It is the program of the Secretary of the Interior to enable individual natives of Alaska to acquire title to the lands they use and occupy and to protect the lands from the encroachment of others.

The Act of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197), as amended August 2, 1956 (70 Stat. 954; 43 U.S.C. 270-1 to 270-3), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allot not to exceed 160 acres of vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved nonmineral land in Alaska or, subject to the provisions of the Act of March 8, 1922 (42 Stat. 415; 48 U.S.C. 376-377), of vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public land in Alaska that may be valuable for coal, oil, or gas deposits, or, under certain conditions, of national forest lands in Alaska, to any Indian, Aleut or Eskimo of full or mixed blood who resides in and is a native of Alaska, and who is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years of age.

As used in the regulations in this section.

(a) The term substantially continuous use and occupancy contemplates the customary seasonality of use and occupancy by the applicant of any land used by him for his livelihood and well-being and that of his family. Such use and occupancy must be substantial actual possession and use of the land, at least potentially exclusive of others, and not merely intermittent use.

(b) Allotment is an allocation to a Native of land of which he has made substantially continuous use and occupancy for a period of five years and which shall be deemed the homestead of the allottee and his heirs in perpetuity, and shall be inalienable and nontaxable except as otherwise provided by the Congress.

(c) Allotment Act means the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197), as amended (48 U.S.C. 357, 357a, 357b).

(a) A Native may be granted a single allotment of not to exceed 160 acres of land. All the lands in an allotment need not be contiguous but each separate tract of the allotment should be in reasonably compact form.

(b) In areas where the rectangular survey pattern is appropriate, an allotment may be in terms of 40-acre legal subdivisions and survey lots on the basis that substantially continuous use and occupancy of a significant portion of such smallest legal subdivision shall normally entitle the applicant to the full subdivision, absent conflicting claims.

(c) Allotments may be made in national forests if founded on occupancy of the land prior to the establishment of the particular forest or if an authorized officer of the Department of Agriculture certifies that the land in the application for allotment is chiefly valuable for agricultural or grazing purposes.

(d) Lands in applications for allotment and allotments that may be valuable for coal, oil, or gas deposits are subject to the regulations of § 2093.4 of this chapter.

(a) Applications for allotment properly and completely executed on a form approved by the Director, Bureau of Land Management, must be filed in the proper office which has jurisdiction over the lands.

(b) Any application for allotment of lands which extend more than 160 rods along the shore of any navigable waters shall be considered a request for waiver of the 160-rod limitation (see part 2094 of this chapter).

(c) If surveyed, the land must be described in the application according to legal subdivisions and must conform to the plat of survey when possible. If unsurveyed, it must be described as accurately as possible by metes and bounds and tied to natural objects. On unsurveyed lands, the application should be accompanied by a map or approved protracted survey diagram showing approximately the lands included in the application.

(d) An application for allotment shall be rejected unless the authorized officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs certifies that the applicant is a native qualified to make application under the Allotment Act, that the applicant has occupied and posted the lands as stated in the application, and that the claim of the applicant does not infringe on other native claims or area of native community use.

(e) The filing of an acceptable application for a Native allotment will segregate the lands. Thereafter, subsequent conflicting applications for such lands shall be rejected, except when the conflicting application is made for the conveyance of lands pursuant to any provision of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

(f) By the filing of an application for allotment the applicant acquires no rights except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section. If the applicant does not submit the required proof within six years of the filing of his application in the proper office, his application for allotment will terminate without affecting the rights he gained by virtue of his occupancy of the land or his right to make another application.

(a) An allotment will not be made until the lands are surveyed by the Bureau of Land Management, and until the applicant or the authorized officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs has made satisfactory proof of substantially continuous use and occupancy of the land for a period of five years by the applicant. Such proof shall be made on a form approved by the Director, Bureau of Land Management, and filed in the proper land office. If made by the applicant, it must be signed by him, but if he is unable to write his name, his mark or thumb print shall be impressed on the statement and witnessed by two persons. This proof may be submitted with the application for allotment if the applicant has then used and occupied the land for five years, or may be made at any time within six years after the filing of the application when the requirements have been met.

(b) [Reserved]

(a) Land allotted under the Act is the property of the allottee and his heirs in perpetuity, and is inalienable and nontaxable. However, a native of Alaska who received an allotment under the Act, or his heirs, may with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative, convey the complete title to the allotted land by deed. The allotment shall thereafter be free of any restrictions against alienation and taxation unless the purchaser is a native of Alaska who the Secretary determines is unable to manage the land without the protection of the United States and the conveyance provides for a continuance of such restrictions.

(b) Application by an allottee or his heirs for approval to convey title to land allotted under the Allotment Act shall be filed with the appropriate officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.