A plan for the use and distribution of $3.9 million awarded by the Indian Claims Commission to the Cherokee Nation is being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.
The award is additional payment for land in Northern Oklahoma acquired by the United States from the Cherokees from 1872 to 1893.
According to the plan, approved by Congress and made effective November 5, 1975, $1 million will be distributed on a per capita basis to all living persons listed on any of the tribe's final rolls approved under the provisions of the Act of April 26, 1906.
The remainder of the award will be invested and the income used for tribal purposes as recommended by the Principal Chief or any Cherokee Nation governing body recognized by the Secretary of the Interior. These would include annual administrative expenses of the tribe and funds used for social and economic development purposes.
Applications for a per capita share of the $1 million must be filed with the Director of the Muskogee Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs within one year of the effective date of this plan.
