United States Ex Rel. Lowe v. Fisher

Background

A group of people who claimed citizenship as descendants of Cherokee freedmen challenged the Secretary of the Interior after he removed their names from a roll and canceled allotment certificates. The dispute turned on whether their ancestors had returned to the Cherokee Nation within six months of the 1866 treaty, and whether the Secretary could later undo enrollments that had once been approved.

Reasoning

The Court examined the treaty language, prior Court of Claims rulings, and a sequence of Congressional acts that created and revised rolls for the Five Civilized Tribes. It distinguished an earlier case that denied power to remove names when no notice was given, but found that here the Secretary provided notice and a hearing. Congress gave the Dawes Commission and later the Secretary power to investigate, correct fraud or mistakes, and to make rolls in strict conformity with the Court of Claims’ decree. Until Congress expressly ended the Secretary’s revisory authority, the Secretary could strike names and cancel allotments to enforce those statutory limits.

Real world impact

The decision affirms that the Interior Secretary may remove improperly enrolled persons and rescind allotments after following notice and hearings, even if certificates were once issued. That power aims to prevent fraud and to make rolls match the duties set by Congress and the Court of Claims. It also means people who had leased, sold, or otherwise used allotted land could face legal uncertainty until rolls were finally closed by statute.