Indian Legislation

Indian Legislation

Indian landowners cannot use the land they own efficiently due to ownership laws that were enacted in 1887.   The land was divided and granted to individuals and when that person passed away, the land was divided up equally amongst heirs.   Now that generations have passed, the parcel can be owned by as many as one thousand people. (Indian Country Today, 2011)   Because of the constant division of property, legislators enacted the American Indian Probate Reform Act, which attempted to facilitate consolidating lands so that it can be used effectively.  
The current issue with the AIPRA enactment is that the act does not take Indian culture, customs or religious beliefs into account.   It also makes passing land via inheritance very difficult due to the fact that the Federal Government holds the land in trust for the Indians.   A will has to be drawn up and the person receiving the land has to be considered a ‘qualified’ heir, and that can be confusing because many tribal customs do not have a paper trail or official documents the way the federal government requires.   There are also questions of tax payments and charges that the family may not be able to cover, and so therefore can loose the land completely.  

The legislation is connected to the Native Americans because the law was enacted in an attempt to help the Native Americans but it ends up being more of a hinderance than it does to help.   Because the governments ignorance towards Native Americans in general, things they do to help does not.   They make rules expecting the Native American people to understand and conform to the way they do things but Native Americans have their own way of living and their own customs.

References:  

 Indian Country Today. (2011). Indian land owners raise concerns over Federal Law. Retrieved from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/08/indian-land-owners-raise-concerns-over-federal-law/