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History and Proposed Settlement Claims of California Indians (1944) (35 pages)
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Page: of 35
20 HISTORY AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
Claims in the State of California” (9 Stat. 631,634). Section
16 of this Act provides as follows:
“And be it further enacted; that it shall be the duty of —
the commissioners herein provided for to ascertain and
report to the Secretary of the Interior the tenure by which
the mission lands are held, and those held by civilized
Indians, and those who are engaged in agriculture or labor
of any kind, and also those which are occupied and cultivated by Pueblos or Rancheros Indians.”
Clearly this section related to those Indians in California
who had come under the influence and instruction of the
Catholic padres. It had no reference to the uncivilized Indians
outside the zone of missionization which comprised as much
as five-sixths of the State of California. In the instructions
to the commissioners appointed to carry out the provisions of
this act no mention was made of the uncivilized tribes of
Indians in the State of California. It is obvious that it was
understood that their rights would be taken care of by the
treaty commissioners appointed under the Act of September
30, 1850. Both acts were in operation at the same time.
At the time of the passage of these two statutes most of
the Indians in the State of California were untutored, illiterate
and did not speak nor understand the English language. It
is clear that it was never intended that they should present
their claims before the commission created by the Act of
March 3, 1851, supra, inasmuch as tribal occupancy has never
been regarded as a “Private Land Claim.” No instructions
‘were ever issued to Indian Agents in California to present the
claims of the Indians under their charge before the said commission or assist the Indians in so doing.
Furthermore, the commission did not ascertain and report
to the Secretary of the Interior the tenure by which was held
the lands settled upon by the civilized Indians, those held by
Indians engaged in agriculture of any kind, or those which
were occupied and cultivated by the “Pueblos or Rancheros
Indians.”