United States v. Wildcat

Background

The United States sued on behalf of the Creek Tribe to cancel a 160-acre allotment issued in the name of Barney Thlocco, whom the Government said died around January 1899 and so was not living on April 1, 1899. The tribal enrollment commission placed Thlocco on the Creek rolls on May 24, 1901; a certificate of allotment was issued June 30, 1902; and patents conveying the land were approved and recorded by the Interior Department in 1903. The Government alleged the commission acted arbitrarily and without evidence and offered to prove Thlocco was dead before the statutory date; the suit was filed about fourteen years after the enrollment.

Reasoning

The Court framed two questions: whether the factual issue of Thlocco’s date of death could be retried, and whether the commission had acted arbitrarily or without evidence. It explained that Congress authorized the enrollment commission to make final rolls and that, once approved by the Secretary of the Interior, those rolls were intended to settle who could receive allotments. Such decisions may only be overturned for fraud, error of law, or a gross mistake of fact. The record showed prior tribal rolls, census cards, and testimony about the commission’s practice of making inquiries before enrolling names. The Government did not present full and convincing proof that the commission acted arbitrarily or without evidence in this case.

Real world impact

Because the Court found no successful attack on the commission’s action, the District Court’s dismissal was affirmed and the allotment and patents remain valid. The ruling protects heirs, purchasers, and tribal land titles from late government challenges unless clear fraud or gross mistake is shown. The Secretary’s later attempt to strike the name without giving notice to heirs was ineffective, and long-standing approved enrollments and patents cannot be lightly undone years later.