Contiguous means two parcels of land having a common boundary notwithstanding the existence of non-navigable waters or a public road or right-of-way and includes parcels that touch at a point.

Terms Used In 25 CFR 151.2

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Descendent: One who is directly descended from another such as a child, grandchild, or great grandchild.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.

Fee interest means an interest in land that is owned in unrestricted fee simple status and is, thus, freely alienable by the fee owner.

Fractionated tract means a tract of Indian land owned in common by Indian landowners and/or fee owners holding undivided interests therein.

Indian land means any tract in which any interest is held by a Tribe or individual Indian in trust or restricted status and includes both individually owned Indian land and Tribal land.

Indian landowner means a Tribe or individual Indian who owns an interest in Indian land.

Indian reservation or Tribe’s reservation means, unless another definition is required by Federal law authorizing a particular trust acquisition, that area of land over which the Tribe is recognized by the United States as having governmental jurisdiction, except that, in the State of Oklahoma wherever historic reservations have not yet been reaffirmed, or where there has been a final judicial determination that a reservation has been disestablished or diminished, Indian reservation means that area of land constituting the former reservation of the Tribe as defined by the Secretary.

Individual Indian means:

(1) Any person who is an enrolled member of a Tribe;

(2) Any person who is a descendent of such a member and said descendant was, on June 1, 1934, physically residing on a federally recognized Indian reservation; or

(3) Any other person possessing a total of one-half or more degree Indian blood of a Tribe.

Initial Indian acquisition means an acquisition of land in trust status for the benefit of a Tribe that currently has no land held in trust status.

Interested party means a person or other entity whose legally protected interests would be affected by a decision.

Land means real property or any interest therein.

Marketable title means title that a reasonable buyer would accept because it appears to lack substantial defect and that covers the entire property that the seller has purported to sell.

Preliminary Title Opinion means an opinion issued by the Office of the Solicitor that reviews the existing status of title, examining both record and non-record title evidence and any encumbrances or liens against the land, and sets forth requirements to be met before acquiring land in trust status.

Preliminary title report means a report prepared by a title company prior to issuing a policy of title insurance that shows the ownership of a specific parcel of land together with the liens and encumbrances thereon.

Restricted land or land in restricted status means land the title to which is held by an individual Indian or a Tribe and which can only be alienated or encumbered by the owner with the approval of the Secretary due to limitations contained in the conveyance instrument pursuant to Federal law or because a Federal law directly imposes such limitations.

Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior or authorized representative.

Tribe means any Indian Tribe listed under section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. § 5130). For purposes of acquisitions made under the authority of 25 U.S.C. § 5136 and 5138, or other statutory authority which specifically authorizes trust acquisitions for such corporations, Tribe also means a corporation chartered under section 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 988; 25 U.S.C. § 5124) or section 3 of the Act of June 26, 1936 (49 Stat. 1967; 25 U.S.C. § 5203).

Trust land or land in trust status means land the title to which is held in trust by the United States for an individual Indian or a Tribe.

Undivided interest means a fractional share of ownership in an estate of Indian land where the estate is owned in common with other Indian landowners or fee owners.