25 U.S.C. § 412A
Section 412a · Exemption from taxation of lands subject to restrictions against alienation; determination of homestead
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 19 court decisions — leading case Chase v. McMasters (1978)
Most recently applied in Blackfeet Tribe of Indians v. Montana (April 1984)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
All homesteads, heretofore purchased out of the trust or restricted funds of individual Indians, are hereby declared to be instrumentalities of the Federal Government and shall be nontaxable until otherwise directed by Congress: Provided, That the title to such homesteads shall be held subject to restrictions against alienation or encumbrance except with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior: And provided further, That the Indian owner or owners shall select, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, either the agricultural and grazing lands, not exceeding a total of one hundred and sixty acres, or the village, town, or city property, not exceeding in cost $5,000, to be designated as a homestead.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1937—Act May 19, 1937, substituted “All homesteads” and “individual Indians” for “All lands the title to which is now held by an Indian subject to restrictions against alienation or encumbrance except with the consent or approval of the Secretary of the Interior” and “said Indian”, respectively, and inserted two provisos.