crow reservation mineral rights

Mineral Rights

Mineral rights on the Crow Reservation are owned in checkerboard fashion like the surface lands
due to the results of the allotment of lands to individual tribal members under the General
Allotment Act and the 1920 Crow Allotment Act. Although the 1920 Crow Allotment Act left
the mineral estate to the Crow Tribe upon the allotment of lands to individuals, many individuals
received mineral allotments under the General Allotment Act. As history well illustrates, the
Allotment Acts resulted in serious fractionation of lands among large numbers of heirs to the
original allottees and land passing from trust status to fee status and eventually to non-Indian
ownership.

As a result, the mineral estate can be owned by the Tribe, a tribal member, a tribal member
Indian from another tribe, or a non-Indian. Obtaining certified title status reports for each tract
of land to determine the exact status of mineral ownership prior to any tribal development effort
will be a critical component of the development process. Nonetheless, the above discussed
condemnation process expressly included in the Crow Constitution provides a vehicle to work
with the complicated land and mineral ownership on the Crow Reservation.