The Indian Mineral Leasing Act (IMLA) was a 1938 United States law. It was passed May 11, 1938 by the 75th United States Congress. ^[1]

The Act made it so that after May 11, 1938, unallotted lands within Indian reservations or lands owned by Native Americans under Federal jurisdiction could, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, be leased for mining purposes by the authority of the tribal council or other authorized spokesmen for the Native Americans, for no longer than 10 years. ^[2]

The Act was designed to bring uniformity to the Acts of 1924 and 1927. Though it did not contain any provisions allowing states to tax mineral leases. States still continued to tax mineral production on Native American lands. In 1977, a decision by the Interior Department suggested that states did not have the authority to tax indigenous mineral leases executed under the act. This decision was the impetus for the Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe case, in which the state's authority to tax the mineral leases on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana was analyzed. ^[3]

Background

In 1887, the Dawes Act established a policy of dividing and allocating land amongst individual tribal members.

Prior to the Indian Mineral Leasing Act, states could not tax Native American interests on indigenous lands without express congressional authorization. It wasn't until May 29, 1924 that Congress enacted the Indian Oil Leasing Act of 1924 that allowed states to tax Native American mineral leases. The Act only applied to lands that were brought and paid for until Congress enacted the Act of March 3, 1927. These acts allowed states to tax mineral leases on most Native American lands. ^[3]

References

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