the Te-Moak Western Shoshone
Council of the Te-Moak Bands of Western Shoshone Indians, Nevada, composed
of five (5) members and of whom 5 constituting a quorum were
present at a Council meeting held on the 27th day of,
March 1961, and that the foregoing Ordinance was adopted by an
affirmative vote of 4 for and 0 against, pursuant to authority
contained under Article VIII Section 2 of our Constitution and By-Laws.
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Harry Tom Secretary, Te-Moak Western Shoshone Council |