Competency Commissions were established by the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

in the early 20th century to determine whether individual

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

were competent to utilize their lands allotted to them during the

General Allotment Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the Pres ...

of 1887. Individuals who were determined to be competent were issued fee patents on their land. The lands of Indian allottees determined to be non-competent were leased by the Federal Government, often to non-tribal members. While a fee patent gives power to the allottee to decide whether to keep or sell the land, provided the harsh economic reality of the time, lack of access to credit and markets, liquidation of Indian lands was almost inevitable.{{Citation needed, date=October 2011 It was known by the department of interior that virtually 95% of fee patented land would eventually be sold to whites (Robertson, 2002). Indians who were determined to be non-competent often did not receive the income generated from the leasing of their lands. In 1996, the largest class-action lawsuit ever launched against the U.S. Government, Cobell vs. Norton, was filed on behalf of 300,000

trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

beneficiaries who offered to settle for 27 billion dollars.

See also