PAYMENT OF SIOUX BENEFITS

[Title 25 CFR 125]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - April 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 25 - INDIANS]
[Chapter I - BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR]
[Subchapter G - FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES]
[Part 125 - PAYMENT OF SIOUX BENEFITS]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

25INDIANS12002-04-012002-04-01falsePAYMENT OF SIOUX BENEFITS125PART 125INDIANSBUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
PART 125--PAYMENT OF SIOUX BENEFITS--Table of Contents

Sec.
125.1 Scope.
125.2 Purpose.
125.3 Definitions.
125.4 Eligibility.
125.5 Application procedure.
125.6 Administration.
125.7 Information collection.

Authority: Act of March 2, 1889, c. 405, sec. 17, 25 Stat. 888, 895;
Act of June 10, 1896, c. 398, 29 Stat. 321, 334; Act of May 21, 1928, c.
662, 45 Stat. 984; Act of June 18, 1934, c. 576, Sec. 14, 48 Stat. 987,
25 U.S.C. 474.

Source: 46 FR 36136, July 14, 1981, unless otherwise noted.
Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982.

Sec. 125.1 Scope.

The regulations in this part govern the payment of ``Sioux
benefits'' to allotted Sioux Indians under the Act of March 2, 1889, c.
405, Sec. 17, 25 Stat. 888, 895; the Act of June 10, 1896, c. 398, 29
Stat. 321, 334; and the Act of May 21, 1928, c. 662, 45 Stat. 984; and
to unallotted Sioux Indians on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation
under the Act of June 18, 1934, c. 576, Sec. 14, 48 Stat. 987, 25 U.S.C.
474.

Sec. 125.2 Purpose.

The purpose of these regulations is to implement the provisions of
federal statutes which provide for the payment of ``Sioux benefits'' to
Sioux Indians by setting forth the criteria governing eligibility for
and entitlement to ``Sioux benefits'' and by establishing procedures
governing application for and payment of ``Sioux benefits.''

Sec. 125.3 Definitions.

As used in this part, the term--
(a) Area Director means the Area Director, Aberdeen Area Office,
BIA, or his/her delegate.
(b) Bureau or BIA means the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of
the Interior.
(c) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, BIA, or
his/her delegate.

[[Page 370]]

(d) Sioux benefits means the allotment of stock and farming
equipment plus $50.00 cash as provided for by the Act of March 2, 1889,
c. 405, Sec. 17, 25 Stat. 888, 895, or its commuted cash value as
provided in the Act of June 10, 1896, c. 398, 29 Stat. 321, 334.
(e) Sioux Indian means a member of any of the bands or tribes
comprising the Sioux Nation of Indians to which the Act of March 2,
1889, c. 405, 25 Stat. 888, applied.
(f) Single person includes all unmarried persons (other than an
unmarried person under the age of eighteen years) and any person who is
legally separated, divorced, or widowed.
(g) Head of a family means only:
(1) A married person who meets the requirements of Sec. 125.4(c)(1)
or (2) (if living with his/her spouse) or Sec. 125.4(c)(3) (if not
living with his/her spouse), and
(2) An unmarried person under the age of eighteen years who meets
the requirements of Sec. 125.4(c)(3).
(h) For the purpose of determining family support under
Secs. 125.4(c)(2) and 125.4(c)(3), family means two or more persons
(including the applicant) related by blood, through marriage, or by
adoption to the applicant and who live together in the same household
and are dependent upon the applicant for all or part of their support.

Sec. 125.4 Eligibility.

(a) Allotted Sioux Indians. The eligibility of allotted Sioux
Indians for Sioux benefits is governed by the Act of March 2, 1889, c.
405, Sec. 17, 25 Stat. 888, 895; the Act of June 10, 1896, c. 398, 29
Stat. 321, 334; and the Act of May 21, 1928, c. 662, 45 Stat. 984. The
Act of June 18, 1934, c. 576 Sec. 14, 48 Stat. 987, 25 U.S.C. 474, is
inapplicable to any Sioux Indian to whom an allotment of land has been
made under the provisions of the Act of May 29, 1908, c. 216, Sec. 19,
35 Stat. 444, 451, or any prior federal statute. Under the applicable
statutes, an allotted Sioux Indian is eligible for Sioux benefits if--
(1) He/she received a valid allotment of land under the provisions
of the Act of May 29, 1908, c. 216, Sec. 19, 35 Stat. 444, 451, or any
prior Federal statute (regardless of whether such allotment is still
held by the applicant);
(2) He/she is either a single person over the age of eighteen (18)
years or a head of a family (as provided in Sec. 125.4(c));
(3) He/she has duly made application for Sioux benefits, and such
application has been approved during his/her lifetime (as provided in
Sec. 125.5); and
(4) He/she has not previously been paid Sioux benefits in his/her
own right (as provided in Sec. 125.4(d)).
(b) Unallotted Sioux Indians. The Act of June 18, 1934, c. 576,
Sec. 14, 48 Stat. 987, 25 U.S.C. 474, applies only to Sioux Indians who,
but for the provisions of section 1 of that Act, 25 U.S.C. 461, would
have been eligible for an allotment of land under the provisions of the
Act of May 29, 1908, c. 216, Sec. 19, 35 Stat. 444, 451, or any prior
Federal statute, and have not, in fact, been allotted lands under the
provisions of such Federal statutes. That Act has current application
only to unallotted members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe because of
the proviso that the payment of Sioux benefits under that Act would
continue only until such time as the lands available for allotment on
each reservation as of June 18, 1934, would have been exhausted by the
allotment of eighty (80) acres of land to each person receiving Sioux
benefits under that Act. Under this statute a member of the Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe is eligible for Sioux benefits if--
(1) He/she would be eligible, but for the provisions of the Act of
June 18, 1934, c. 576, Sec. 1, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C. 461, for an
allotment of land under the provisions of the Act of May 29, 1908, c.
216, Sec. 19, 35 Stat. 444, 451, or any prior Federal statute, and has
not been allotted lands under the provisions of such Federal statutes;
(2) He/she is either a single person over the age of eighteen (18)
years or a head of a family (as provided in Sec. 125.4(c));
(3) He/she has duly made application for Sioux benefits and such
application has been approved during his/her lifetime (as provided in
Sec. 125.5);
(4) He/she has not previously been paid Sioux benefits in his/her
own right (as provided in Sec. 125.4(d)); and
(5) The hypothetical allotment of 80 acres of tribal land to the
applicant would not exhaust the lands available

[[Page 371]]

for allotment on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation as of June 18,
1934, considering the allowance of similar hypothetical allotments to
other such Indians previously receiving Sioux benefits under such Act.
(c) Head of a family. The following criteria apply in determining
head of family status under both Secs. 125.4(a) and 125.4(b).
(1) Except as provided in Sec. 125.4(c)(2), when an applicant for
Sioux benefits is married and living with his/her spouse, the applicant
will be deemed to be a head of a family if designated as such by both
the applicant and his/her spouse.
(2) When an applicant for Sioux benefits is married and living with
his/her spouse, but the applicant's spouse (i) does not concur in the
applicant's designation as head of the family, or (ii) has previously
received Sioux benefits as head of the family which includes the
applicant, the applicant will be deemed to be a head of a family if the
economic contribution to the support of the family attributable to the
applicant exceeds the contribution by his/her spouse for the eighteen
(18) months period immediately preceding the date of the application for
Sioux benefits.
(3) When an applicant for Sioux benefits is (i) unmarried, or (ii)
married, but not living with his/her spouse, the applicant will be
deemed to be a head of a family if the primary source of economic
contribution to the support of the family is attributable to the
applicant. Welfare or support payment made to the applicant by the
government or his/her spouse shall be deemed attributable to the
applicant.
(4) The Bureau shall not presume that a husband is a head of a
family for purposes of this part solely because of his status as a
husband. The Bureau shall not presume that a wife is not a head of a
family for purposes of this part solely because of her status as a wife.
(5) The Bureau shall not presume that a Sioux woman married to a
non-Sioux man is a head of a family for purposes of this part solely
because of such status. The Bureau shall not presume that a Sioux woman
marrried to a Sioux man is not a head of a family for purposes of this
part solely because of such status.
(d) Double benefits. The prohibition against multiple payment of
Sioux benefits to a person in his/her own right extends to the payment
of Sioux benefits under any Federal statute. However, a person will not
be deemed to have received payment of Sioux benefits in his/her own
right due to the fact that:
(1) Sioux benefits were paid to such person in his/her capacity as
an heir of an Indian who, under prior law, was held to have a vested
right to receive such benefits as of the date of death, or
(2) Sioux benefits have previously been paid to that person's spouse
or former spouse. Although the prohibition against double benefits would
not preclude both spouses from receiving Sioux benefits during their
marriage (assuming they both were otherwise eligible) or preclude a
widowed or divorced applicant from receiving Sioux benefits merely
because his/her spouse had previously received Sioux benefits, an
applicant would not be able to receive Sioux benefits in his/her own
right first as a single adult and again as a head of a family, or vice
versa.

Sec. 125.5 Application procedure.

(a) Agency Superintendent. Application for Sioux benefits must be
submitted to the Agency Superintendent for the reservation and shall
contain such information as may be prescribed by the Bureau.
Applications must be submitted within the lifetime of the applicant.
Within thirty (30) days of receipt of a completed application, the
Agency Superintendent shall verify the necessary information and forward
the application and relevant documentation to the Area Director along
with his/her recommendation for approval or disapproval.
(b) Area Director. Within fourteen (14) days of receipt of an
application from the Agency Superintendent, the Area Director shall
approve or disapprove the application and notify, in writing, the
applicant and the Agency Superintendent of such decision and, if denied,
the reasons therefor. Failure of the Area Director to act within the
specified time shall have the effect of approval of the application.

[[Page 372]]

(c) Appeal. Approval of an application by the Area Director shall be
final and conclusive. Disapproval of an application may be appealed to
the Commissioner pursuant to the administrative review procedures of 25
CFR part 2, and the Commissioner's determination shall be subject to the
administrative appeal procedures of 43 CFR part 4, subpart D. Approval
of an application on administrative appeal or pursuant to judicial
review shall relate back to the date of the Area Director's decision.
(d) Prior applications. (1) Eligibility for Sioux Benefits will be
determined by an applicant's status as of the date of application,
except that where an applicant's application was disapproved prior to
the promulgation of these regulations under the provisions of previous
Bureau regulations or policies, the applicant may reapply and, if he/she
so requests, have his/her eligibility determined based upon his/her
status as of the date of such prior application, which shall be deemed
to be the date of the application, but nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to allow any application to be made on behalf of a deceased
Sioux Indian whose prior application was disapproved.
(2) Unallotted Sioux Indians of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud
Reservations whose applications were submitted and disapproved prior to
the termination of payment of Sioux benefits on each respective
reservation may reapply for benefits under this subsection within one
year of the effective date of this part and receive payment if their
eligibility under Sec. 125.4(b) is established as of the date of such
initial application.
(e) Information collection. The information collection requirements
contained in this part have been approved by the Office of Management
and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3507 and assigned clearance number 1076-0004.
The information is being collected to provide information necessary for
the Bureau to determine eligibility for Sioux benefits. This information
will be used to grant statutory benefits. The obligation to respond is
required to obtain a benefit.

[46 FR 36136, July 14, 1981; 46 FR 38074, July 24, 1981. Redesignated at
47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982]

Sec. 125.6 Administration.

(a) No payment of Sioux benefits may be made unless an application
therefor has been made and approved during the lifetime of the applicant
as provided by Federal law.
(b) Payment of Sioux benefits shall be made in accordance with a
budget or plan for expenditure submitted by the applicant and approved
by the Agency Superintendent.
(c) The Commissioner shall annually compute the commuted monetary
value of Sioux benefits to be effective on October 1 of that year and
notify the affected tribes and Bureau agencies of such determination.
(d) The Area Director shall annually notify both the Cheyenne River
Sioux Tribe and the Commissioner of the number of Sioux benefits
remaining available to be paid under the provisions of the Act of June
18, 1934, c. 576, Sec. 14, 48 Stat. 987, 25 U.S.C. 474.

Sec. 125.7 Information collection.

The information collection requirements contained in Secs. 125.4 and
125.5 have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under 44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance number 1076-0004. The
information is being collected to solicit information necessary to make
a determination of eligibility for Sioux benefits. The information will
be used to determine eligibility for payment. Response is required to
obtain a benefit.

[53 FR 21995, June 13, 1988]